After a brief break, we are back and this time we spent a few minutes with our favourite up-and-coming designer from The Netherlands, Sjaak Hullekes. We grilled him with five short questions about his latest Fall/Winter collection and this is what he had to say..

1. What was the influence or inspiration behind this latest Fall/Winter collection?

The fall/winter collection is called ‘Small-town boy’, inspired by my own experiences as a boy who grew-up in a small town, and went to a bigger city for work/study. Then realizing the grass is not always greener on the other side, and always having nostalgic memories back to the small-town youth. At the end it turned out being a mix of city life dandyism and the practical way of thinking from the countryside.

2. Which are you favorite pieces?

I like the high-pile fabric items (safari jacket and ‘jeans-look’ jacket), they are very nice to wear, warm with a very soft touch. Also the cardigans are nice, and our regular trousers has got a very nice fit and workmanship on the inside…

3. Which other designers’ Fall/Winter collection did you like this year?

My overall personal opinion was that it all was a bit to dark, I personally would like to see more colors in a collection nowadays. There are already to many ‘dark’ things going-on the last years (global financial situations, climate things and so on…), because of that people should see more colors in their daily live. So please wear some color next winter, I mean it does not have to be very bright, but not only black, white, grey and army green…Anyhow, my personal favorites are Dries van Noten and Yves Saint Laurent.

4. If you can dress up a celebrity with the latest collection, who would it be?

The summer collection is worn by musicians like Wouter Hamel (known in the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea and upcoming worldwide) and Julian Dore (French musician and actor). Other people I would like to dress in general are Hayden Christensen, Jake Gyllinhaal and Toby Maguire, the would fit my clothing very well I think…

5. What was the last movie you watched?

‘Brothers’ (with Jake Gyllinhaal and Toby Maguire of course), very emotional and ‘clean’ movie. In a way I understand the feelings, not that I experienced it in that way, but I had similar kind of feelings as my father was part of the Dutch Riot Squad. He sometimes had to go to other places for a couple of months, and came back without saying anything as he was shocked by his experiences.

Malaysian brand “philosophy-Men” premiered their latest Spring/Summer 2010 collection recently at a popular shopping mall in conjunction with the mall’s annual fashion week. Entitled “WOW! Manila”, the collection, together with their sister brand “Salabianca”, mesmerised the audience with it’s unique and fabulous designs and we were there to witness such amazing creations. Unfortunately we had some technical glitch with our camera but nevertheless we are still able to bring you some good pictures of the show and their collection (courtesy of philosophy-Men).

After kicking off the show literally with a kickboxer, an array of wonderfully designed cuts and interesting colour combination of style and casual wear that certainly be of most interest to today’s metroxsexual and trendy men.  From unique printed tee-shirt to lovely patterned shorts paired together with fantastic PUMA shoes (one of philosophy-Men’s many partners for the night), the collection certainly brought elements of fun, trendy and sophistication to the night. From the collection, one of the must-have of the season is the knee-length shorts which if anything to go by, will definitely make anyone who wears it feel sexy and happy. Kudos to long-time partners and designers for the brand, Allan Chan and Tino Soon together with their hardworking and talented team, for bringing such a creative and unique styling and designs to the night. We will definitely be getting some pieces for our closet.

In less than a week, the iconic Gucci Ronson shoes from the Gucci Icon-Temporary range will be available in London. It marks a homecoming for Mark Ronson for having his collaborative shoes with Gucci available for his fellow mates. This is the third stop for Gucci Icon-Temporary store after New York and Miami. The store is planned to open on 22nd April 2010 at Covent Garden and will be graced by a fantastic opening party with Britain’s who’s who.

As with the stores in New York and Miami, Gucci will introduce new Gucci Ronson shoes specific to the London store only. This time around, there will two new designs available in London as seen in the pictures below. Two very different materials are being used as one is a tweed fabric ankle top sneakers and the other a patented black and white polka dots in dual tones.

As quoted from Frida Gianni, the collaboration with Mark Ronson seems natural as he has a great eye for design and an amazing knowledge of sneaker history. All the other customised services will also be available and each shoes purchase will come with a limited edition bag and a 12-inch vinyl of Mark Ronson’s music. If you are visiting London during this period, be sure to make a stop at Earlham Street, Covent Garden or ask your Londoner mates to get a pair for you.

