BBBULLETIN 10

No. 10

THE OFFICIAL BREAD & BUTTER MAGAZINE Heart-Core: STARS AND STRIPES

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EDITORIAL

“OH IT’S SUCH A PERFECT DAY, I’M GLAD I SPENT IT WITH YOU OH SUCH A PERFECT DAY, YOU JUST KEEP ME HANGING ON” Lou Reed, “Perfect Day”

Welcome to BREAD & BUTTER, the 7th tradeshow for selected brands in Barcelona. Our campaign this season: “New Order – profile your business.”

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BREAD & BUTTER and Barcelona – these two names have established themselves as well known terms in the industry.

With the Catalonian capital we found the ideal environment for our exhibitors and visitors: Barcelona is a vibrant city with a high-performing airport, sufficient hotel capacity, an excellent infrastructure and a really unique exhibition site, as not found anywhere else in Europe. By now, we know the area right down to its last corners, and so do our exhibitioners, who are well accustomed with all the possibilities that come with the space.

Let’s put it this way: there is no better alternative to Barcelona – here we are perfectly safe and content.

Our idea for this season is to utilise the site even more efficiently. With support from the Fira Barcelona management team and the local authorities, we therefore relocated the entrance to the forecourt of the tradeshow, the Plaça d’Espanya.

The two magnificent tradeshow towers form the new entry gate to BBBarcelona, through which our guests have faster and easier access onto the fairgrounds. Thanks to our Active Guest Management team (AGM), who are now successful in their fourth season, approximately 95% of our visitors will already have their tickets plus all necessary information prior to the actual tradeshow. This way we can rule out long waiting lines, despite the expected high visitor frequency.

The main exhibition street, Avenida Reina Maria Cristina, previously used to process visitor entry, now offers space for outdoor activities. This has created new walkways: the Denim Base and Fashion Now hall now have three entries. We’ve reworked the exhibition space, thus winning new and very attractive exhibitors. Another novelty is that quite a few brands have chosen special locations this year. Converse is located between hall 4 and 5, and Ed Hardy by Christian Audigier is on the upper level of the Urban Superior area. Wrangler has chosen to exhibit in the Luna Park, for the third time in a row now, whereas

Pepe Jeans London will once again utilise the picturesque Mies van der Rohe Pavilion to present its “Andy Warhol Collection

by Pepe Jeans London”. A newcomer to the gallery in Fashion Now is the Spanish label Desigual, which was previously in the Denim hall. This season, the Avenida Reina Maria Cristina will also be used by brands to introduce and present themselves, since Barcelona is known to be weatherproof, after all.

Moreover, it was of great importance to me to offer our guests outstanding food & beverage service. This is why we upgraded our gastronomy concept. For the first time, the Berlin restaurant “borchardt” will be hosting the B&B Business Club.

“Pan Asia”, also from Berlin, will be managing the Grand Restaurant at the Palau de Congresos. Both restaurants will be opened in the evenings and will reserve tables at request, also for large congregations. You will also be pleasantly surprised by the culinary delicacies we offer in the halls, on the Avenida Reina Maria Cristina and in the Luna Park, which will be opened in the evenings as well.

We want you to feel at home here!

Not only for the first three days of the tradeshow, but on the day before as well. This is why we invited the industry to a Meet & Greet in Luna Park on Tuesday evening, where the famous band “The Hives” performed live in convert, and our Belgium light artists surprised with a special display.

I am very happy to welcome you to Barcelona and wish you a successful, inspiring and fun experience at the tradeshow for selected brands, in keeping with our all time motto “Fun & Profit”. Because man does not live on bread alone.

Yours truly, Karl-Heinz Müller

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contributors

NO.10 07/2008

Stephanie Meyerson

The 35-year-old New Yorker has 15 years of experience as a stylist and trend consultant under her belt. Today, she oversees the area Youth Culture with the New York trend agency Stylesight, the leading provider of trend forecasting and product development tools for creative professionals in the fashion industries. Together with BBBulletIN she devised our New York versus Los Angeles spread.

Check out pages 60-70.

Xander Ferreira

Born 1981 in South Africa, the sandy-haired photographer grew up on a farm on the boarder of Mozambique. Driven by an insatiable thirst for adventure, he began to travel the world shooting photos for international magazines. Amongst others, Flair in Milan, Pause in Sweden and Lodown in Berlin. In our fashion spread “The Devil came on Horseback” (pages 86-93) he blends dusky glamour and childhood impressions.

Max Padilla

The freelance journalist is our LA man. From here out he supplied the magazine Sportswear International with the hottest goss for years. Today the 37-year-old mainly works for Women’s Wear Daily, the Los Angeles Times and the New Yorker weekly paper, The Village Voice. BBBulletIN was curious and got him to ask Americans what is currently on their minds. And hearts. Find out pages 148-151.

David Roth

He is hot. And cool. And 24. If anyone knows what’s going on behind the scenes it’s David. So we sent him on a nightlife mission to find us the sickest spots in New York (pages 76/77). The German stud from Kassel is studying fashion journalism at the Berlin AMD – “Akademie Mode & Design”. His future plans involve opening a shop with his Czech friend in Berlin. It’s SO obvious he will be one of our fashion legends. Go David.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Wolfgang Altmann CREATIVE DIRECTOR Robert Dizdarevi´c ART DIRECTOR Katrin Friedmann GRAPHIC DESIGN Alexander Groth FASHION EDITOR Linda Charlotte Ehrl (lindaehrl.de), Nele Schrinner (Ass.) TEXT EDITOR Daniela Thies Music & Photo EDITOR Nina Fee Plümke FINAL EDITOR Anna-Jane Warrington CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jenny Boers, Linda Ehrl, Johannes Meiners, Stephanie Meyerson (stylesight.com), Max Padilla, Birgit Rieger, David Roth, Nadine Sánchez, Nele Schrinner, WGSN CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Dieter Eikelpoth, Xander Ferreira, Jerry Hsiao, Mark Jenkins, Vinoodh Matadin, Jason McGlade, Lexie Moreland, Monica Nouwens, Ugur Orhanoglu, Leon Reid IV, Birgit Rieger, Straulino, Sam Taylor-Wood, Inez van Lamsweerde, Mikail Wassmer, Ed Zipco HAIR & MAKE-UP Lena Petersen, Steffi Willmann IMAGE EDITING Anja Decker, Bettina Jüngling, Simon Kölbl FINAL DRAWING Anja Decker, Bettina Jüngling PRODUCTION Kathleen Hiller TRANSLATION Maurice Frank (exberliner.com) ADVERTISING B&B Sales Department Please contact your area manager ADVERTISING COORDINATION Daniela Thies daniela.thies@breadandbutter.com SPECIAL THANKS TO VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO MINI Spain, Madrid, www.MINI.com BBBulletIN IS PUBLISHED BI-YEARLY. The magazine, its articles, pictures, illustration and graphic design are protected under the copyright laws. With the exception of some legal cases, every attempt to utilise parts of the magazine without the consent of the publisher will be liable to prosecution. No liability will be assumed for unsolicited received articles, illustrations and pictures.

PUBLISHER BREAD & butter Berlin GmbH Münzstraße 13, 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel. +49 (0)30 400 44 0, Fax +49 (0)30 400 44 101, contact@breadandbutter.com, breadandbutter.com ADDRESS EDITORIAL OFFICE Münzstraße 13, 10178 Berlin, Germany PRODUCED AND PRINTED IN Germany PRINTING Hofmann infocom AG, Emmericher Straße 10, 90411 Nürnberg, Germany, hofmann-infocom.de

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EDITING & DISTRIBUTION Acut Verlags- und Logistikservice GmbH, NDL Berlin, Köpenicker Straße 16–17, 10997 Berlin, Germany

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BRANDS

Even better than grandma’s knitting: the G-Star Winter Collection

Dutch Mountains G-STAR

s Daniela Thies f G-Star Archive

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In the land of caravans, windmills and clogs it’s very rare that you have to scale a mountain. If you suddenly see snowy peaks, don’t worry, you haven’t accidentally wandered into a coffeeshop. No, you’re actually standing in G-Star heaven, both feet on the ground. Jos van Tilburg set forth on his mountain climbing expedition in 1989, when he founded the jeans brand in Amsterdam. The label’s rapid ascent is primarily thanks to its models made from raw, unwashed materials, which they successfully market every new season. In a time of constantly changing fashion trends, it’s refreshing to see a brand that stays on course. You know what you get: authentic denim clothing. Innovation can be found in the details, such as new washes. Alongside bleached variations, the Dutch mountaineers are also going for the so-called Wrinkle-Effect, which gives the trousers a shiny, vintage look.

If a jeans brand is represented in more than 18 countries with a total of 94 stores, has 28 offices and 88 showrooms, it’s obvious they don’t just sell jeans, but rather a certain lifestyle: such as an SUV conceived with Land Rover called the Raw Defender or a Raw Ferry and, since last year, the Raw Cannondale mountain bike. Not to mention the shirts, bags, jackets, shoes and hats. The complete head-to-toe jeans look for the modern, carefree adventurer. Come autumn/winter 2008, the resoundingly successful jeans giant is as strong as ever: a men’s line inspired by work pants from the early 20s relies on especially resistant materials. With long coats made of rough cord, elegant shirts and a bowtie to match, Raw Denims, ankle-high leather shoes and head hugging beanies, the G-Star team will surely manage to scale each and every peak. e

BRANDS

O.C. California star Mischa Barton is the style ambassador for Keds.

Mischa –the Cat! KEDS

s Nadine Sánchez f Keds Archive

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Whatever Mischa Barton wears is bound to become cult!

Also down low. A few seasons ago, she already helped the mouse-faced ballerinas by Marc Jacobs attain must-have status. Now it’s all about feline footwear: Keds. The snug wedges let you sneak around unlike any other shoe. Introduced to the market by the US Rubber Company in 1916, Keds are in fact the first shoes to be called “sneakers”, because the rubber roles allowed people to walk almost silently. An innovation that Audrey Hepburn, Jackie O. and Grace Kelly cherished. Meow. When it comes to the way they look, the shoes could have been pinched from granny’s wardrobe:

made out of canvas, laces in front, with a classic, round shape. Through its new “wedge-isation” though, the Ked has regained its youth, making it wearable for today’s cat women. The trendy wedges aren’t just more comfortable than wobbly stilettos, they’re also at least as elegant. Mischa, the Keds style ambassador, embodies this mix of sportiness and grace more than anyone and lends the shoes a touch of Hollywood glamour. And in this manner, the upcoming Autumn/ Winter 2008 collection offers, alongside classic, natural models, also peep toes as well as shoes with a metallic shine or sequined pattern – wear it O.C. Style! e

BRANDS

Alien invasion: Goggle by Location

Eyes Wide Shut LOCATION

s Nele Schrinner f Location Archive

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Is it a lost Martian, a fisherman or an extreme sportsman who wants to be prepared for every kind of weather? Whatever kind of creature we’re dealing with here, one thing’s for sure: it’s wearing a Goggle jacket by Location. The label was founded in Manchester two decades ago. Brothers Vikas and Vineh Jareth felt that exciting, innovative products were missing from the sport and streetwear market. So, in 2006, they decided to relaunch the brand that their father once had founded. Functionality, comfort, protection and individuality continue to be the philosophical pillars of the outdoor brand.

Glued seams are typical, as are wind and water-resistant materials like those used in the Goggle jacket you see here. As everyone knows, snow and gusts of wind are extremely unpleasant in the face. The mask protects your sensitive complexion. Two plastic oval eyeholes let you look out. The disadvantage: a limited field of vision. This can only result in a hard

landing at the end of the next snowboard jump. The location jacket doesn’t just protect against the elements of wind and water. In our age of permanent surveillance, monitoring and videotaping, you can personally put an end to uncontrolled gawking. By simply pulling up the zip, you can decide for yourself when, where, by whom, or if you are recognized at all.

If you don’t have time to style your hair in the morning, you can ride the subway zipped up. It doesn’t protect you from your co-workers teasing you about your hair though. It’s also nothing for a night out clubbing: doormen will have little sympathy for your fish-face look. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to brush your teeth! The three small vents on either side don’t really provide enough fresh air if you’ve got beer-breath. Our tip: for spontaneous cover-up actions, we recommend Location’s specially developed neoprene ski mask. It fits conveniently into any bag and is always ready for action. e

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BRANDS

Who would have thought?

These are Flip Flops!

Ahoy Captain!

FLIP FLOP

s Daniela Thies f Flip Flop Archive

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TIP TAP will be the sound coming from Flip Flop this next season. The walking sound is changing at Germany’s craziest shoe label. Why? The Munich company is taking a leap back to a time when shoes served primarily as foot protection and even had firm soles. In the upcoming season, they’ll be bringing out trusted shoe classics: Chelsea boots, docksiders, leather boots and jazz shoes. But Flip Flop wouldn’t be Flip Flop if it just recycled old tricks. Fashion hasn’t been left by the wayside either: playful use of materials, new colours, and quality craftsmanship should be able to seduce even the most dedicated thong sandal junkie. The boat shoes conceived for sailors have come to shore as “sail away” models.

