DampMagazines

Elements of Game editorial for Vibe Style.

“Welcome to Milwaukee, home to players, macks, and an underworld couture that has inspired some of fashion’s top designers. It’s where drama is expected, glamour is homegrown, and the notion of ghetto fabulousness finds its roots.”

COLD-BLOODED GAME: Rook and his gator Honor White mink zip-front coat with crocodile collar by Tom Ford for Gucci.

LADY MACKS: (From left) JD and 75 Monte Carlo sitting on gold rims, Heavy, and Big Lex suited and booted Cream faux-fur coat by Issey Miyake Women, Monte Carlo provided by D/Neil; black lambswool coat by Iceberg; white shearling zip-front coat, white diamond wool two-button tuxedo jacket, cream silk gauze regular placket shirt, and white diamond wool classic pant, all by Helmut Lang, burgundy beaver fedora by Jacqueline Lamont, blue-tinted sunglasses by Selima Optique.

A PRINCE AMONG PLAYERS: Entrepreneur and director/ producer of Pimpology Uncut, Ken Ivey, a.k.a. Pimpin’ Ken, as himself (all clothing his own).

MAN OF THE CLOTH: Rook outside a church in west Milwaukee Chocolate velvet three-quarter-length coat with lavender floral print, brown button-down shirt with lavender and yellow floral print, and scarf attachment, all by D&G Dolce & Gabbana, green feather hat with gold chain by Eugenia Kim.

THE MACK WHO WOULD BE KING: His magnificence, Father DeVine, a.k.a. J.D. (all clothing his own).

GENTLEMAN OF LEISURE: Rook and Honor on the streets of P-waukee Fuchsia velvet double-breasted suit by Vivienne Westwood MAN, aubergine velour felt fedora by ET AL, fur neck wrap by Iceberg. See the details.

Photos: Tracy Funches Styling: @michaelaangelad

“Labyrinth” editorial featuring COMME des GARÇONS A/W 1999 Womenswear photographed by Norbert Schoerner.

“The reticent Rei Kawakubo has always insisted that her designs for Comme des Garcons speak for themselves. If so, her autumn/winter 1999 collection is a tumultuous bang. Gone are the layers of black in its many nuances. The millennium ushers in a cacophony of colour. Bright tartans fold and wrap around the body, appearing at first glance to be held together by one giant safety pin. Clashing textured tweed dresses fall in labyrinthine layers, competing for attention with holographic sequin wraps. The severity the label was renown for in the ‘80s has been replaced with a light-hearted, pop edge. More art than fashion, her individualistic take on beauty is always far ahead of its time.”

Photos: @dayfornightlab Stylist: @kegrand Text: @roughversion MUA: @elibeautygram Hair: @1malcolmedwards Models: @kirsten.pieters & Heather Stoller Picture design: Lynwen Anthony Set design: Glyn Owen Photographic Assistants: Leon Chew and Timur Celikdag Special thanks to Jelka and Haruko.

Steam meets Dream. Dream originally hails from Alameda in California, but the majority of his work is to be found in Oakland. He started writing in the at the age of 14 in the summer of 1983. “After peepin’ out a few books and documentaries on the subject of hip-hop, I really started to take it seriously and produced some of my best works around ‘85,” he remembers. “Since then I’ve been down with a few crews such as ATP (All Time Pimps) from Philadelphia and the ? (Question Mark Crew) from Oaktown. His favourite paint is Krylon, due to the wide variety of colours and he says, “Like a lot of writers on the West Coast my style was influenced by New York City writers such as Skeme, Phase 2, Dondi, Seen, Lee etc. In time I found out what being a true writer really meant - the concept of creating your own style and elaborating on it plays a big part.” Dream busts his own style on freeway walls, and more recently freight trains. “I paint mainly for self satisfaction. Bombing is like an escape for me when things get hectic. I end up going out late at night and tearing shit up.” While the work here is some of Dream’s favourite West Coast pieces over the years, he reveals, “My plans have come to a temporary halt due to the new law passed in January banning the sale of spray paint. But I plan to try to make it out East, hitting cities like Philly and Chicago, before getting to New York. At the moment, I’m also pretty tied up airbrushing t-shirts (like the ‘China Doll’ piece here and last month’s Cube shirt). Y’know, it’s a shame that it took someone like Bell Biv Devoe to bring graffiti back into fashion - graffiti has always been part of hip-hop culture and always will be.”

