By now, most of you have seen the line-up of sneakers created by Kanye West for Louis Vuitton. Opinions vary on the outcome of the collection. We’ve always compared the line to what Louis Vuitton has done in the past with sneakers, and think the Kanye West collection beats those efforts by leaps and bounds. Just like in the regular sneaker game, some people like it more colorful, others like it more subtle, and this line-up offers something for both tastes. Personally, we prefer the tonal high tops. We also had the chance to field test them and can tell you that quality and fabrication are very much on point, as to be expected from Louis Vuitton.

Having worked recently with Nike on the Air Yeezy, the LV collection is the second major sneaker project by Kanye West. Take a step back and think about what is happening here – we see collaborations all the time with boutiques, brands, artists and other creative fields. How many times can the colors and the materials on the same shoe silhouette be changed and still look new and different from the hundreds of releases we see every year? Kanye West got to design his very own silhouettes in both cases, probably the most impressive part about these projects.

With the Kanye West x Louis Vuitton sneakers releasing worldwide in the coming weeks, we wanted to do something out of the ordinary with the footwear Louis Vuitton gladly lent us for this special shoot. We teamed up with German photographer Daniela Muller-Brunke to shine some new light onto the Kanye West x Louis Vuitton collection. To give you some background on the shoot, we used the iconic LV symbols and projected them in different colors onto the background of the sneaker, with the outcome being a psychedelic mix of fading colors. Hopefully you like it.

Take a look at all images from the Kanye West x Louis Vuitton Footwear Photoshoot here.

Last week DJ A-Trak’s Fabric Live Mix dropped in the UK. We used the release as an excuse to catch up with him and talk music and fashion. We also learned a little about what it is like to work with Kanye and gave him a quick Canadian quiz.

Read the interview here.

Our features section has nicely filled up in recent weeks, so here is a little reminder post in case you have not checked them out recently. We sat down with The Changes Crew and talked to them about their recent exhibition at MU Eindhoven. Get a deep look into their work and in case you missed the exhibition, we have lots of images up giving you a nice recap. Andrea Rosso, son of Diesel founder Renzo Rosso, talked to us about 55DSL, the brand that he founded and that is celebrating their 15th anniversary this year. We also filmed Nigel Sylvester in action on his BMX and talked with him about BMX, sneakers, bikes and a lot more. Last but not least we did a quick check up with Wale, a name that is heavily circulating these days in the music industry.

Features:

• The Changes Interview & MU Eindhoven Exhibition
• Interview with Andrea Rosso
• Video With Nigel Sylvester
• Interview With Wale

Make sure to keep an eye on our Features section, as you can see, there is weekly new stuff coming up! Now enjoy…

Hats, no doubt, are one of the most prominent fixtures in the streetwear universe. Like the t-shirt, caps find their way to most every line sheet and offer simple canvas for brand identity formation. While several types garner respect (from the mesh backed trucker to the 5-panel) the fitted is king. For style and comfort, hard to beat. Also, for shear availability of design space, its the most versatile.

With firm connection to baseball, the fitted hat also screams AMERICA. Not literally, obviously, but there is that undeniable connection. And so, the fitted hat serves as a great entry point for discussing a wonderful rising trend in the industry. Locally made product. Against the tide of globalization, some brands take pride in assuring that their goods are hand and American made, a throwback to traditional manufacture.

Being interested in both hats and American made things, I caught up with Brett Wiley from Estate LA. Estate makes fitted caps in Los Angeles, CA and works with some of the bigger names in action sports (as well as a few of your favorite streetwear brands). Brett and I discussed hats (no surprise), brand building and NASCAR. He was nice enough to allow me to fulfill a dream of conducting an interview via instant messenger. Along with the rest of the Estate crew, we began to answer some of my questions.
Read The Feature Here…

Inquiring Mind just started a new series of Artist Profiles on their site. Much like their great big interview features, they will interview some of the most inspiring artists in our culture. They started with Toronto graffiti artist Zion. Check it out here.