The even profile and firm rubber soles are great for walking.

The light upper materials made from nubuck and suede

provide stability and comfort. And firm leather laces ensure that the annoying problem of shoelaces that open by themselves is solved. When it comes to colours, Flip Flop plays with wintry tones such as night blue, ice blue, nougat, graphite, and burned orange. Apart from the “sail away” models, moon boots, watertight rubber boots or lambskin filled boots keep the feet warm. So you can survive even the coldest of winter nights. Since founder Stefanie Schulze sold Flip Flop to Bernd Hummel AG in 2003, the holiday concept of Flip Flop has been continuing to develop successfully. Fans of the squeaky-bright label will also be happy about a complete line of accessories consisting of towels, scarves, woven hats, weekenders, leather bags, wallets, eyewear cases and many types of belts made from patent leather or nubuck. e

COLLECTION OF STRELLSON

+41 (0) 71-686 33 33 www.strellson.com

THE NEW SWISS CROSS

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BRANDS

Whyred makes uncomplicated fashion: coat over a petticoat – done!

And not blue?

WHYRED

s Daniela Thies f Whyred Archive

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What’s your favourite colour? In the 1930s, a radio reporter put that question to the Swedish artist Sven X-et Erixon, who was famous for his colourful paintings. A bit baffled, he answered, “red.” “Why red?” the journalist then asked. “Well, blue then,” he replied. Inspired by this conversation, Roland Hjort didn’t have to think much about the name of the brand he founded in Stockholm in 1999. The artist was his grandfather. He and two of his former colleagues, Jonas Clason and Lena Patriksson, said goodbye to their jobs at an internationally known Swedish clothing brand.

Whyred was developed with Roland’s knack for design, Jonas’ knowledge of production processes and Lena’s marketing talent. That was enough to transform a newcomer label into a leading European premium brand within nine years.

Granddad’s creative concept was adopted and it still plays a fundamental role today. As in art, fashion should never be

one-dimensional. Whyred, therefore, stands for a full evening of contrast. You’ll encounter a Hitchcock actress shrieking in fear and who forgot to put on her skirt out of fright.

A male protagonist whose exterior image is as clean as Cary Grant: combed hair, pleated trousers, a tuxedo jacket, and a fancy shirt. You’ll not only stare, you’ll scream at the top of your lungs: yes, I want to play the lead role too! Copycats and fashion victims will nonetheless come away from this label empty-handed. Not so individualists, non-conformists and independent young adults. When it comes to materials, the Whyred men will be snuggling in fine lamb’s wool next season.

Women opt for bodily contact and are wrapped in a touch of silk and chiffon. The colours also provide plenty of contrast: from dark tones like black, grey, brown through to washed colours like earthy ash, pale blue, light plum, coral, vintage petrol and rusty brown. e

REWIND

The world’s best golf against an incredible backdrop in the Ponte Vecchio Challenge in Florence.

CONTE OF FLORENCE

50 years of sportswear made in Italy The Italian sportswear label is a wearable piece of Florence: a true classic with a healthy dose of English humour. This year the company is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

And we’re celebrating too, with a look back at how it all began.

s Wolfgang Altmann f Conte of Florence Archive

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It’s no exaggeration to say that Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The Tuscan capital is not only home to a fifth of the world’s cultural treasures, it’s known as the “Athens of Italy”, thanks to its incredible Renaissance architecture. The most famous square is the Piazza della Signoria, with its glorious sculptures.

The city is also home to Michelangelo’s famous David, who radiates a one-ofa-kind charm. American tourists are

especially taken by him, and some lose all self-control when they come close to the four-metre marble boy, some even break out in tears and enter a state of rapture. Michelangelo would surely have gotten a kick out of it. The Florentines are a funny bunch. Conte of Florence Romano Boretti is a typical case. More than 30 years ago, he revolutionized the sport of skiing by inventing the featherlight down hat. He gets as excited as a kid as he shows me the photos in his office,

in which countless international personalities are wearing his hats. There’s even one of Pope John Paul II and former American President Gerald Ford.

From hats to fashion It all began 50 years ago, when Romano Boretti, at age 20, opened up a shop in central Florence: a small, classy salon, in which he made dresses for posh Italian ladies. He called it Con.T.E.,

REWIND

Left: Normal today, but 30 years ago it was a revolution: the down hat.

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Romano Boretti has plenty to laugh about as “hat� of Conte of Florence.

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Sporty simplicity and a touch of elegance underlines the style of Conte of Florence.

short for Confezione Tessuti Esclusivi, which means nothing more than “Packaging of Exclusive Fabrics”. Back then he also began small-scale production of hats for winter sports. In 1969 a customer asked him why he didn’t sell his hats in Grenoble. So he got in his car and drove there, and they ended up selling well. His invention, the down hat, became a hit, and his label Conte of Florence evermore well known. In the 70s he expanded his range of non-professional ski clothing. In the late 80s he added a golf line to his collection. Today, Conte of Florence provides a total look with clothing, sportswear and accessories based around skiing, golf and sailing.

Room with a view

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Many of the company’s styles, with stripes and diamonds, strong colours and floral prints, evoke a classic British look. No wonder: British bohemia already left its mark on Florence in the 19th century. For them, the city was a favourite travel destination. Many stayed in order to escape claustrophobic Victorian society. “One could argue that leisure wear was born in Florence at that time,” says brand manager Alessandro Papini (45), who has worked at Conte of Florence for

two years and was previously employed at Magli, Brioni, Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo. At Conte of Florence two elements play together harmoniously: Florentine craftsmanship, known for its excellent detail work, meets an English notion of fashion. It’s a style which can easily compete with the Ralph Laurens, Nauticas and Gants of this world.

Today, Conte of Florence is sold in over 3,000 shops, department stores and sportswear outlets worldwide: in the USA, Canada, Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan. In Europe, the label is present in the German-speaking countries, France, Spain, Belgium, Finland, Norway and six Eastern European nations. The most important market is Italy, with a total of 90 mono-stores.

A good putt For years sponsorship of sportsmen and sporting events has been an important marketing instrument – especially in winter sports. As early as 1969, Conte of Florence sponsored the Italian downhill team. During the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, the Italian label supported the medal-winning Norwegian national team, among others. Today, Romano Boretti’s passion lies with

another sport. It all began 23 years ago, when he heard a speech about climate change. “That speech really influenced me,” he explains. “Afterwards I thought to myself: my entire business is based on winter sport.” With a wink, he adds, “I had to find something new, because soon I wouldn’t have anything to do otherwise.” He did find something new, namely golf, and began organising a totally new golfing event – in Florence, naturally. Since 1997 the Ponte Vecchio Challenge has taken place every year on the world-famous “bridge of jewellers”. The Florentine trademark is the teeing off ground, and the greens are four islands in the Arno river. The rules are very simple. Every player has six balls: ball on the green wins, ball in the water loses. A decisive factor is where the balls are played. The longer the distance, the more points. Champions from 16 nations took part in the last tournament, including German Bernhard Langer, Austrian Marcus Bier and Swede Robert Karlsson. “Here you really see who is the best in the world,” says Bortetti. Last year Bortetti himself proved who was the best in his field.

He was awarded the medal of knights

by Italian president Giorgio Napolitano in Rome. e

HEART-CORE

A new time for the USA?

s Wolfgang Altmann f Xander Ferreira

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The US has been battered by the financial crisis. Money, as a result, is more scarce than ever. Even the American news station CNN advises its viewers not to travel to Europe. And make sure you don’t vacation on Malta! The euro was introduced there at the beginning of the year. Better destinations, according to CNN, are Argentina, Mexico or Canada. Or just stay at home. America is the best place in the world anyway.

One thing is for sure: the land of limitless possibility offers everything the heart desires: lots of sun, lots of beach and lots of food. So much that people with a normal bodyweight are the minority. Two-thirds of the population is actually overweight, 30% of Americans are considered obese. In stark contrast, there is a growing need among young girls to conform to the size zero trend, so that they can emulate their unhealthy role models. Fashion chains like Banana Republic have reacted and introduced the ultra-tiny size 00. That’s the wrong path, says Paige Adams-Geller, founder of the premium denim label bearing her name. She’s skillfully, charmingly countering this trend How? Read more on pages 84/85.

A bitter truth affecting all Americans is the rising cost of energy. There few taxi drivers not complaining about constantly rising gas prices. But in the words of economic guru Warren Buffet, the US economy will slowly begin to recover: “With a bit of time, my children will live better than me, even if they don’t believe it,” said the American billionaire in an interview with the TV station CNBC. Hope for better times is also awakened by the Democratic presidential candidate, Obama.

He is backed by Hillary, and both are supported by countless musicians (find out who on the next pages). We all hope a new wind will blow through America come November 4, 2008.

In the fashion scene it has already arrived: many newcomer brands convince with fresh, innovative styles. They prove that Awmerican fashion is more than just bling bling, vintage shirts and glittery denim. From page 52 we introduce our favourites: among them are the stylish ghetto blaster bags

by Fi-Hi in Brooklyn, the cool wooden sunglasses by i-Wood and the label Cut-it-out run by New York-based Russian Yelena Konovalova. Go west and get inspired! e

The future of the US is written in the stars.

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HEART-CORE

HEART-CORE

Musicians were more involved in the US pre-elections than ever before and triggered a fresh wave of enthusiasm and confidence. Were they the ones that made Obama win?

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Barack Obama and soul legend Stevie Wonder at the first AME Church in LA.

HEART-CORE

s Johannes Meiners, Nina Fee Plümke f Getty images Sometimes there’s a spark. And then it catches on and ignites a fire. The Democratic pre-elections were never as exciting as between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama – now the dice has been cast for Obama. Perhaps the celebreties were the ones who rocked in the deciding pre-election votes.

Pop stars getting involved in electoral battles is nothing new. Candidates have long surrounded themselves with celebrities. But musicians actually getting together and writing election songs, that’s something special. The video “Yes We Can” by Black Eyed Peas lead singer Will.i.am is a musical version of one of Obama’s speeches. The senator’s powerful voice is laid over catchy guitar riffs and well-known voices and is sung by emotional supporters: actress Scarlett Johannson, R&B artist John Legend, rap star Common, Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls – something for every taste. Support for Obama has spread like wildfire: Will Smith, TV legend Oprah Winfrey and Michael Stipe of R.E.M. – the list is endless.

Rappers Common and Talib Kweli were the first to use Obama in their lyrics. With a cover story, the hip hop magazine Vibe made the scene’s affection for the candidate official.

The politician especially likes to be seen with favourite friend Stevie Wonder, who enthuses about Obama’s merits at every given opportunity. But those willing to do something for him aren’t just limited to funk and soul stars. Old-school Californian rockers The Grateful Dead came together after four years for

a reunion concert and gave him a boost with the motto ‘Deadheads for Obama’.

The election campaign has gotten things moving. Rigid structures are crumbling. Stars are shining for a new America with a stirring dynamic that hasn’t been seen for a long, long time – probably never before. On the other side stood Hillary Clinton, at the time Obama’s opponent, in the race for the presidential candidacy. With people like Elton John, Bon Jovi, Barbra Streisand and Magic Johnson, the wife of former president Bill had the older generation on her side, though she was able to brag the support of Madonna and hip hop greats Timbaland and 50 Cent. Having said that, “50” ran the thing through his head again. On a MTV appearance he announced, with a clenched fist, “I’m Obama to the end now, baby!” And as if that wasn’t enough, a video of twitchy noname amateur musicians appeared titled “Hillary 4 u & Me”: their performance, in which they glorify Hillary as the next president, was so embarrassing, much speculation arose that it may have really been a ploy by Obama supporters who wanted to score one against Hillary. One thing is for sure: Obama’s Republican oponent John McCain will have a very hard time with the army of musicians backing the Democratic party.

Obama and Hillary – find out on the next pages who was backing whom!

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Still good times: Elton John and Hillary Clinton at Radio City Music Hall

HEART-CORE

Elton John for Hillary

Timbaland for Hillary

50 Cent for Hillary – or rather yet Obama?

“I’m not a politician but I believe in the work that Hillary does.” With these words, the British pop legend Elton John beat the campaign drum for his friend Hillary at a benefit gala in New York at the beginning of April ‘08. Six thousand fans packed into Radio City Music Hall and added 2.5 million dollars to the campaign coffers of their favourite candidate! “I believe this country is worth fighting for,” announced the senator, who likes to see herself as the champion of the poor. That night, however, they were nowhere to be seen amongst Clinton’s big dollar donors.

And then there was Elton John. He dove in to support his Hillary in the fight for the White House. And look: she’s still standing… NOT!

At the end of March the hip hop megaproducer held a private concert with BBQ in Miami, Florida. Guests invited to his villa donated a total of 800,000 dollars to Hillary’s campaign. An unusual alliance. Timbaland is known for his nasty lyrics that are packed full of “niggers and bitches”: “all the hoes love a nigga, they be backing it up…” Hillary, on the other hand, stands for an anti-sexist message.

But one thing is true for both: They love money and they “be stacking it up!”