And the British scene?

"I think the English scene is really hype - a lot of dope writers are comin' up and the scene has really developed to a point where the majority of the best writers have their own individual style." So who is best anywhere in the world? "As far as calling someone 'the best', I don't jock anyone. Like my homey Enem from Chilly Philly once told me, 'I'd rather be on my dick than the other guy's' right?! As far as giving respect, I give credit where credit is due and if anyone's deserving, it's the originators of this artform - Phase 2, Skeme, Tracy 168, Stan 153, Super Kool 223, Seen Lee, Dondi, Kel, Futura and Dez.

Frank Kozik briefly featured in Dazed & Confused.

Interesting to see Kozik referred to as a “West Coast Artist” despite growing up in Spain and his well known roots in the Houston art scene but maybe by this time he had fully taken on the California persona.

Cult Californian illustrator Frank Kozik’s acid-colored artwork is not just about mutilated animals, disfigured children & aggression to rabbits. It’s about aggression-full stop.

West Coast US artist Frank Kozik applies exactly the same attitude to his celebrated “posters, stickers and stuff” as he does to his independent record label, Man’s Ruin. The sense of being part of the underground, of belonging to a network of likeminded heads who treasure the obscure and the cult, pervades everything Kozik does, and is integral to understanding his work. His sideways view has been showing a different picture of the world through more than two decades of rock and festival fly posters and with his idiosyncratic “smokin’ bunny” logo. It was an obvious pairing, then, when forward-thinking print and production design collective Artomatic approached Kozik to commission a solo show.

The resulting work falls somewhere between the throwaway pop aesthetic of his commercial work and post-modern illustrative art. In an attempt to manipulate the manipulators, Kozik takes the pulp imagery put out by advertisers and, giving it his own twist, pushes pop underground.

‘Iconic commercial images have replaced cultural and religious images,’ Frank explains, ‘especially in the US. The average person can’t even find their own city on a map, but they can explain the finer points of fashion brands and automobile styles in minute detail.’ In claiming back visual notions that were never really his, Kozik has remained conscious of where his reference points come from and who they’re aimed at.

He seems to digest the same white noise we’re all exposed to, but spits it out again in garish, intense technicolor that you either love or loathe, but cannot ignore.

The devil might be waiting, but Frank Kozik is still merrily wallpapering purgatory and anyone sharing the waiting room should investigate further.”

Text: Nikki Bidder

Breaking down the references of Supreme’s latest collaboration with Goodenough.

Goodenough’s founder, Hiroshi Fujiwara, is no stranger to Supreme. In fact, he actually helped popularize the brand in Japan in the 90s. With Goodenough starting in 1990, four years before Supreme, the two brands have collaborated a handful of times over the years. In this seasons lineup for Supreme they’ve announced a new collaboration with Goodenough which features many references to Hiroshi’s early pieces.

The “G” logo tee has been infamous and sought after since the 90s and has been rereleased a handful of times. Hiroshi frequently used remix’s of vintage items and graphics for Goodenough, clearly displayed in pieces like the cable knit hoodies. The “Fuck” and “GDEH” spellout shirts on the other hand, are reminiscent of old gym uniforms and collegiate hoodies. There were a few other classic Goodenough pieces I think they could have tastefully redone for this collaboration however I’m pleased with the execution, what are your thoughts?

The debut of Colette.

Started in Paris in 1997 by mother-daughter duo Colette Roussaux and Sarah Andelman, Colette was the perfect blend of retail experience, art gallery, and event space. The store carried an impressive range of designers and brands such as Alexander McQueen, Dirk Van Saene, Final Home, Koji Tatsuno, COMME des GARÇONS, W&LT, 20471120, X-Large, X-Girl, Philip Treacy, and more. Colette made the most of their brick and mortar space by frequently hosting popular parties and events often accompanied by art, fancy food and drinks, or exclusive product releases. Colette finally closed their Paris store in 2017 after a 20 year run.

Levi’s Backstage Pass by Ellen Von Unwerth.