In conjunction with the KL’s fashion month, Graffi Tee showcased their latest collection of a range of T-shirts that I would have to say is very colourful, not only in terms of the t-shirts, but the whole show and event as well. The name Graffi Tee is becoming a familiar name in the T-shirt arena in town and through years, the brand is getting stronger.

The show kicked off with a bunch of men hoisting poles with t-shirts on them, which suppose to represents flags and the show swiftly started with the pyjamas theme where models had a quickie pillow fight when they crossed path. It continued with nerdy smart styling which can be charming depending on how the t-shirt is being dressed. One of the major highlight of the show is when the models literally took off their pants and showing off briefly the STUD underwear and to showcase how the pants can be worn inside out with different colour tones. That got the crowd cheering and the models nervy where one of them missed a button which staggered the monty show.

The polo t-shirt stood out quite prominently with the multi colour panels design that complements each other really well. The fitting looks great and being styled with sports wear and accessories courtesy of PUMA. Red, pink and fuchsia were the colours that can be seen parading the runway most often that indicates the colours of this season.

Guests were also being abruptly entertained with dance performances in between the intermissions with dancers wearing Graffi Tee’s designs dancing to some girly pop tunes.

Balmain’s mens spring/summer look book is rustic and stylish, making a man looks comfortable in what he is wearing yet having the macho edge. The colours are mainly earth tone with hints of pale bright colours that complements each other really well. What stands out the most is how comfortable the pieces are and the whole outlook is cosy, easy and relaxed. This gives a new interpretation of looking good and feeling comfortable. The collection by Christophe Decarnin is inspired by the  indie rock scene and we can see the usage of leather, knits and some hints of military designs which is the essence of the Balmain brand that they do so well. It’s nice to see that the mens collection feature less of the 80′s inspired style but more towards colours, comfort and fit.

For this season, the boys are going back to their roots. Or the very least the old charm of Sicily. As their press release stated, they were inspired for this collection by the movie “Baaria” – big budgeted movie about Sicily during the 1900s that tackles with issues of working class, fascism and war. The collection is simple yet rough-looking and surprisingly masculine with a touch of sophistication. From working class looking vests to fine-tailored suits, the story of their latest collection shows the story of men working their way up from “poverty” and “hardship” to “luxury” and perhaps freedom. All this while looking good and flawless – if the models are anything to go by. The boys don’t mess with a winning formula and alters a slight bit from their previous collection with still maintaining their commerciability of their collection.

photos: lmaxtree

Yes, the Queen of Soul ‘n Funk is back. Ms. Badu’s latest offering – ‘New Amerykah Part Two: Return of The Ankh’ (Island) is being unveiled today! A few tracks leaked throughout last few months and such great downtempo tunes indeed. ‘Window Seat’ and ‘Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long’ basically detered the direction of this album. You can light up a Strawberry ‘Incense’ stick and have a glass of wine while letting Erykah Badu take control of the night.

It is a mature Ms. Badu you are listening to. All her emotions pouring into this album, as she mentioned that it’s all about right brain. Without doubt,   Madlib, James Poyser, 9th Wonder, Georgia Anne Muldrow and the late J Dilla had done their jobs to secure her crown. You know, she’s an artist and she’s sensitive about her shit. We heard you, Ms. Badu!

This video is Rihanna’s best yet. The video is directed by Melina Matsoukas (who did videos for Kylie, Beyonce, Lady GaGa and even Robin Thicke) delivers a colourful, sexy and playful video and we dare say most fashionable video that Rihanna has ever done. Its a smogasboard of Jamaica dancehall images intertwined with 80′s pop art (Warhol and Haring). Rihanna continues her trend of wearing bizarrely edgy fashion and most notable one is her Keith Haring-inspired white body catsuit which she pairs it with some unique-looking earrings. Another notable piece is her gold-coloured catsuit designed by relatively unknown American designer LaQuan Smith. The gold-coloured catsuit just screams sex and it is not surprising that he also designed custom pieces for Lady GaGa. Watch out for him, soon everyone will be wearing him. All in all, this is one damn good video to perk you up before you hit the clubs.

Did we say there is a zebra in the video? Only Rihanna can do such thing and get away with it.

The simple melody with Alison singing quite happily about someone never coming back, somehow works well. The sound of this track is in the middle of Goldfrapp’s previous works  as it is not as dark as ‘Black Cherry’ and not as commercial as ‘Supernature’.

If this is any indication of how the new album is going to sound, we are totally psych to hear it. Even the cover of this single looks 80′s inspired, in a good way.