In an interview with MTV news in February, the 32-year old rapper from Queens shows support for Hillary Clinton as the next president: ‘‘I‘d like to see Hillary be president. It would be nice to see a woman be the actual president.”

Further sources quote 50 being worried about Obama: “I‘m not sure America‘s ready to have a black president. I think they might kill him.“ But a few weeks later he has a change of mind. After hearing a speech by Obama the rapper is so inspired that he jumps ships: „I heard Obama speak“, the rapper raves, „I‘m Obama to the end now, baby!“ But wait – 50 also admitted the whole race for the White House bores him. Hm. Gangsta rapper from the hood

– undecided.

Elton John f Sam Taylor-Wood 50 Cent f Universal Music

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Timbaland f Universal Music

HEART-CORE

TWO CITIES…

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sAf Wolfgang Altmann, stylesight.com

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TWO FLAVORS HEART-CORE

HEART-CORE

LOOK Girls Name: June Rally (left) Profession: Stylist What are you wearing?

12th Street by Cynthia Vincent, vintage Best Fashion Advice: Keep proportions simple and look for unique vintage to mix in.

Favorite Designers: Alexander McQueen, Lanvin Name: Simone Daks Profession: Model/Actress What are you wearing?

Betsey Johnson dress, Chanel shoes Best Fashion Advice: Keep it feminine.

Favorite Designers: Chanel, Stella McCartney

GUYS Name: Hiro Nagata (left) Profession: Designer What are you wearing?

Nike jacket, KIKS TYO shirt, Kangol hat for a collaboration with Alife, Converse Best Fashion Advice: Always look fresh.

Favorite Brands: Billionaire Boys Club, G-Shock

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Name: Peter Miszuk Profession: Photographer What are you wearing?

Vintage shoes, Ksubi jeans, T-shirt by The Cast, J. Crew cardigan, David Steele hat Best Fashion Advice: Make sure it fits and if it doesn’t bring it to a tailor.

Favorite Brands: A.P.C., Ksubi, The Cast

HEART-CORE

LOOK Girls Name: Dominique (left) Profession: Actress What are you wearing?

A mixture of pieces, a leather vest from American Rag, tank from Urban Outfitters and shoes by Report Best Fashion Advice: Mix vintage with new pieces, stick to one “trend” at a time and most important be comfortable in what you are wearing!

Favorite Designers: Jeremy Scott, Alexander McQueen Name: Mary-Beth Profession: Model What are you wearing?

Random black ribbon, necktie I found, white gap shirt and my favorite jeans.

Best Fashion Advice: Be comfortable and classic at all times.

Favorite Designers: I like a bunch of different designers. My favorites are Prada, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, Dior, Lanvin… I love them all!

GUYS Name: LV (left) Profession: Stylist Best Fashion Advice: Leave your house everyday as if you are walking down the runway.

Favorite Designers: Marc Jacobs, Raf Simons, Tom Ford

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Name: Gabe de Dios Profession: Stylist What are you wearing?

Vintage jacket, socks and shorts from H&M, Nike sneakers, and homemade jewelry.

Best Fashion Advice: Don’t be afraid to express yourself.

Favorite Designers: Rojas, Jeremy Scott, Balenciaga e

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A rockstar look for rockstars – the band Young Lords dress in What Comes Around Goes Around. f What Comes Around Goes Around Archive

WHAT COMES AROUND GOES AROUND

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College buddies Gerard Maione and Seth Weisser discovered their passion for vintage clothing and, in the early 90s, they decided to travel the whole world searching for just that: “We travelled to Europe, Canada, Japan and every corner of America,” says Seth, one of the owners of What Comes Around Goes Around. “The contacts we made with vintage dealers back then resulted in a worldwide network.”

In 1993 the duo founded their vintage archive, in which they have collected 100,000 unique pieces, dating from 1860 to 1980. Today their 7,000 m2 factory space in the downtown New York neighbourhood of Tribeca is a pilgrimage site for fashion designers and stylists hoping to get inspired by old treasures. Top designers are also regular visitors. Who exactly, Seth won’t say. Discretion is a matter of honour for the two 40-year-olds. But if you take a closer look at the Victorian garments, you’ll find details like puffed sleeves or buttons we’ve seen in Dior or Westwood garb.

Seth doesn’t have a special favourite in his collection.

He’s more in love with an entire era: the revolutionary Rock ‘n’ Roll culture of the late 60s and early 70s. “That was the time when people began to wear vintage in a fashionable context,” says Seth. His favourite example is Jimmy Hendrix’s 100-year-old uniform jacket. No wonder that their own

collection, which they founded two years ago, reflects this same Rock ‘n’ Roll vibe. But it’s not about T-shirts bearing banal band names. Their pieces interpret, rather, the style of rockstars. It’s a look that is both casual and slinky and takes elements from the mod, hippy and psychedelic movements.

They get their ideas from London, New York and California and have a design team realise them under their guidance.

Often they’ll reinterpret old pieces. “We have a very clear idea of what details are important,” says Seth, and stresses that it’s not about making clothes that look old.

The women’s line differs significantly from the men’s collection. “It’s not a masculine reinterpretation of the men’s styles. It has its very own feminine side,” says Seth. “A bit like Kate Moss and Peter Doherty – the rockstar and his girlfriend.” The women’s line consists of jackets, trench coats, blouses, tunics and dresses in radiant colours – sexy, edgy and classic. The men’s collection is kept dark with jackets and leather jackets in the urban hippy style. Most of the fabrics are high-quality Italian materials, which are pre-washed so that they look somewhat broken down. The What Comes Around Goes Around collection is available in their own shop in Soho, at Saks 5th Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Harvey Nicols and will soon be sold in 14 oz. e

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BRAND

The man behind Ed Hardy is Christian Audigier. f Ed Hardy

by Christian Audigier Archive

ED HARDY BY CHRISTIAN AUDIGIER in 2008. It’s not just the Ed Hardy line that contributes to these sales figures – add to that his denims, polos, swimwear, underwear, shoes, kidswear, belts, bags, wines, vodka, beer, energy drinks, mineral water and air freshener. Additional income comes from the pricey Christian Audigier collection and his latest spin-off: Smet.

His motto is as simple as it is ingenious: create clothes that everyone loves, give them to people in the limelight and the cameras are sure to find them. And once the clothes are in the magazines, they’ll soon be bought by normal mortals.

The concept worked at Von Dutch, it works with the Ed Hardy line and it’s sure to work with the Christian Audigier collection. Good design is essential. That’s something the born Frenchman from Avignon knows how to do. Before he came to Los Angeles in 2001, he worked as a freelance designer for more than 60 brands, including Buffalo, Naf Naf, Kookai, Kickers, Chipie, Lee, Wrangler and Mustang, to name a few.

It’s hard to believe that a man with so much drive has time for a family. But he does: he has a beautiful wife and four charming children. His oldest seems to have inherited his creative talent. At just 15, she’s working on the design for Audigier’s latest coup: a fashion label for the wild kids of the stars. It is named after his daughter: Crystal Rock. e 065

Modesty is not one of Christian Audigier’s (50) strengths.

When he welcomes me into his loft-sized office at his headquarters in LA, he tells me without batting an eyelid, how every celeb on the planet wears Ed Hardy: Michael Schumacher, Heidi Klum, Madonna, Jessica Alba, Jessica Simpson, Shakira, Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Larry King, Paris Hilton, Puff Daddy, Snoop Dog, Johnny Hallyday, Eros Ramazotti, Pavarotti, Bono, Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, Mike Tyson – and that’s no exaggeration. Far from it: in the reception and entrance area dozens of photos hang as proof that a lot more celebrities wear his stuff.

After he dropped his design job at Von Dutch four years ago, he started looking for a new challenge and found it on the streets of LA. “Here are so many people with tattoos,” he explains. “That inspired me.” Clueless about the needle, he went to the “Godfather of tattoo” himself: Donald Eduard Hardy, who’s now sunning himself somewhere between San Francisco and Hawaii. “He lives well off of the money I paid him for the rights to the scripts and motifs,” explains Audigier. A good deal. Because the idea paid off.

His company exploded with revenues of 115 million dollars in 2007 and projected revenues of 300 million dollars

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shops ALIFE RIVINGTON CLUB Aaron Bondaroff (aka A-Ron, or “The Downtown Don”) may be a controversial figure among some crowds, sometimes stemming from his many side projects, but if there is one thing he has gotten right, it’s the well-established but still cutting edge Lower East Side destination Alife Rivington Club. Revered among sneaker lovers and the fashion crowd alike, Alife uses a bland, hidden storefront to add to their word-of-mouth cachet, but once inside the vibe is much more sumptuous, an oak paneled den showcasing rows of colorful limited-edition sneakers, clothing and jewelry. Collaborations are rife here as well, such as high profile work with Nike and Asics. Often snagging certain styles before other stores, Alife is a must-see, standout NYC classic, which despite its members-only trappings, you don’t have to be a member to get in. h www.rivingtonclub.com

Alife 158 Rivington Street New York, NY 10002 212 375 81 28

OPENING CEREMONY

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Launched downtown in 2002, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim’s vision for the original Opening Ceremony store has lasted through numerous designer collaborations, space expansions and a West Coast addition. An original commitment to the promotion and development of young designers from around the globe remains, fueling a rise to cult-status with chic downtowners, indie celebrities and international visitors.

Positioned on an obscure block wedged between Chinatown and Soho, all three levels of the Manhattan outpost are filled with an eclectic mix of clothing, accessories, books and magazines for both men and women. This increasing roster includes stars like Alexandre Hercovitch, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, Richard Nicoll, Hussein Chalayan, Topshop and Ann-Sofie Back, as well as classic re-issues from Barbour and the results of recent collaborations with Chloe Sevigny and Wong Kar-Wai. In addition to the curated items available on the floor, Leon and Lim have expanded their in-house line of clothing, which began with a modest offering of coats and jackets, to include footwear and a larger selection of tops and bottoms. Best described as modernized vintage, a neutral palette and natural materials like cotton, silk and canvas give the collection a cohesive, interchangeable quality, quite the opposite of trendier fast fashion. This consideration for style before fashion sets the Opening Ceremony retail experience apart from more selfconscious retailers, creating a friendly atmosphere inside the store, a place designed for browsing and hanging out as much as serious shopping. h www.openingceremony.us

Opening Ceremony 35 Howard Street New York, NY 10013 212 219 26 88

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“Sex and the City is dirty”

Jeff Staple (33) was born in New Jersey as the son of Chinese parents and knows New York like the back of his hand. In 1997 he founded the streetwear label Staple Design in Manhattan.

He cooperates with many big-name fashion companies such as Nike, Burton Snowboards and LVMH, and also owns two Reed Space concept stores – one in Tokyo, one in New York.

BBBulletIN visited him in his design office in the Lower East Side and chatted with him about New York and LA and how Manhattan has changed over the past 15 years.

i Wolfgang Altmann f Jerry Hsiao Is New York still the “Capital of the World’’?

Yes, because New York fulfils all the requirements of a world capital. For example, there’s the Fashion District, the Financial District, which includes Wall Street, Lincoln Centre, Broadway, and the Gallery District in the Meatpacking and Chelsea areas; all of which cater for everything from performance and fine art to design and from media and commerce to the night club and music scene. There are so many different influences that all play together… but of course New York can’t be unbeatable in all fields. If, for example, finance is very strong, it’s clear that art will decline somewhat. In Berlin it’s the opposite; there the economy is weak, but art is very strong. At the moment, business in New York is ahead of creativity, which means there’s a Starbucks or H&M on every corner.

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What was New York like in the 80s?

The city was dangerous – with a lot of tension everywhere.

But tension is also good for creativity. Nightlife was totally crazy. There were clubs like Limelight, the Palladium, Club USA and Mars, where raves later took place. These were all clubs where the most influential DJs spun. Our mayor at the time was black, David N. Dinkins. Then came Rudolph W. Giuliani who became famous for cracking down with a lot of cops in order

to get street crime under control. After that the city became safer and safer, but also more boring. Now you can walk across Times Square without being harassed by prostitutes. New York today wants to welcome everyone with open arms, almost like Disneyworld. That sounds like an exaggeration, but compared to the way New York was in the 80s, it’s really true.

Describe it for us: What was it like?

When you took the subway it was a pure horror show: graffiti, rats and crime everywhere. Today you see tourists from Kansas having a conversation, (raises his voice) “Which way are we going?” As if they were looking for the next attraction in Disneyworld. You know those double-decker sightseeing buses? It would be ok if they stayed on Times Square, but now they even come down here. You know, I live in a residential neighborhood. The people observe me from their bus window, as I’m getting changed in my apartment, (raises his voice again) “And here you can see a resident of the Lower East Side.” – as if I was in a zoo.

But you don’t hate New York, do you?

It’s love-hate. I hate New York but know at the same time that there’s no other city where I could live and work. 50% of

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Designer Jeff Staple loves and hates New York and…

How does New York function?

In New York there are a lot of opportunities, but also a lot of “hungry” people. I’ll give you an example: when you wrote me the email asking for an interview, I answered immediately.

If I hadn’t done that, I would have risked you asking someone else and I would have missed out on doing the interview.