“Turning the conventional rock and roll festival on its ear takes originality. Levi’s goes behind the scenes with the artists of the wildly successful Lilith Fair tour to find out just what it takes to keep it real on stage and off. Levi’s applauds the women on the following pages as they bask in the limelight— with ground-breaking music and styles that reflect their individuality.”

Modeling the clothing is Missy Elliot, SarahMcLachlan, N’Dea Davenport, Chantal Kreviazuk, Kay Hanley, Rebekah, Bic Runga, Tara MacLean, Mary Lou Lord, Sarah and Gert Bettens of K’s Choice, and Liz Phair.

Photos: Ellen Von Unwerth

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dampmagazinesA Bathing Ape Invasion. “After numerous accounts of great apes roaming the streets of Tokyo, certain well known hip-hop groups have recently been observed sporting A Bathing Ape T-shirts and camouflage. North America and Europe are bracing themselves for an imminent invasion of ape-parel. The command center for the ape fashion takeover is a small apartment in Tokyo’s Harajuku district where A Bathing Ape’s alpha male, Nigo, surveys his growing domain. Despite the life-size Stormtrooper that greets visitors, it is talking chimpanzee Cornelius, the brand’s spiritual ancestor, whose spirit infuses the office. Vintage Planet of the Apes posters line the walls and videos chronicling the ape’s adventures are scattered throughout. A huge ape logo gazes down from the ceiling over what amounts to a shrine to all things primate.

Key to A Bathing Ape’s worldwide fashion incursion is Nigo’s pal, Keigo Oyamada, Cornelius’ musical namesake and a habitual Bathing Ape dresser. Money Mark, U.N.K.L.E.’s James Lavelle and Ben Lee are among the other members of the ape’s frontline offensive.

Nigo describes himself as an ‘editor, not a designer,’ and sees A Bathing Ape as less a fashion brand than an extended art project, a carefully curated lifestyle explored in the “Ape Manual” (a semi-annual guide dispensing advice on furniture design, clothing and other matters close to the ape). The empire will also soon include Ape Sounds, Nigo’s indie music label.

A Bathing Ape monkeys about with the basic elements of street fashion to produce clothes with an eccentric, humorous twist. Simians peer out amidst the fabrics of A Bathing Ape’s camouflage bags, Union Jack T-shirts and jackets. Brightly colored plaid raincoats with Prada-style Velcro fasteners and electric orange sweatshirts emblazoned with stylized Beethoven portraits (another nod to the musical Cornelius-check out Fantasma’s inner sleeve) are also among the current, quickly changing stock.

"You've got to see the stuff to really understand the Bathing Ape," Nigo insists. Ingenious packaging (a Japanese obsession) is an ape hallmark. For the last year, Nigo's pet project has been producing a faux ape spray paint can. Shake it enough, and an ape T-shirt vacuum-packed to fit snugly inside the can, pops out. The new A Bathing Ape Busy Work Shops reveal a similar fanatical approach to design—if 2001 's HAL 9000 had a closet it might look something like this. A Hong Kong shop will open this fall, and Nigo foresees shops in Paris, New York and London in the future, proving there is just no stopping primate evolution. - Suzannah Tartan

Project Margiela.

“The form of a tailor’s dummy (or dress form), provides a foundation for the collection. The object is worn with a slip skirt or a permanently dyed blue jean. Vanous elements from the varying stages of an atelier’s work, are pinned to the tailor’s dummy form shoulder pads, binding and garment studies... A simple unfinistied square of fabric, cut on the bias, becomes a skirt’or a dress with an irregular hem-line. Jackets, with or without sleeves, cut for a man’s body, are fitted with shoulder-pads which give a second, feminine, shoulderline within their form. Knit cardigans, some without sleeves, and washe-rashirts have the same shoulder-line as the jackets and are worn with only the front panel of a traditional skirt an alining of a skirt. Overly narrow dresses max only be worn by opening hidden zips which give the garment an individual and irregular form. Unfinished studies for various parts of draped evening dresses in sill chiffon are workeg by hand onto structures in elastic and corset bones, becoming garments in their own right. Simply the soles of shoe unted on heels, are glued to the feet.

