No stranger to collaborations, Ace Hotel has added another great partner when they worked alongside Beams on this collection of goods that dropped this week. A few of the items were also done in collaboration with Buzz Rickson making this all the more interesting. Highlights include a deck jacket, chambray work shirt, and cinch back chinos, but there is also a small range of accessories, too. The collection is now available at Ace’s online store.

How’s this for a throwback in the world of skateboarding? Vans will be releasing this capsule collection along with the OG publication, The Skateboarder Magazine, this year. The collection is small, but definitely does the trick as far as capturing the essence and flavor of the era in which the magazine reigned supreme.

Photography by Highsnobiety.

Check the collection out after the jump.

We reports about endless product collaborations here and in some cases the get together of two parties make sense and results in a fantastic new product. In other cases the results are more questionable. Designer Jeff Staple is involved in a lot of them himself and gives us some background on the different types of collaborations and more importantly explains when it is not a collaboration and what makes a good one. He wrote the article for the latest issue of Antenna magazine.

“As soon as man could make things, man was collaborating.

When the first caveman discovered fire, one person found the wood, the other worked the flame. Centuries later, the blacksmith needed to work with the leathersmith in order to make that perfect belt. Long before the word “collaboration” or “colab” was invented, we were collaborating.

The reason is simple. As humans, we are adept at only a certain number of skill sets. Even so called “Renaissance people” are not masters at everything. Eventually we need help. There are two kinds of help: we can simply pay for the help, otherwise known as “work-for-hire,” or we can collaborate. When you collaborate, you’re basically saying, “Hey bro, I’m really good at X, but I suck at Y. You, on the other hand are really good at Y, but you’re miserable at X. If we come together, we might be able to do some amazing things!”

The result is an epiphany. A yin and a yang forming one. Taking the best of the negatives and turning them into positives. Fast forward a few more centuries and we now live in the digital/technological/informational age. Our outputs are no longer only physical objects, but they are experiences now too. People make a living by offering opinions, or by having a certain number of people “follow” and “like” them. It’s a new day where your thoughts are the commodity.

Even with all that, the basic premise of the collaboration is the same.
Nowadays a corporation will seek the services of a cool artist, influencer or designer to work with them on a product. Why?

Read the rest of the article after the jump.

Legendary Bay Area Hip-Hop crew the Hieroglyphics have worked together alongside Akomplice on this dope little collection consisting of some snap backs, tees and hoodies. Hieroglyphics have been responsible for some all-time great albums such as Casual’s Fear Itself, 93 til Infinity by Souls of Mischief, and Del’s I Wish My Brother George Was Here, as well as his classic No Need for Alarm. Anyway, it is great seeing that familiar logo emblazoned on some nice pieces.

Take a full look at the collection after the click.

I still remember when a collaboration was the exception and not the rule. When we first started Highsnobiety, the collaboration game was already in full swing, and you’d have an especially good one every month that got plenty of people excited. Of course, as with anything, the more it’s done, the less interesting it becomes.

Recently I saw the Undefeated x Puma Polka Dot Pack in a store and it got me thinking about the current state of collaborations.

We have always been big fans of Undefeated and love what they do with their stores and the brand – it all just seems to make sense for the most part and the Undefeated sneaker collaborations have always been among the very best over the years. These days they’re working with Converse on new sneakers every couple of months and, of course, they’ve also entered into an extended partnership with Puma around the iconic Clyde.

Puma has not had the strongest run in recent years, but the Clyde was always well regarded in footwear circles, so a big team-up with Undefeated to resurrect the shoe seemed to make perfect sense.

When the first sneaker from that collection launched, an all leather Clyde sans Puma Form Stripe, I actually thought they might be on to something. It was very simple, but the quality material update, improved in-sole and color choices really made these easy to wear – an everyday sneaker that went with anything and worked for any occasion. Well played.

At this point we’ve seen five packs from this collaboration: leather, canvas, ripstop nylon, colorblock and polka dots. What we haven’t seen is a lot of excitement from sneaker fans and we certainly haven’t seen them on anybodies feet.

Perhaps Undefeated has kept things a little too simple? Or is it an issue with the Clyde shoe itself?

Read the rest of the article after the jump.

The Hundreds have scored some really big collaborations as far as working with notable artists go. This time around, TH works with Ron English on a capsule collection consisting of 3 different graphics and 9 tees total. The 3 graphic tees, ‘Rabbit’, ‘Cowgirl’, and ‘Smiley’ will be available this week at all TH flagship locations. Also, for those in Southern California, English will be appearing at the TH Santa Monica location on Sunday, November 20 from 1-2pm to sign autographs.

Take a look at the collection after the jump.

You read that right: Nintendo and West Coast Customs of MTV’s Pimp My Ride fame apparently are in cahoots and will be unveiling a special project at the upcoming LA Auto Show on November 17. Autoblog speculates that the easy tie-in could lie within the upcoming release of the Mario Kart 7 for Nintendo 3DS, which would make all the sense in the world given the nature of that game. I guess we will find out soon enough as the show is just around the corner. Stay tuned for more details.

Organized by London’s RS&A, the “Art of Chess” is an ongoing touring exhibition. Leading contemporary artists (for example, Damien Hirst and Paul McCarthy take the chess board as basis for their own creative interpretation of the game. McCarthy incorporates the contents of a pantry, Hirst focuses more on the games interactions within the mind. The latest incarnation of the exhibition is currently on view in Dublin at the Sebastian Guinness Gallery. Included is a newly created short film by Gavin Turk, a still of which you can see above. The exhibition will be on view in Dublin until October 9.

Via: ArtInfo

View the chess sets devised for “The Art of Chess” by Hirst and McCarthy after the jump.

As part of their Fall/Winter 2008 collection, Addict presents the Originators Series. This t-shirt collection consists of collaborations with some of the most prominent brands and artists based in Los Angeles. The line-up includes Freshjive, XLarge, FUCT and artist Grave One.
Each brand/artist designed one graphic, which will be available in three colorways this Fall/Winter season. 
Have a look at the entire Addict Fall/Winter 2008 Originator Series after the jump.

Monument Snowboards has launched their new website and with it presents the line-up of their artist driven Fall/Winter 2008 collection. 
The new line-up of snowboards features the works of renowned artists Krink, Todd Tourso, Kime Buzzelli, Thom Lessner, and Owleyes. 
Have a detailed look at the entire collection of snowboards by Monument after the jump.