That’s the New York mentality. For everyone there’s always just “one” chance, because you know that there are hundreds of other people who would take advantage of that chance. We’re hustlers. That has to do with the size of the city. You know, Manhattan is an island! Three million people live here in a very small space. On the bus, in the subway, even in restaurants – we always have to fight for every bit of space.

Is it the same in Tokyo?

The difference between Tokyo and New York, and now we’re coming to the second aspect behind the secret of this city, is the multi-culture. In Tokyo there are basically only Japanese people. There is a dominant monoculture. In a subway car here you’ll see a white guy, an Asian guy, a Hasidic Jew, a skinhead and a black guy. So? It’s okay! The person opposite me might be

my enemy, but we’re sharing the Uptown train. It’s fine.

Can you describe your own multicultural roots?

I grew up in the house of my parents and grandparents, which was very Asian, very traditional Chinese. But in an area that was mostly Jewish. We were the only Chinese family in the middle of a Jewish community. If I walked out the door I was in a Jewish Town, back inside I was in China, and in half an hour I was in New York. That was something totally different again.

What sort of area is this?

This is the Lower East Side, a historically Jewish neighborhood. When the immigrants came to New York in boats around the turn of the century, they first had to check in and register on Ellis Island. Once released, most of them headed to the areas around Wall Street and lived in Tenement apartment buildings. Most Jewish and Irish immigrants came here.

The Chinese, Italians and Spanish came later.

Why did you choose this particular area?

I’ve lived in a lot of neighborhoods in New York: in Brooklyn, on Union Square, in the East Village and Chinatown. The nice thing about the Lower East Side is that it’s one of the last New York neighborhoods that have a small-town atmosphere.

When I moved here in 2001, it was a still a cheap place to live.

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the success I have with my work is thanks to New York. If I had done the same in Tokyo, LA or San Francisco I wouldn’t be where I am today.

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Though rents have gone up a lot, it’s still cheaper here than most parts of Manhattan. It’s become pretty expensive (thinks)… actually it’s crazy expensive (laughs). Yet people starting up in a creative profession who aren’t making so much money can still afford to live here. But that’s changing slowly with an American Apparel, Starbucks and three boutique hotels having recently established themselves here.

How do you feel about these changes?

I think it’s a shame, but at the same time I’m glad that I have my shop and my business here. It’s good if people come here and spend money in my store and other mom n’ pop businesses. But since I also live here I want this village atmosphere to be preserved and not degenerate into a shopping mall.

Which part of New York is still interesting?

Unfortunately I have to say that it’s become pretty boring here. I have to travel to get inspired. Last year, for example, I went to Berlin six times and have to say that you feel a lot more creative energy there than here. I’ve also been to China a lot: Beijing and Shanghai and also to South America, to Buenos Aires. In all of those cities I feel like I did in New York 15 years ago. They have this energy, lots of young, creative people.

In New York everyone is concerned about earning enough money to survive and nothing else. There’s no time for creativity. Isn’t there a city in America where it’s more balanced?

It’s bad and I hate to say it, but in LA maybe? Let me make one thing clear, I hate LA. But I have to say that the influence of New York has increased in LA. I was there recently and I have to admit that they have the right mix there. People are productive and enjoy a good lifestyle. LA always has great weather, great food and a very laid-back atmosphere, but the culture is lacking. For me LA was always a bunch of lazy people with no culture. But New York is starting to have a big influence and it’s apparent in two streets: Fairfax Street and La Brea Street.

If you see the shops there, you really have the feeling of being in New York. There you have relaxed people AND culture.

I hate to say it, but wow, some pretty good things are happening there.

What annoys you about LA? In LA things happen slowly. Oh my God, so fucking slow.

When I was there recently I thought that what I got done in LA in eight hours I could have done in under four hours in New York – because in LA you’re sitting in the car most of the time.

If you need 30 minutes to get somewhere in New York you need four hours to get there in LA. You lose four hours of productivity in a day. So many days are lost just because you’re sitting in traffic. But if you accept that you have to spend half of your life in your car, with a nice coffee and good music, then you can live quite relaxed there. Not like here, where you rush from one meeting to the next, (talking fast) I have to go to that meeting, have a lunch meeting with this person and then a conference call right after that.

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Do you think the situation in New York will change after the elections?

I don’t think that the American president has any influence whatsoever on cultural life in New York. I don’t want to sound too negative, but I predict New York will go through a low point over the next four-five years, before people wake up.

The problem is that everyone who lives here thinks, New York is number one. New York is the shit; and most people believe it because they don’t compare it to other cities. At some point these people are going to find out that New York is a wreck and then they’re going to realise it’s no longer number one.

… he hates LA.

What’s the problem?

There are too many people with too much money here.

They’re having the time of their life and aren’t thinking about whether New York is a cultural centre or not. They’d rather have dinner at Nobu, hang out in Cipriani and then go to The Box. A Las Vegas/Miami Beach attitude has crept in, where it’s only about partying. This rich, party lifestyle doesn’t make New York special, unfortunately.

Sounds like Sex and the City…

You said it. Here everyone is trying to copy the Sex and the City lifestyle: those cosmo-drinking women in Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo. That’s the New York of today. But Sex and the City didn’t make New York cool. What happened here before did. Sex and the City is dirty, a dirty attitude which attracts people who want to emulate that lifestyle. But at some point those people are going to find that’s boring as well.

Which neighborhood would you suggest our readers take a look around in?

This neighborhood, the Lower East Side. There are a lot of creative people here who have opened their own shops and tried to start their own business. More and more start-up galleries are moving here. Compared to Midtown where you have the huge skyscrapers, traffic and neon lights, here it’s just nice when you come up out of the metro. e

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Party until Week ends

Forget Williamsburg, forget the Meatpacking District. If you want to party, go out in the Lower East Side. Here hip New Yorkers throw the best parties in the world. Our writer David Roth immersed himself in the weekday nightlife for us and caught up on his sleep at the weekend.

s David Roth f Mikail Wassmer

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The New York party week begins on Monday. If you’re hip, you are seen in the right clubs. The current rage is the “Darkroom”. But that could change tomorrow, because the club has been shuttered by the police more than once. Whoever manages to find the entrance will understand quickly why it’s called the “Darkroom”. A sign states simply “Bar” and dark stairs lead into the cellar. The lighting is poor, in stark contrast to the flamboyant crowd at the bar: tarted up hairdressers, tipsy art students, rockstars and groupies celebrate the club, New York, and, last but not least, themselves. It’s a true pleasure to watch them doing so.

Even if it doesn’t last long. Here everyone is integrated, no one has to be alone. Despite Happy Hour at 11pm, it’s advisable not to drink too much – or to have a strong bladder. Because in New York the Darkroom toilet enjoys the dubious reputation of being “the most fucked up place”. That didn’t prevent British singer Pete Doherty from passing out there with a needle in his arm. It’s well worth sticking to the dancefloor – not just for the whacked out mix of rock and wave-beats.

Sex-massage with Keith Richards If you’ve survived Monday in one piece, you can continue No beating on Tuesday. The “Six Six Sick-Party” is a fixture of New York around the bush nightlife. Once again, if you’re not in the know, you’ll have trouin New York: ble finding the club. The party takes place in the trendy “Happy Ending”. Though “Xie He Health Club” is written above the door.

Confusion guaranteed. The former sex club is also responsiHappy Ending ble for the current name: “Happy Ending” is a term used in 302 Broome Street the erotic-massage scene. It’s when, at the end of the masLower East Side sage, the customer can come before he goes. If you arrive at 11pm, you’ll find the open bar. The uninitiated take advantage Don Hill’s of their good fortune and test their way through every varia511 Greention of vodka. Those in the know enjoy their favourite drink – at wich Street double speed. Because at midnight it’s back to regular prices.

West Village The bartender not only resembles Keith Richards, he’s just as knowledgeable when it comes to alcohol. You won’t find a betDarkroom ter gin and tonic in all America, say insiders. Once everyone 165 Ludlow Street is boozed up, after midnight it’s all about one thing: dancing.

Lower East Side

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Trannies, socks, drugs One Wednesday a month, the legendary “rated X, the Panty Panty” takes place at Don Hill’s. The club is located in

the sparkling West Village and is the birthplace of the DJ trio MisShapes, whose fans include the likes of Madonna. The party is a very special type of gala. The highpoint is always a contest moderated by an enormous transsexual. With the words “Get your fucking ass on the stage”, guests are encouraged to strip down in front of the audience. The 100-dollar prize is sufficient motivation.

Following an exotic beauty and a drunken tourist, a man with a sock over his cock steps onto the stage. They’re all out to win over the favour of the audience. The vacationer’s appalling strip routine is met with boos. The sock-man also has no chance against the beautiful Brazilian. How could he? She opens a bottle of beer. Not with a bottle opener, not with her teeth. She prefers to use her labia. Grinning, club owner Don hands over the prize money, mingles in the cheering crowd handing around the sex drug poppers. Everyone’s dancing, the crowd goes wild and looses all it’s inhibitions. The mood has reached boiling point. Nobody cares anymore that the sun is rising and a couple is fucking in the corner. e 077

Men who look like jesters in their leggings twirl across the tiled floor. The women do the same and look as if they came straight from the future. Put simply, it’s madness. The avant-garde of the New York fashion scene meets at “Happy Ending”. The craziest combinations of clothes dominate here. The crowd consists of sexy nerds, downtown fashion kids and artists in bright garb. They dance to throbbing electrobeats – also on tables. The hippest model right now, Aydness Deyn, does so too. Stars are common here. And only a few people seem to notice that she looks amazing again. When a youngster tries to hit on her, she snubs him – in her cool British manner. What the drunken Casanova probably didn’t know: everyone’s equal in “Happy Ending”. Lavishing praise and ass-kissing are taboo.

That’s what the stars love about this club.

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Bang bang you’re dead!

In Street Wars contract killers hunt each other down with water pistols. Three weeks of stalking, pursuing and being pursued – a video game for the streets. The trend from New York is taking over the world.

s Johannes Meiners f Street Wars Archive Imagine, you leave your house in the morning and know that somebody’s after you. Someone in this city wants your head. You walk through the streets, maybe it’s raining and you think: it could be anybody. Is it the guy just coming out of that shop, with the cap pulled low over his face? Or is it the big dark-haired guy hanging around suspiciously in that doorway?

Okay, it’s not the old lady with the crutches – or is it? What would YOU do if you knew that someone was targeting you?

Someone who knows where you live, where you work and who is just waiting for the right moment to finish you off.

Cops and robbers What sounds like a fantasy has long since become a reality in New York. Here, around 150 action-hungry players agree via the website www.streetwars.net to hunt each other down with water pistols for three weeks. The rules are simple: everyone puts in 50 dollars entry fee. Before they start, the players each pick up their own personal envelope. In it they find a photo of their assigned victim: his or her name, address and workplace – then the hunt is on. The aim is to fulfil your assignment and “kill” the victim named in the envelope. In other words: soak them with your squirt gun. As soon as you’ve killed your victim, he hands you his envelope, thereby assigning you to shoot his victim. The game is over once the sole survivor gets his hands on the envelope containing his own information.

From Manhattan around the world

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After a winter break, the game is getting going again in New York. Next will be Los Angeles, Barcelona and Krakow.

In more and more cities, people are being shadowed, stalked and hunted. “We see a distinct difference from place to place as to how people kill. In London the players preferred to kill their victims while looking at them in the eye and using subterfuge. In Paris they were fairly unimaginative and preferred

to wait on long stakeouts of their target’s home. In LA players infiltrated their victim’s social circles and in NYC there were many foot chases,” explains Street Wars founder Franz Aliquo.

He launched the game with a friend in his hometown New York in 2004 – as a kind of action film or video game for the streets, in which anybody can take part. “So far doctors, lawyers, film producers and bartenders have all played along, we’ve even had a 75-year-old grandmother take part,” he enthuses. They all saw it as a break from their daily routine. “Many fulfil their desire to have more fun in life, the way they did when they were kids,” he says. But not everyone finds the game as funny and harmless as his comrades-in-arms. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg thinks it irresponsible to run through the city with water guns in order to drench other people and even suggested Aliquo go see a psychiatrist. But he rejects Bloomberg’s accusation: “The reality of the game is a bunch of adults stealthily creeping about the city with giant brightly colored water guns that are looking to wet other people with water. In each game we have always been warned by local authorities and nothing has ever happened. No panic, no mistaken shootings, no arrests.”

Urban expedition It does seem a bit paranoid to get worked up about a few water pistols in the hands of the public. Streets Wars is a game in which people have fun and which stimulates their imagination. It’s a way to not only get to know totally different types of people, but also the farthest flung corners of the city. You overcome boundaries, as two female players in London discovered when they found out that their target was a call boy. Under the premise of wanting a threesome, they arranged a date.

Instead of group sex their surprised victim got soaked instead.

At the end of the day, it’s up to each person to create their own personal adventure. And of course, to find out whether or not you’re a natural born killer. In any case, fun is guaranteed. e

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Life is all fun and games for the two Street Wars founders.