Martin Margiela’s Spring/Summer collection is available from Liberty, Browns and Joseph.”

Queen of NY: Queen Latifah

With the release of her first album, Queen Latifah is set to stake her claim for the top of the hip-hop hierarchy. ‘All Hail The Queen’ shouts Chris Hunt from the Empire State Building. Normski captures the view.

Freestyle 55: Jake Phelps’ underground Wallenberg skate contest.

May 16, 2004: Thrasher editor-in-chief Jake Phelps held a stair contest at Wallenberg High School (open to both pros and amateurs).

It was a one-hour-only event, from noon to 1 p.m., with cash prizes awarded based on the trick. The surprise sponsor? None other than Jamie Thomas, rider for ZERO. Prizes were: backside kickflip – $1500, frontside kickflip – $1500, and switch flip – $3000. The amounts were enough to fire up any hungry skater. Then came the words from Jake: “Hey! You guys see this? It’s money! Don’t you want it? If you want it, throw yourself in! Fourteen years ago, Gonz flew off this spot with an ollie and made history. I want to see history today. I’m gonna make you guys into witnesses of history. Got it? Hurry up and throw yourselves in, you bastards! You’ve got your tricks stuck to you, don’t you? Or are you just a bunch of punks who don’t even want money? I came here to see a new history. And I’m gonna turn all you motherf***ers in the crowd into witnesses…!”

Writer: Taku Takemura Photos: Taro Hirano

Andrew Reynolds is pictured here with the $1500 frontside kickflip.

Stüssy’s original Prince St. flagship.

“When the first Stüssy store opened on Prince Street in Soho, it was done without the usual fanfare that accompanies a store opening. But the company - which has achieved a sort of cult status in the States, Europe and Japan - has had no problem bringing in customers. It isn’t unusual to overhear people asking other retailers in the area for directions to Stüssy. All day long, on weekends in particular, there is a steady stream of customers from 12 year-old homeboys to fortysomethings, local folks to foreign tourists. And most walk out with something bearing the ubiquitous logo.”

Text: Elizabeth Barr

Looking at the 90s clothing for Caterpillar.

While the brand has never really been associated with fashion and is most commonly known for their large construction vehicles, Caterpillar used to and continues to produce a line of workwear clothing. The utilitarian pieces can be seen here modeled by real NYC construction workers; Mike Coleman, Keith Sean-Cole, and Mark Peterson. I’m sure most of this clothing is long gone by now as it was likely mostly used for its intended purpose of being worked in, with style being a secondary concern.

When did Sofia Coppola meet Marc Jacobs?

When did Marc Jacobs first lay eyes on Sofia Coppola, so that both of them became fused, from a fashion standpoint, as designer and muse or as designer and independent-film-maker friend? And where in the world of New York was it? “We’ve tried to figure this out many times,” says Sofia. “It was sometime during the grunge era,” says Marc of that historic epoch of fashion that began in 1993, when Jacobs was designing for Perry Ellis and launched his Marc Jacobs label, when he was not yet an established fashion player but was still among the New Guard-when Marc and Sofia were both very young and enjoying New York in the way that young people do. “I remember his stuff from that Perry Ellis collection, and I was just so excited,” Sofia says. It was before Marc went off to Paris as artistic director of Louis Vuitton, and before Sofia began spending time in L.A., making films such as The Virgin Suicides and, most recently, Lost in Translation. She recalls an early silk dress that she loved; he recalls the credits for The Virgin Suicides, the Bic-pen scribblings that Marc so loved and that so inspired his fall 2001 Marc by Marc Jacobs line. But where exactly did they meet? “I just remember it was a group thing,” Marc says. “Yes,” says Sofia, a little dreamily. “It was.” “I just remember a lot of roof parties,” says Marc, dreamy too. “I remember the guy in the patent leather.” “Yes,” says Sofia. “Who was that guy?”

Photo: Mario Testino Text: Robert Sullivan Fashion Editor: Tonne Goodman

Y2K era denim and select items from Marc Jacobs, Cavalli, Helmut Lang, Imitation of Christ, Vivienne Westwood and more featured in this fun ‘A Streak of Blue Denim’ editorial photographed by Max Vadukul.