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American Hip Hop Dream He (35) is the embodiment of the American Dream. Marc Milecofsky, as he’s really called, started printing T-shirts in his parents’ garage in 1993. Today he’s earning millions with his fashion enterprise. The triumph of hip hop was also the triumph of the boy from New Jersey.

BBBulletIN met up with him in his New York headquarters and talked with him about his beginnings, the development of his label and the future of hip hop.

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Marc Ecko on the roof of his New York headquarters.

So you didn’t just listen to hip hop as everyone thinks?

No, my taste wasn’t so one-dimensional. You know, I could be in New York in half an hour, and went to a lot of totally different gigs: I went Jazz at the Supper Club in Manhattan.

I also went to a lot of rap performances, where I sold my first T-shirts. In fact, it was through hip hop that I discovered jazz because jazz samples are often used in hip hop tracks. I still remember well when Spike Lee released his film “Mo’ Better Blues”. In it there’s a scene in which the main characters are looking for old John Coltrane albums in a record store. That scene had a romantic effect on me.

What were you wearing back then?

In the 80s I slowly became aware of what it means to be dressed well. I always wanted to be the best dressed. For example, I would walk around with a leather tie with a piano keyboard print. When I was younger, my friends and I would always wear surf shorts when we went to school dances.

Was hip hop already a fashionable theme in the early 90s?

No, not while I was in high school. The first fashion wave, that a lot of young guys took part in and which I was very influenced by, was this surfer and skater lifestyle. And that came more from the West Coast. It was always a very improvised look. Sneakers were very important: Vans. Back then it wasn’t about whether you had 200 dollar sneakers or a 2,000 dollar Prada blazer in your closet. We took a more intellectual approach to fashion: better informed, smarter. Your belonging to a social group you identified with determined your style.

What did hardcore hip hop fans wear?

Back then no brands that made fashion especially for this target group existed. A lot of people wore Polo Ralph Lauren because it was very important for them to be wearing an expensive brand. This preppy style was a big influence in the late 80s, early 90s. It’s funny: back then everyone was white and preppy. Even street kids were influenced by this trend. There were also other trends: the Beastie Boys, for example, were marked by punk and skater culture. They were a big influence in my high school, because we had a lot of different ethnic groups there. Where I come from, there were a lot of white kids, but also a large black and Latino population. If you were white and listened to hip hop, then you dressed like the Beastie Boys: tight jeans, rolled up, so that you could see the socks and your Jordans and caps worn sideways – that was definitely a very well-accepted, cool way of dressing.

Who else was a fashion role model?

Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest. At the same time, in the early 90s, hip hop started going in a more commercial direction, which gave birth to the really huge hip hop artists. They were family friendly – almost like Disney – and as visual as the funk stars of the 70s. MC Hammer, for example, had that kind of aesthetic. His baggy parachute pants were typical West Coast style back then. The same for Vanilla Ice, though I think he was from Miami.

Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer were also really big in Europe.

And the whole family had fun: MC Hammer even did ads for Kentucky Fried Chicken. That was the absolute sell-out

look. The non-sell-out look that came from the street was much harsher. Coming from the West Coast you had artists like N.W.A., Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. From the East Coast you had De la Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. A Tribe Called Quest were “Lo-Heads”, guys who mostly wore polo shirts.

Wasn’t that preppy style also a big influence on your label?

Yeah, we were one of the first brands to pick up on the polo tradition and were aimed more at white kids than black kids. Karl Kani or Cross Colours, on the other hand, marketed a really striking hip hop style and were the first brands to be really successful with it. For example they had denim jackets in bright colours. But it’s funny, all of these brands are West Coast brands: Karl Kani comes from LA, Cross Colours as well. In New York there was never a brand that got so big. All the New York labels were more indie. Labels like Xlarge, which you could find in the Lower East Side in the Beastie Boys Store or Stash and NFC – and all the hip T-shirt labels, made by graffiti kids.

As hip hop became more and more mainstream in the 2000s, a lot of hip hop brands tried go in a new direction as lifestyle brands. Was it the same for you?

Yes, but in contrast to brands like Pelle Pelle, which embodied a kind of urban ethnic, my brand was never defined in that way. I went for higher quality and a higher price range.

But many of my decisions were wrong: when Prada Sport appeared, I thought, now you have to do this clean look as well.

In 1999 on the eve of the Millenium, I thought that the future was about to arrive and designed trousers in the style of Girbaud. I was totally wrong! I’ve often lost sight of what my customers actually want and what needs they have – I learnt a lot from that.

But some of your decisions must have been right.

Sure. For example, we started working with celebrity marketing in 1997 – and everyone copied us.

With whom?

Mostly with rappers: we started with Q-Tip and George Clinton, and then Dave Chapelle. I had Mobb Deep. I had Joe Hahn. At some point the whole thing reached a high point and I asked myself: what’s next? In 2003, I decided to use myself in the marketing. Take Ralph Lauren and his horse – people know both. But if you only see my rhinoceros, nobody has any idea of who’s actually behind it. Now they know. I’m living and breathing. I’m not some fictional character.

Did you ever guess that hip hop would be so successful?

I knew it because pop culture back then had no flavor.

So what happened had to happen. Today I’m glad it did because it helped to promote an understanding of street culture all around the world.

What’s next?

It’s going to continue: Look at the new Madonna album. It was produced by a hip hop producer. They’re still dominant force in the pop business. Everything produced by Timbaland is pop, but based on hip hop. Kanye West, with his Daft Punk sound is still the best example of that.

And what are you listening to at the moment?

Right now I’m listening to the music that influenced my favourite bands: Donovan, The Yardbirds… I have a really big jazz archive. And of course I listen to what my wife likes to listen to: she’s Latina and listens to a lot of salsa. e

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What music did you listen to back then in the garage?

I listened to a lot of Brand New Heavies. In ’92, ’93 they put out an album with some really good rappers. I also listened to a lot of jazz, because the girls liked that (laughs).

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i Wolfgang Altmann f Marc Ecko Enterprises Archive

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On the trail of the oldest denims

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The world’s first blue jeans – the template for the 501 jeans – were created by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis in 1873. Today they’re loved more than ever. Reason enough for BBBulletIN to go looking for the company’s roots in the city it was founded in, San Francisco.

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sAf Wolfgang Altmann Afterwards I take a closer look at the safe and ask what the inscription 1933 on the shelf means. “That’s when the jeans were manufactured,” explains Lynn. “They belonged to a cowboy from Arizona.” Then she takes another pair out: “These are my favourite jeans!” says Lynn and tells me how they once belonged to a miner called Homer Campbell. He bought this pair of Levi’s at Brayton’s Commercial Company in Wickenburg, Arizona. In 1920, he sent them back to Levi Strauss & Co. because they had not held up as well as the other Levi’s he had worn. Actually, what didn’t hold up was the denim padding he had sewn all over the jeans, to protect himself in the mine.

The pants themselves were still intact underneath. “Isn’t that crazy?” she asks me and gives me gloves so that I can touch them. Unbelievable: the miner’s patchwork weighs at least a kilo. Then she removes another bundle: a closed front jumper from the year 1890. Whoever it belonged to sewed on extra buttons so that the mine dust wouldn’t get past the button facing. “So he re-designed it,” I say. This is the cue for Lynn to take me into the neighbouring room, where there are piles of countless grey cardboard boxes containing the most extraordinary Levi’s models.

“Here you’ll find the opposite of what I just showed you,” explains Lynn and single-mindedly pulls a box from the shelf, opens it and takes out a decorated jeans jacket. “It was specially produced for Elton John,” she says, pointing to the autograph on the front. Then she shows me a denim jacket that the French fashion designer Jacques Fath converted into evening wear. She pulls out her favourite piece: a jeans jacket

by Yves Saint Laurent, which is covered in rivets and rhinestones. “Sometimes I wear it at marketing and PR events,” she laughs. “That’s part of my job.” Finally, she shows me the craziest model. “Isn’t this absurd?” she asks, as she holds up a jeans jacket with a Garden of Eden motif on it. It comes from an unknown designer who sold it on the Internet. We leave the archive and enter the library next door where countless books, posters, figurines and other knickknacks are exhibited. On the wall hangs an old family portrait. “The man in the chair is Levi Strauss,” she explains and adds that he was a very friendly and courteous man and that he never married, but lived with his sisters and their children all his life. She seems so enamoured by him that I think to myself: If they had lived at the same time, Lynn would have married him. Instead, she makes sure that his spirit lives on today. “And when I’m no longer around,” she jokes at the end of my visit, “I will still wander through these corridors as a ghost.” e 083

A spring day in San Francisco: a cool Pacific breeze blows in my face as I walk across Levi’s Plaza. In front of me is a seven-storey building with a glass façade, framed by thick brick walls. A look at the people who are enjoying the warm sunshine outside the Levi’s world head office gives me that college campus feeling. The building houses the Levi’s archive – the documentation of 155 years of company history.

The lady at the reception is expecting me and announces my arrival to Lynn Downey, head of the archive. No one checks my ID or my pockets – which is surprising at a company of this size. We’re not in New York, but California, where the people tend to be more trusting. A blond woman approaches and welcomes me with the words, “I’ve got the best job in the world.” You can’t tell that she’s already 53 years old. A great job keeps you young, it seems. She takes me with her, past the documentation centre, which is open to all, towards the archive. On the entrance, a simple printed sign warns: staff only. Only Levi’s employees from the design departments are Above (from granted access. I belong to the few select journalists who are left): Yves Saint allowed to enter.

Laurent went wild The archive doesn’t look the way I imagined it: No high with sparkles. filing cabinets made from dark wood, no dust, no order. Instead, documents lie scattered all over the large table in the The gospel middle. On another table lie piles of clothes. Lynn introduces interpreted me to Stacia, who sits at her desk and takes care of admin. differently.

Hello, how are you? Nice to meet you. The usual greeting ritual… Then Lynn tells me how she founded the archive nearly Left (clockwise 20 years ago and has built it up since then. She researches from top): and collects Levi’s models from all over the world, writes No entry for articles and books and is spokeswoman for anything to do with normal people. the company’s history. And so, where are the relics? “I’ll show them to you,” she says and points to the blue safe. “In there The very lucky you’ll find the most important pieces.” Awestruck, I look away BBBulletIN as she enters the code. Then she opens the doors, puts on editor-in-chief white cotton gloves and takes out something wrapped in white Wolfgang Altmann cloth. “In here are the oldest jeans in the world!” she exclaims, gets a glimpse of as she places the bundle on the table. As she removes the white Levi’s greatest cloth, she says it once again, with more devotion: “the oldest treasures. jeans in the world from the year 1879,” and then she explains that these are the famous 501 jeans, known between 1873 Lynn Downey and 1890 as “XX“ – a term that was also the designation for the loves her job. denim used in their manufacture. The pants have the Arcuate stitching design on the single back pocket. The second back The relics on pocket was added in 1901. They also have the traditional watch the table. pocket in the front.

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against Size Zero Paige Adams-Geller (39) is the founder of Paige Premium Denim. Three years ago she launched her label in LA after working there for years as a fit model for labels like Guess Jeans, Lucky Jeans, True Religion, Seven for all mankind and Citizens of Humanity. Beforehand she was under contract with the New York modelling agency Elite and had suffered from anorexia. Today she’s fighting against the disease. Her weapons: jeans that are so well cut that normal people can look like supermodels. They lift the ass, making the hips and legs look slimmer. BBBulletIN editor-in-chief Wolfgang Altmann visited her at her LA headquarters and checked out Paige’s denim for himself.

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“I weighed 25 pounds less than I do now.”

Wow, in these I’ve got the ass of a teenager.

The same principle applies with men as with women. Except that the pockets are lower on the men’s models because it’s more aesthetic on men. If the pockets were as high as on women’s jeans it would look too feminine. There’s a perfect cut for every body type. For boys we have some which sit lower. For older men who prefer to cover up their belly, we have higher cut jeans.

When you get older you eventually have to decide whether you’re going to wear your pants above or below your stomach.

That’s true (laughs). How you wear your jeans depends on your personality: high, low or baggy. Anyhow, a lot of women tell me their husbands never looked so good in a pair of jeans.

Which famous men wear PPD? Kanye West, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon...

How did you come up with the idea?

I worked as a fit model for a long time. At some point when I was trying on clothes I started to get involved in the design process and asked direct questions such as: what is you target group? What age group do you want to appeal to? Soon I was not “just” the fit model, but became a proper design consultant.

Of course I used that experience when I founded my own label.

How did it develop?

When I began working as a fit model, I realised that the designers didn’t see things I noticed. So I began to speak up: for example, that I wouldn’t wear that top, because… and then I would explain why. Because the sleeves were cut too wide, for instance. Through me, the designers could imagine how their customers felt in their clothes. So I started to become more and more of a fitting expert.

Interesting. Normally, as a fit model, you can’t make a sound while trying on clothes.

Of course in the beginning I had to be very careful. With some labels I wasn’t allowed to utter a single word. They’d say right away: this isn’t your project! I quickly learnt that I should only make a contribution when it was appropriate.

Before you became a fit model, you were a runway model.

Is there a big difference?

Yes, it’s very different. As a runway model you’re basically a clothes hanger and have to be very thin. A fit model is a full size model with the average size of an American or international woman. As a runway model you’re size 0 or 2, while as a fit model you’re a 6 or an 8. Size 8 is ideal because the sizes go up to size 14 and size 8 is exactly in the middle. Designers need this average size to be able to make their pattern.

Were you also a size zero model?

Almost. At the time I weighed about 95 pounds. Can you imagine: 25 pounds less than now? I was really thin. But for the catwalk and for magazine shoots it was perfect. I starved myself to get into the clothes and was always worried whether I was really thin enough. I was really unhappy at that time and

then decided to move to Southern California to go to college.

Back then I had a thousand jobs at once: I was in a theatre agency, a singer’s agency, a modelling agency. I sang in a band.

Other people managed my life and everyone wanted something else from me: for one I was too tall, for the other too small or too blonde, too thin, not thin enough… The more I was managed by other people, the more I lost control over my life.

How did that express itself?

I had the ever growing feeling I couldn’t please anyone anymore. The only thing I could control was eating. So I began to eat less and less, because I liked the feeling of emptiness and I got complimented for it: everyone said how great I looked. I felt like I had myself under control. The dangerous thing is that food no longer agrees with you if you attempt eat normally, because your body is running at a low flame.

How long did it last?

That went on for years. Luckily, I eventually met my husband Michael who helped me take the right steps to begin therapy.

Honestly, it doesn’t surprise me if young girls in the USA develop eating disorders – with all the diet products and miracle pills that you see advertised on TV all the time.

It’s everywhere. It is, in fact, a societal problem, because you receive suggestions from all sides that you should be rich and thin – as if that was the most important thing in the world.

A lot people orient themselves toward celebrities who are really thin, because they look better on TV that way. That’s even more true for the fashion world: clothes look best on really thin models. The samples shown on the catwalk are cut extra small. The problem is that celebrities have taken over the role of models and when they walk across the red carpet at the Oscars, they wear these small-sized samples.

So celebrities are to blame for the size zero madness?

Yes, because they’re even more popular than the supermodels of the 90s. And there’s no end in sight. I was at a casting recently where five girls presented themselves. They all looked great: they had blonde hair, green eyes and were thin.

I asked the director what he was looking for and he answered: for a big head and a small body. The bigger the head and the smaller the body, the better they look in front of the camera.

That’s where the term ‘lollipop’ comes from.

What are you doing to counteract this as a designer?

I produce samples in normal sizes and show them on normal women’s bodies. But when I want to do a fashion show and ask a modelling agency for models sized 6 or 8, they always say: we don’t have models with those sizes. That’s too big. We only have models in size 4. My clothes would fall right off of them. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t want to discriminate against size zero girls. Many are naturally thin. By the way, Amber Valetta, Tyra Banks, Jessica Biel and Halle Berry think the same way I do and support me.

Will people think differently in the future?

I think there will be thin models in the future as well. That’s the nature of this business. I also know that many models – not all – take drugs or pills to stay thin. I think drug tests would help so that models wouldn’t starve themselves by artificial means. I’m hopeful that an attitude in society towards a healthier lifestyle will grow. e

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So, if I wore Paige Denim, then it wouldn’t flap around so much in the back as with my jeans?

Exactly (Paige leaves the room and returns with a pair of her PPD men’s jeans, which I try on next door.)

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i Wolfgang Altmann f www.paigepremiumdenim.com

SPRING/SUMMER 09

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GLOBAL FASHION AND TREND INTELLIGENCE

Extraordinary we celebrate the real, good, kind, true and the downright ordinary. Old-fashioned mores such as thank you notes are reexplored, while traditional pursuits such as reading, bee-keeping and playing in brass bands are revisited. Rather than blindly celebrating retro style however, we’re also championing those who are improving on our day-to-day lives with innovation and creativity. We are championing the spirit of optimism and fun along with a sentimental stylized kitsch. Adopt a slower, more creative modus operandi and reap the benefits of real life.

Connect encourages urbanites to revitalise the urban environment with colour, dynamic concepts and inspirational structures.

Creative thinking delivers new solutions that stimulate the senses and redress the negative elements that come with city living. Share styles, techniques and indigenous wisdom to untie everyone under one cultural umbrella. Utilize dynamic design concepts and the cross-pollination of international idealism to allow for a pulsating vigorous cultural nomadic style.

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is inspired by scientists becoming the new creative’s and artists increasingly looking towards science. Designers are encouraged to morph biology and technology, simplify future design and add substance through usefulness for confident creative solutions. A softer, more tactile approach to technological concepts creates a more human, emotional element and seems less foreboding. This futuristic direction has soul and warmth.

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Exclusive for BBBulletIN, WGSN presents what’s going to be hot in 2009. Highlighted for this edition are key materials, shapes, mood and colour direction for Spring/Summer 2009, plus WGSN’s renowned street snap shots of current key looks. Next to street looks such as Well Plaid, Denim and Streetgeeks, the three key macro trends identified by WGSN are Transform, Extraordinary, and Connect: Transform

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Linda Ehrl f WGSN

R E TA I L

14 oz.

World-class urban selection

Come July 17, BREAD & BUTTER Holding GmbH is opening a shop in Berlin’s thriving fashion district Mitte.

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A small glimpse of a great store: concept and design by Ansgar Schmidt and Henning Ziepke of the Berlin architecture office s1 architektur

The return of a legend The opportunity presented itself: when Karl-Heinz found out that a location was going to be available on Neue Schönhauser Straße, he seized the chance and rented the storefront of a beautiful building with bay windows and balustrades: it was built in neo-Renaissance style in 1891 by Alfred Messel, who later made a name for himself as an architect with the big Wertheim department stores. His early work in the Neue Schönhauser Straße however, became famous, or rather notorious, for other reasons. Initially the building housed a dining hall for the poor to eat and drink coffee. When, after the First World War, Café Dalles moved in, it began disintegrating.

A Berlin police inspector reported, that, “during the time of inflation, dozens of vans full of riff-raff were taken away from there in police raids.” Following the Second World War, the building was used as a warehouse. Only in the mid-90s did it see

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If you know Karl-Heinz Müller (51), you know that deep down the entrepreneur actually has the heart of a retailer.

Before he founded BREAD & BUTTER, he opened 14 oz. in 1999, in Cologne – a shop that became Europe’s forefront in denim and urban wear. The tradeshow’s 2003 move to Berlin spelled the end of the shop. “I was very sad about the decision,” he explains, “but I didn’t want to manage the store from Berlin.” But knowing Karl-Heinz Müller you’d also know that it wasn’t to be goodbye forever. He’d often speak of the shop affectionately, which carried brands like Fake London, Maharishi, Levi‘s Vintage, Evisu and Edwin Jeans. DJs, musicians, fashion and media people – the whole scene got their gear there and on the street you’d spot a 14 oz. shopper a mile away. The shop was a legend: not just in Cologne, but in all of Germany. That’s exactly what he wanted to re-create.

And he knew that at some point he would have the perfect opportunity.

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s Wolfgang Altmann f s1 architektur Archive

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new glory. It was renovated and most recently housed the fashionable bar and restaurant Schwarzenraben.

Dignified flair “I want to maintain the soul of this building,” states KarlHeinz as he sets off to find adequate furnishings to decorate the interior. And he finds just what he’s after – in Paris, not far from the prestigious Rue Saint-Honoré. There, in the first story of a residential building, an elderly couple used to run a fabric shop, which they recently gave up in order to go into well-earned retirement. Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent used to purchase fabric at Agabeyan Frères, as the shop was called. There’s an air of nostalgia in the old store, whose interior dates back to the turn of the century. Many of the display cabinets, which are covered in jade-coloured leather, now stand proud in the new 14 oz. – accompanied by antique tables and leather chairs, cast-iron vases, sofas and stylish Art Deco lamps. The 14 oz. interior design emphasises the beauty of

the 400m2 retail space with its 4.5m-high ceilings. On entering the store you get the feeling it’s always been furnished that way. The original Agabeyan Frères brass sign has been given a special place of honour, and the beautifully designed Four Seasons Garden in the backyard emanates old-fashioned charm.

Only the high-tech jellyfish aquarium suggests that we’re actually in the year 2008.

Cool, not elitist The interior provides an appropriate setting for the product range: only high-quality, eco-conscious and genuine brands with a strong profile and philosophy behind their products were selected for 14 oz. In line with the old store the core segment is denim – with brands like Kohzo, Dondup, Levi’s Vintage, PRPS, Gilded Age and Jean Shop. Though in contrast to the Cologne store, which focused on seasonal trends, the new 14 oz. concept stands for lasting value. “Here we offer timeless attire,” says Karl-Heinz.

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www.1

From character to character “Our customers are confident and strong women, elegant but with a down-to-earth attitude and solvent, tough men of

taste who pay attention to quality and authenticity.” This is how Karl-Heinz describes his target group. Naturally, the personnel also fulfil these criteria. The 14 oz. team members are professional, articulate, and have a high affinity for fashion. Strong emphasis is placed on the backup system, including admin and stock receipt, which will take place outside of the store. Stock will be unpacked and priced, then delivered, ready for sale.

However, the essence is service, which begins with advice and ends with customer care. “We want our clients to leave with the feeling that we care about them,” says Karl-Heinz. Especially when it’s about desired alterations and, even more so, should there be a problem. As part of the 14 oz. shop concept, a tailor workshop and a shoemaker meet customer’s special wishes. As another special service, 14 oz. will cooperate with a company that has developed a unique cleaning process for unwashed denim. They clean jeans through flash-freezing.

This removes dirt particles from the fabric, whilst retaining its look and feel. Karl-Heinz has thought of everything: once a retailer, always a retailer. e

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A highlight in the men’s selection is a collection by Nigel Cabourn, which is based on authentic, functional clothing. The ‘Aim High’ collection consists of replicas of the expedition clothing worn by Sir Edmund Hillary on his ascent of Mount Everest.

By contrast, the women’s collection is rather classic-couture, with brands like Cacharel or Paul & Joe Sister. The shoe selection spans from sneakers to classic leather shoes, such as by N.D.C. made by hand, Red Wing Shoes and Alden. The latter cost up to 800 euros, while a Nigel Cabourn jacket costs around 1,700 euros. “That’s the highest our prices go, however,” says Karl-Heinz, to whom it is important that not only top earners shop in 14 oz. “Our pricing is democratic,” he stresses. True: with starting prices of 59 euros for T-shirts and 99 euros for jeans, students can also afford something here.

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14 oz.

Neue Schönhauser Straße 13 10178 Berlin Germany www.14oz-berlin.com

STREET ART

Guerrilla Street Art When Streetlamps Cuddle

The city belongs to us all. So we can do whatever we want with it, right?!

A new form of street art has been inspired by exactly this assertion.

It’s a movement that’s as unstoppable as Flickr or YouTube on the net.

Left: Traffic lights in Berlin, artist unknown Right: Streetlamp kisses in London.

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Far right: Artist Leon Reid IV recreates the streetscape.

grandiose, self-reassuring tags stating “I was here”. Instead, small, subversive interventions alter the city’s design. The pioneers are Leon Reid IV, Roadsworth, the designer Ji Lee and the much-admired Mark Jenkins from Washington DC. Their aim: a visual revolution that wants beauty, humour and humanity to enter our boring, advertising-saturated streets. Self-absorbed pedestrians probably won’t notice a thing. The new urban design is like a subtle breeze: poetic and often minimal, like when you shift a piece of furniture in a room. That’s precisely the idea of guerrilla street art: public space should look like a lovingly furnished flatshare. Its message: we live here and we decide what goes where and how it should look.

A new wave of guerrilla street art is conquering metropols from New York to Berlin. They call it 3D graffiti. But it’s got nothing to do with the raw graffiti style on walls and trains. And it’s far from

Lollipop parking metre The 29-year-old artist Leon Reid IV, aka graffiti artist ‘Verbs’, explores the bleak, broken corners of New York. “I am

attracted to depressed and sullen environments, similar to the way that medical doctors are attracted to the sick and helpless,” he says. Reid’s healing hands care for the inconsequential objects on the street. He roams the streets and collects battered street signs, dismantles pylons and lamps. In his studio he reassembles the found objects, creating new street furniture: road signs snuggling up to each other and zebra-striped lamps.

He then returns them, altered this way, to their urban space.

“It is our duty as artists to provide inspiration where there is none, express emotion where there is none, create beauty where there is none,” is Reid’s philosophy. The guerrilla design activists see the city as a space full of possibility. Everywhere there’s room for beauty and visual breaks, which sometimes take just a few minutes. With this idea the Washington DC-based artist Mark Jenkins caused a storm with his “Stroker Project”. When he’s on the go sticking life-

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London: New York artist Leon Reid IV mounts large plastic petals onto a lamppost. The bright, shining plant conjures up a smile on the face of hurried Londoners as they pass by, until city employees remove the petals five months later.

Montreal: street art activist Roadsworth ventures between cars and the curb, armed with a brush and stencil.

Within minutes he transforms dull road markings into zippers, zebra stripes and birthday candles.

Berlin: in the district of Kreuzberg the group Mentalgassi have transformed the ticket validating machines in underground stations: the boys cover the little boxes with stickers bearing printed faces. Passengers then insert their tickets into wide-open mouths.

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s Birgit Rieger f Mark Jenkins, Leon Reid IV, Birgit Rieger, Ed Zipco

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sized plastic bubble ladies lasciviously to streetlamps or releasing ducks made of tape in puddles, his fans track him like a pop star. Impermanence is of central importance for Jenkins. “I’m very much against art made to last through the centuries. Once you get used to it, it gets old and then it gets boring. The brain tunes it out like the rest of cityscape,” he says.

Drivers don’t give nasty looks when they put their money into a parking metre which Jenkins transformed into a giant lollipop using tape and cling wrap. Or when, on the way to work, they pass a dumpster out of which a pair of trouser legs are protruding. “It’s really about finding objects that repeat themselves in the city and then finding their weakness to be extended into the surreal. It’s a way of poking fun at convention,” says Jenkins. It’s a kind of fun that grips a lot of people. Guerrilla street art means getting involved, being creative and changing things. On his website tapesculpture.org Mark Jenkins provi-

des detailed instructions on how to make tape sculptures and holds workshops in places like Washington DC, Warsaw and Sao Paulo. People’s desire to shape their city visually is growing fast – all around the world.

Fighting commercialism “People are sick and tired of oneway communication on the streets,” says the London-based design expert Scott Burnham, creative director of the Montreal Biennale 2009, which has been observing the street art scene for years.

“Urban Play” is the name of a project that Burnham has launched with the Amsterdam designers Droog Design. At the first International Design Biennale, EXDA 2008, which will take place from September 18th through November 2nd, 2008 in Amsterdam, the most creative design activists, street artists and architects in the world will get together to see a pool of new ideas become reality on Amsterdam’s riverside, transfor-

ming the city into a creative playground.

Everyone should have the opportunity to re-conquer the city for his or herself.

It’s about countering the huge billboard spaces and the ads on every wall, every bus stop and every park bench. Guerrilla street art uses public space with all its problematic inventory as source code – and rewrites it. “It means to borrow from the lexicon of open-source software, the code of the physical city is being opened up,” says Scott Burnham. This is most distinct in the “Urban 2.0 style” of the experimental open-source activities of the New York artist collective “Graffiti Research Lab”. The LED Throwies invented by G.R.L. caused a storm some time ago as a new form of graffiti. On the Internet (www.instructables.com/id/ LED-Throwies) G.R.L. published step-bystep directions on building the magnetic throw-lights. Hundreds of people went out on the streets and threw the homemade LED-Throwies at financial institutions, ugly billboards and bridges. Some created texts that emitted messages

Aesthetics as a weapon The city belongs to everyone and more and more people want to help design the “urban canvas”. This is also possible without technology, as proven by the Texan-based group “Knitta Please”.

Six women and men joined forces to reinvent an old-fashioned pastime as an

urban guerrilla tool: knitting! In lightning-speed actions, the group puts selfknit meshes over railings, traffic lights, lampposts and street signs, then sews the whole thing up – done. This form of urban tuning hit like a lightning bolt and was soon copied around the globe.

In urban design, copyright plays a minor role. Not every woolly traffic light warmer is made by Knitta Please. Neither is every “Swap Box” by Maks. Even if the Ottawa street art activist was one of the first to install the small, self-built boxes on buildings. The idea: people passing by can leave things they want to get rid of and take what they like. “I usually install the boxes on boarded-up storefronts or onto wooden telephone poles using a power-drill and screws, and I usually dress like a maintenance worker to avoid looking too out of place carrying a drill,” says Maks. It’s a paradox: autonomous swap markets and creative designs transform the city into a social space.

But from the official point of view many of these actions are seen as vandalism.

“These are the early days of the movement,” says Scott Burnham, who hopes for a shift in perception. “The next step will be if cities themselves accommodate this sort of activity. Zero tolerance doesn’t work at all. New York City has some of the toughest anti-graffiti laws in the world and at the same time it has one of the most vibrant graffiti scenes in the world.”

Guerrilla design isn’t concerned with rules. Its proponents see themselves as part of a worldwide social movement.

Leon Reid IV is convinced that art and beauty have a de-escalating effect. Next, he’s planning creative interventions on hard-fought gang turf in New York City and Los Angeles. He also wants to operate in crisis regions like Israel, the Palestinian territories, Sudan’s Darfur region or on the Turkish-Iraqi border.

“Beauty has the ability to bring even the most bitter enemies closer together,” Reid says. Guerrilla street art shows us one thing for sure: creativity is more effective than pragmatism. e

STREET ART

for days. Equally successful was the “DIY Street Party Tricycle”, a construction made from a bike, digital projector, lap top, power generator and a sound system. Assembly instructions were also available on the Internet. Travelling through the city with this self-sufficient system, anyone can, with a laser, overwrite entire department store walls, fast-food storefronts and annoying advertising banners. In Berlin and Barcelona people of all ages are getting involved. Quite a few times the police try to crack down on these creative projects.

But street art is as inexorable as Flickr or YouTube in the net.

Far left: Artist Mark Jenkins creates small art with big strength.

Left: Self portrait from artist Leon Reid IV Right: The red carpet leads straight into the gutter, from Mark Jenkins.

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Far right: “Fleur D’plastique”

by Leon Reid IV

Marko t-shirt KUYICHI. Chris jeans WRANGLER, shirt Q.E.D.

photographer STRAULINO FOR ROLLEIFLEX straulino.com production LINDA CHARLOTTE EHRL lindaehrl.de, photo assistant RENÈ FIETZEK, styling assistant NELE SCHRINNER. hair&make up STEFFI WILLMANN @ basics, h&m assistant MANUELA KOPP. models AGATA @ seeds models, ANN MARIE @ m4models, MICHELA @ mega models, CHRIS AND JAMES AND MARKO @ premier models. studio STUDIO FISCHNALLER.

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Ann Marie jeans SESSÙN BLUE, t-shirt ARMED ANGELS. James jeans DRYKORN, tank JAQUES SCHIESSER, sneakers GOLA. Agata jeans G-SUS, shirt WRANGLER, sneakers GOLA. Michela pants LOU DOILLON BY LEE COOPER.

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PIC NIC

THE MARY EXPERIENCE a ROYAL trip through berlin’s gastronomy

Roland Mary is one of Germany’s most successful restaurateurs. Two of his famous Berlin restaurants are “borchardt” and “Pan Asia”. Both, with their catering teams, will be cooking for BREAD & BUTTER BARCELONA visitors this season. Their most important ingredient: the spirit of Roland Mary.

Far left: Art Work Middle: Fall/Winter ‘04 Spring/Summer ‘05

128

Left: Fall/Winter ‘06 Art Work

There are few restaurants in Berlin that are as well-known as “borchardt”. Located in the Französische Straße in central Berlin, the eatery has long since achieved international cult status. Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Grant, Jack Nicholson, Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas – they’ve all been there and made “borchardt” famous in Hollywood as “The Schnitzel Place”, in reference to one of the specialities of the house. The actual name of the restaurant has more noble roots: in the Wilhelminean era, August F. W. Borchardt supplied the residence and court of the Kaiser. Mary and his team, therefore, still feel today that it is their duty to honour his name, which stands for the highest quality on all occasions. However, Mary has freed “borchardt” from the stiff service that was once prescribed by the Kaiser’s protocol: despite the many guests from the film industry, politics and business, it’s comfortably relaxed. The waiters are polite but natural, bustling but casual.

“We do uncomplicated, urban gastronomy with a French impact,” says Mary. Which is also reflected in the location: the ornate, high-ceilinged dining room is supported by large columns. The booths are – typically French – separated by small

dividers. Colourful mosaics lend the room an inescapable charm. The first time Mary stepped foot in the space, he knew immediately that a French brasserie belonged there. Accordingly, the “borchardt” menu includes delicacies such as Ragout fin of scallops and freshwater crayfish with saffron sauce, Steak Tatar with its spices, Bouillabaisse “Marseillaise“ and Crême brûlée of Bourbon Vanilla. “Borchardt” exists in harmony with the spirit of its neighbourhood, which was once marked by the presence of the Huguenots. When they were forced to flee France at the end of the 17th century for religious reasons, many settled in and around Berlin. Out of thankfulness for having been granted asylum the naturally good craftsmen built the whole area around Gendarmenmarkt, today one of the most expensive spots in all Berlin.

PIC NIC

s Nadine Sanchez f Dieter Eikelpoth, borchardt Archive

For starters Mary’s gastronomic career began in the early 80s with a restaurant in West Berlin’s Charlottenburg area. Back then, he converted an old petrol station into the trendy restaurant ‘‘Shell’’.

129

Right: Portrait of Txell Miras

PIC NIC 130

Actually, the station was originally called Texaco. “But you can’t name a restaurant Texaco,” notes Mary pragmatically. In the early 90s he sold the place and used the money to travel the world. Mary never stayed in one place for long.

For years he roamed the continents, got to know various cultures and lifestyles. That leaves an impression. He is originally from Dillingen, a small town in Saarland, Germany.

Way too claustrophobic for the free spirit. He wanted out, to see the world, to try new things, do stuff, keep moving. You can see it in his history: Roland Mary was a punk, communard, physics student, did improv theatre, was about to become an optician, then a car mechanic, to finally end up in the restaurant business. The journey was his destination. The element of heterogeneity, which is very present in Mary’s life, is also reflected in his current career as a restaurateur – after all, alongside “borchardt” he has other culinary irons in the fire.

The “Pan Asia” with its healthy East Asian cuisine, the Italianstyle “San Nicci” as well as the “Café am Neuen See” with its beer garden atmosphere. It almost feels contradictory that, despite his unconventional style, and despite the differences between his various restaurants, Mary’s cooking always has a classic orientation. But what first seems like a contradiction turns out to be compatibility: Mary is a lateral thinker and belongs to the establishment, he can fit in and still remain true to himself.

Main course When Mary opened “borchardt” in 1992, a few years after the fall of the Wall, he immediately recognised what an architectural pearl he had found amidst a wasteland. Back then, Französische Straße in eastern Berlin was run-down and abandoned. Nothing but ruins and rusty Trabbis as far as the eye could see. Perhaps one car would drive past in the course of a day – to say nothing of foot traffic. “We even had the idea of setting up a camera on the empty crossing and then playing the recordings in the restrooms to show how dead that area was,” recounts Mary mischievously. However, despite the bleakness he could fee the spirit of the area and knew it was just a matter of time; things would develop. Mary compared the mood back then to that of the 1920s: up for anything, uncomplicated, easy come, easy go. “Personally, I like that,” he adds. The desolate condition in which the area found itself didn’t bother him: “It was clear that the town centre would once again become the town’s centre. It’s like that in every city – why would it be any different in Berlin?”

The secret ingredient His prophecy came true. As if he had an incorruptible sixth sense, an infallible touch for up-and-coming locations. “Before-

Culinary voyage While “borchardt” will wine and dine all BREAD & BUTTER Business Club members at BREAD & BUTTER BARCELONA this season, “Pan Asia” will take over the stoves of the Grand

PIC NIC

Restaurant. The restaurant’s cuisine combines, as the name suggests, the best of various Asian regions, without superfluous frills. No crossover fine dining, but original, authentic cookshop-style: udon chicken soup, green Thai curry and pad Thai chicken – simple and good. And although Roland Mary never stands over the pots himself, he keeps a close eye on what is cooked and how it’s done. To master the catering for an event like BREAD & BUTTER requires flexibility and high-performance logistics. For example, the majority of the Grand Restaurant personell are not only flown in from Germany, local resources are also used optimally. Catering boss Markus Herbicht lived and worked in Barcelona for many years. Several friendly chefs help him out in the task of buying local food. They know exactly where to find the perfect ingredients for every type of meal.

Mary also has a good sense for the rhythm of a tradeshow and the different needs of the visitors. While the “borchardt” catering team offers a broad range of appetizers and extensive front cooking in the BREAD & BUTTER Business Club, at the Grand Restaurant he insists on self-service – the food should be served immediately, without any delay. “At a tradeshow you want good food and you want it fast,” knows Mary.

Or generally spoken: “You go to a restaurant in order to have a detached, shared experience. That’s the basic requirement.

How you do it is up to you.” With his own formula he seems to have struck gold. e

131

hand it could have simply been seen as pure frivolousness,” adds Mary soberly. He’s no friend of fantastical tales, and doesn’t see the need to be the source of great myths, making a hero of himself. “You just need to have an idea of what you want to do and trust in yourself,” he explains. “You can never plan such a success. You just do a good job and see what happens.”

Mary prefers action over commentary. Instead of tediously planning something, he’d rather just jump in. In general he’s a man of few words. Although the big names of international cinema, music, business and politics walk in and out of his restaurant, nothing bores him more than questions about the behaviour of the stars and starlets or anecdotes about them.

Another reason why his guests feel so good there. Mary is discrete, his style is composed, he’s self-assured. On a professional level, this makes him a great host – as a person, simply likeable. “We are a very normal restaurant. We don’t just sell schnitzel and not only celebs eat here,” he says, “I’m probably the worst storyteller.” His eyes betray how many stories he could actually tell, if only he wanted to.

photographer Jason McGlade www.christaklubert.com assisted by Victor Staaf. production & styling LINDA CHARLOTTE EHRL assisted by NELE SCHRINNER. hair & make up LENA PETERSEN closeup-agency. models SILJE & KRYSTINA megamodels, Nic pearlmanagement, Tom. dog ozzy. thanks to ONE THE FUNCTIONAL DRINK www.one-functional.com special thanks to MINI Headquarters, Germany www.MINI.com

* e a rl y m or n i n g / Te uto b u r ger W a l d

Silje Tom

pullover GANT over hooded pullover BENCH.

shirt CAMPUS BY MARC O´POLO, pants PEAK PERFORMANCE, gumboots TRETORN, hat JACK WOLFSKIN.

c a m p si de p r ep a r atio n s .

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r o m a n ti c a s cen t .

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jacket PENFIELD, pants NORRØNA, pullover MATINIQUE, shoes CAMPER, shades ADIDAS ORIGINALS EYEWEAR, backpack NORRØNA.

h igh noon .

Silje

Tom

jacket WELLENSTEYN, shirt SUPERDRY, shorts GOLDDIGGA, trekking shoes CLOSED, socks BURLINGTON, hat KÖNIG WALTER, hip bag JACK WOLFSKIN, bottle NIKE, backpack THE NORTH FACE.

shirt CAMPUS BY MARC O´POLO, pants PEAK PERFORMANCE, gumboots TRETORN, hat JACK WOLFSKIN, backpack EASTPAK. Krystina rainjacket MADS NØRGAARD, dress DUNDERDON, gumboots ILSE JACOBSEN. Silje jacket BLAUER, knitted dress G-SUS, gumboots FLIP FLOP. Nic shirt GANT, pants LUIS TRENKER, boots SKECHERS, hat KANGOL, backpack EASTPAK BY RAF SIMONS.

go o d n i g h t *

Krystina

Silje shirt SUPERDRY, vest COLCCI, brief BJÖRN BORG, shades BARITO. jacket LACOSTE, shorts AMERICAN APPAREL, brief BJÖRN BORG, shades ADIDAS ORIGINALS EYEWEAR. Krystina

knitted dress & scarf PEPE JEANS LONDON.

OPINION

WHaT’S UP IN THE USA?

We asked people who should know

144

The American Dream is everyone

i Daniela Thies f Private Archives

OPINION

e Avue Darien-Gordon Profession

Director of Daydream Network

Nationality

British

Age

27

Avue got inspired by the question and sent us his answer as a rhyme:

Place of residence

London

Money for oil still the troops die Weapons of mass destruction Truth or lie?

CIA FBI APB drive by why how high living like white man can’t jump want money like no hair Donald Trump From Central Park to the National Indian Reserve This is my land boy haven’t you heard... word It’s not what you know but who you know there’s always someone bigger around the corner America made from self-made millionaires crack the market forget bitches I warn ya Corruption without equal rights No green card working long hours just to be heard and late nights don’t see the sights Twin towers a tragedy to humanity a super power but wasteful with responsibility carbon foot prints everywhere in the name of national security Many have had the dream and have had that dream taken lives are cheap Home fries with Canadian bacon maple syrup blueberry pie Eat eat eat... sorry I’m eating I cant speak I barely walk and my knees are weak

Celebrity endorsement sex and the city funny at times but not about Britney I want big titties and I want a tight ass you’re not all that but then again you got cash More cash or gash by the hour step up Mr. Obama potential black power cometh the man but will we see the hour Some of the places people live in each state leave a taste in your month quite sour Washed drenched in hate All that glitters isn’t gold crash economy back lash of the monopoly double up and step in with the pound Londoners shop till you drop dollar bills spent at every block and every town But nothing can beat it Americas short term history the land of opportunity and gangster hip hop mentality death row records bad boy entertainment def dam and phat farm that’s a different arrangement To be the king of New York or in the blues of the south rags to riches described from everyone’s mouth America in all its glory a place of miracles What’s your story?

145

Only in America in God we trust where the American Dream is everyone bread and butter with or without crust fast paced but cool Big yellow buses take little peeps to school a country like no other the original big brother

OPINION

It’s so damn historical!

The American radio waves are flowing with reports about our historically historical election debate. I mean, it boggles the mind to such a degree that we seem not to be able to speak about anything else. Whiteness and blackness, femininity and masculinity, are in their respective corners, and the fight is being conducted in the opinions and thoughts of otherwise thoughtless Americans.

It’s so damn historical! To gain any sense of the significance and meaning of this political contest, one would surely need to travel back in time to the 1920s or even the 90s to comprehend it. I mean we, the land of the free,

the home of the slaves, are ready to put a black man on the nation’s highest pedestal. And, astonishingly enough, it’s a blond-haired superwoman who will be supporting him to contend for the nation’s highest office! Who could believe it? Neither I nor my 350 million other American brothers and sisters, that’s for sure.

It’s no wonder that it’s the only thing you hear on the radio; who would want to talk about anything more important that this ultra-important political occurence?

Imagine Uncle Sam’s accusing eyes as you consider the immensity of this question: YOU?

Gabriel Borrud Profession

Yale, Student of Philosophy

Nationality

American

Age

24

Place of residence

Dam Beaver, Wisconsin

146

e

BRANDINDEX

BRANDINDEX NO.10 07/2008

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t +1 212 206 83 10 h penfieldusa.com 153

Europe is in excitement about the current US elections. The attention of European policy-makers, the media and the general public is enormous. Europeans are longing for a new face in the White House, and hope for a significant improvement of transatlantic relations.

Many look forward to a return to the »good old days« but they will never return to what they used to be during the Cold War. Rifts in the transatlantic relationship already became evident after the Cold War ended, and a common threat perception ceased to define an overarching common security interest. While a plethora of diverging interests challenges our relationship today, observers point to common »Western« values, which are supposed to form the basis of a still solid transatlantic relationship.

However, this values mantra, which is expected to lead to the reclamation of the relationship, will lead to further disappointment and disentanglement, if values’ real function is misunderstood, and if they are misinterpreted for camouflaging differences in interests instead.

OPINION

Too High Expectations for the Next US President

Take for a first example religion’s role in foreign policy-making: while religion in today’s Europe has a pacifying effect promoting diplomatic means in coping with conflicts, organized religion in the US (in particular the Christian Right’s approach) is significantly more prone to using military force, especially when dealing with conflicts in the Middle East. Secondly, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it has become evident that concerns of national security have gained priority over the protection of civil liberties in the US. Feeling less vulnerable, Europeans champion personal liberties and privacy and take issue with the collection of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data for air travel, the legal status and detainment of alleged Taliban members and suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists in Guantanamo, or the creation of military commissions by the US. Given the value mantra’s inaptness to overcome real differences, our best hope is to define a more pragmatic understanding of shared interests to re-define our transatlantic relationship.

Dr. Josef Braml Profession

Nationality

Age

Political Scientist at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) German *

Place of residence

Berlin

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OPINION

Paul Graves Profession

Nationality

Age

Photographer American 39

Place of residence

New York /Berlin

„America the beautiful? From sea to shining sea, her good crowned by God, with brotherhood”, quoted from the American national anthem. America is no longer beautiful? Not in the sense of her good? Sadly, her brotherhood has been lost to George Bush-ism and political correctness, which now is the standard American ideal and has killed the voice of the individual. A land full of hope, gone sour. Already, America’s tarnished reputation is causing difficulties throughout world financial circles. As an American I can only sit back and watch helplessly as the country turns continuously downward. As the value of the dollar and the American dream get flushed down the

toilet. The one thing I can say for America is that it loves the “comeback kids”. The “behind the music” generation when a star falls and makes a comeback. The “stand up and brush yourself off and say ‘sorry’ for the past but lets move forward” kids. It seems America has hit a new low in my lifetime. It seems to me that a comeback kid has to rise up out of the ashes. Then we will all join hands and clap and sing along again. Change, the one thing next to death that is for sure in this life. Change. America, change your coarse of action. I am sure the hit parade that controls the world would love to give you a world wide number one hit, if you would just change...

Our US reporter, Max Padilla, asked different people based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.

Read here what they’re currently interested in and what they think about their country: i Max Padilla f Monica Nouwens

Gabriel Hart Profession

Musician Age

31

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I tend to be a very optimistic person, but I don’t really believe anything I hear anymore.

I feel like I’m swimming in static. I never wanted to be an expatriate more in my life than I do now. I love America but I think it lost its identity and lost what originally made it a great place to live. I’m sure a lot of people feel that way.

OPINION

Tomas Arceo Profession

Photographer

Age

42

For oil companies to be making record profits and the price of gas going up – I would like someone to explain that to me.

It’s no longer about supply and demand, it’s about greed.

Jessica Profession

Law Student Age

26

I think celebrity culture is a great way to take your mind off all those things that you have reason to be pessimistic about, like the price of gas or politics. In the 30s that’s why musicals were big and musicals are making a bit of a comeback now, too. Maybe it’s video games now instead of musicals. I’m optimistic for myself as an individual – the definition of American exceptionalism – I’m gonna make it, but I don’t think other people will.

Alex Cloppas Profession

Waitress

Age

25

People need to go local – they need to understand what that means. At the grocery store, don’t demand things that have been shipped across the country when you can grow things where you are.

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OPINION

Ben Ling Profession

Restaurant Owner Age

32

I think it’s a really good time to invest in euros. There are legitimate reasons for the dollar to sink. Everything we have is basically very dependent on fuel. Rice has doubled in price the past year. Many of beers are from small brewers and some haven’t raised their prices in a few years. We have had a 30 percent rise in costs. We can’t pass a 30 percent jump on to customers so we absorb a lot of it.

Our beers were 4 dollars now they’re 5.

Jasmine Kostarba Profession

Costume Designer Age

27

I would be very happy if a black man won the election. I didn’t like Hillary anyway. My feeling on the election is that I don’t want another Bush in the office. I don’t want another old white man in the office.

Paloma Parfrey Profession

Singer Age

27

As an American, I am feeling optimistic now that Obama and Hillary have joined forces. I don’t own a car; I ride a bike and for me that’s a nice way to live – much more liberating. If you drive, drive a Prius. The environment comes first.

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OPINION

TJ Flexer Profession

Bike shop owner

Age

32

Shipping taxes. Importing. The falling dollar. Everything is going up 20 percent, in some cases 40. It’s not set to stop anytime soon.

There’s no manufacturing in this country.

We’re shipping stuff back and forth too many times. Every single dollar goes somewhere if it’s an American company and the manufacturing is done overseas. Right now, in America the bulk of everything is made somewhere else. I’ve been careful about where my money goes and what it speaks for.

Samuel Ku Profession

Head Designer, Denim Adriano Goldschmied Age

33

When I think of the USA, I think of the land of unlimited possibilities and opportunity, pardon the cliché. Racial and gender barriers are disappearing, opening up opportunities to all. I never thought that I would see the day when America has an African American president, but this year, the Democratic candidate will be Obama. This is a great sign that the USA is progressing. In our industry, we also see a lot of opportunity. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, there are so many designers, wholesalers and retailers from different backgrounds.

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THIS IS THE &

NO CORAL If you were told to jump out of the window, would you jump? No question, of course you would! But only if it was the hip thing of the moment.

sDDaniela Thies We’re always on the hunt for the latest trends. But actually, we should ask ourselves the question who’s hunting whom, when for example, we’re wearing seriously uncomfortable footwear in which we stumble across the pavement. Or skintight trousers that constantly remind us we should chuck that candy bar out of the window instead of in our mouth.

A few years ago, hordes of women initially scorned heelless ballerinas. Why? Which woman still wants to wear shoes at all after murderous, high-heeled models with a triangular spiky front became all the rage, and with which you could easily castrate a man? Oh, and the latest fad from abroad: snail slime cream and algae for breakfast with your loved one. Bon appetite!

Why do we always stage the same old drama every season?

Trend researchers have once again put on their thinking caps to predict the ripe colours of Winter 2009.Here’s a bit of advice. Stuff some super clashing coloured clothes from last season into a washing machine: with a few tricks, such as using delicate washing detergent instead of regular, some never-seen-before colour combos will appear. I’ve already tried it out: in an instant, I had a brand new collection with colours ranging from sky-high joyful blue to limp beige through dullas-death mouse grey. My brand spanking new dark blue jeans dyed my once sun-yellow T-shirt a pale natural green. And my red summer dress suddenly had violet blue stripes. Several washes with cheap regular detergent, and leaving out the fabric softener, resulted not only in the desired colour combinations, but also in a totally new collection that resembles stylishly crumpled newsprint.

For those of you who want to be correct both in terms of fashion and the environment, here’s an especially energysaving formula: take a man with a washboard stomach. Rub the laundry over it, then rotate the man in order to spin the wash. Spare yourself the overdrive. You’ll notice: after a short break, hot thoughts will arise all by themselves and help dry the laundry faster. See, setting your own trends can be fun.

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