Alexander McQueen SS25

ADEAM ICHI F/W '21

September 20, 2021

ADEAM unveils ADEAM ICHI, a ready-to-wear capsule collection that embodies a gender-neutral mindset. Designer Hanako Maeda drew inspiration from the eccentric street style of Tokyo as well as the vibrant youth culture that resides in Shibuya and Harajuku 一 all of which are known for fusing contrasting aesthetic influences that construct their one-off looks.

Maeda wanted to capture a similar aesthetic in NYC’s meatpacking district. Hari Nef personifies the high-toned streetwear vibe with sharp precision 一 making her the perfect person to encapsulate the gender-neutral aesthetic of the collection. The campaign was styled by Dara Allen, a close friend of Hari Nef, and photographed by Seiji Fujimori.

A plethora of effervescent colors, bold prints, and sharp silhouettes plague the streets of Harajuku, and not one person is dressed like the other. Social boundaries like gender, size, and ethnicity cease to exist when these fashion connoisseurs curate their style; Instead, they let their creativity and point-of-view do the talking.

Text by Ronald Kahihikolo
Photography by Seiji Fujimori

This capsule collection fuses identities with ADEAM’s vocabulary to reimagine Tokyo Streetwear. Urbanity and playfulness remain at the core of the main collection, ICHI, but it also extends an open invitation that sparks conversation around relaxing the boundaries of clothes, not just conceptually but in its design.

The Loose shapes grant the wearer flexibility in styling 一 for instance, a taller person can wear the Uraha Top as a sweater while the same piece acts as a dress on a petite figure. This goes for other pieces as well, like the Yoyogi Sweatshirt that can be worn as a straightforward top or with one set of sleeves unworn for a sweater-around-the-shoulder look. This collection also emphasizes polish without fuss, with many of the pieces that come pre-layered. A balance between office casual and other elements flows throughout the collection, accentuating stylish comfort.

The collection’s new logo is a single a for ICHI, the Japanese word for one, symbolizing the collection’s aims to bring together people who love fashion, whatever their style may be. This monogram is embroidered on sweaters and printed in an exaggerated size and printed on the classic t-shirt, tying together the collection with its goal of inclusivity and boundaryless style inspired by the unabashed freedom and fearlessness of Tokyo fashion. The ADEAM ICHI collection aims to add to the conversation of fashion that is driven less by labels and more by creative expression.

Check out the collection below.

Fashion

Lucid Dreaming with Renowned

September 19, 2021

Los Angeles-based label Renowned has dreamed up a stunning streetwear concept in their newest Fall/Winter 2021 collection titled "Beyond Lucid." The concept comes from the mind of the streetwear label's founder and creative director, John Dean, who draws inspiration from his childhood aspirations to take flight in lucid dreams. The collection serves as a manifestation of these dreams that can be worn from day to night, bringing them closer into the realm of conscious reality.

The designs effortlessly reflect the desire to access dormant parts of the mind as one needs to in order to lucid dream. With sophisticated cuts and a beautifully muted color palette, Dean captures the breathtaking simplicity of night-time and energizes it for day-round streetwear utility. A highlight of the pieces is the "wavy-cut" used to symbolize the increasingly blurred lines between dreams and reality that occurs through lucid dreams.

Text by Deren Owji
Photos courtesy of Renowned

The collection is set to launch tomorrow, September 22nd, at 10 AM PST. It's not one to miss.

Shop Renowned FW21: “Beyond Lucid” tomorrow, here, and see the full lookbook below.

Fashion

Marcell Von Berlin's LA and Germanic Fusion

September 17, 2021

While the pandemic taunted us with suggestive ideals of infinite timing, it’s only logical to have reminisced on stimulating periodical eras. That's what the German designer Marcell Pustul did when sourcing the 80s for his SS22 show. The 80s was a decade of the power dresser, shoulder pads, and pointed shoe power behind that statement. It was a decade for the steampunks who mixed their outfits with a hot pink fur jacket to rebel against the status quo. The year of Madonna was the year of the fashionista that use s style as a means for their voice and self-expression. And Marcell used his newest debut as a vessel to spread that message.

Marcell Von Berlin strived on word-of-mouth for far too long before finally making his appearance yesterday in Hollywood, Marcell Von Berlin is a label with distinguishing optical language.

Text by Tiana Randall
Photos courtesy of Marcell Von Berlin

This new collection from the lable involves the unorthodox fusion of the cool downtown kid with a mature feel, that's where kelly green crocodile blazers and shorts come in. The Berlin-based brand took his SS22 show to the mountainous hills in a remote location in the poshest point of Beverly Hills to mark his runway debut. As the monotoned orange set rolled out, models donned in blinding yet rich colors took the stage. The color palette that united pastel prints, with bright mono-toned looks like lime green, muted coral, fire orange further carries the notes on independence with a fusion of work and play.

The crowd in attendance played on the collection by being energetic, warm, and vivid in appearance. Some stand-out looks include a lime green suit adorned with a glistening crystalized headpiece, a power blazer with hot pink feathers fringing the shoulders down to the cuffs, and wild feathered stilettos.

This ready-to-wear collection's extravagant and extensive rollout with a knack for attention to detail just proves that Marcell Von Berlin is here to stay and one for the culture. So much so, the designer asked to sit down with office to relay his intention behind the collection.

Read the interview below.

So, how are you feeling ahead of your debut show?

Oh, I need to say, I don't feel at all, like nervous. I was thinking I will get like this anxiety before, because you know, so much happened, but we have an amazing team here. I'm super excited about all the models working for me, all the people who support me. I feel now like the last half hours I'm getting a little bit worried, where we are looking for things and I'm like, "Oh my God, oh my God." But I was thinking with my first big fashion show, I will get like no sleep, And you know, crazy night. But everything is going perfectly. So I'm super excited. In the end will be perfect.

So obviously you take inspiration from Berlin, where do we see that in this collection?

This collection, I really want to show how you can put together Berlin and Los Angeles, and especially because of the 80s. It's a big inspiration. What was very important for me and all the muses are like Cher, and Madonna, and David Bowie. So you can see the flowered pants. And what is really inspired by Berlin is all the elegance trade cuts from the suits. And, I put a lot of color and glam because the 80s was glamorous and Berlin was about celebrating you. The wall fell down in the 80s. So this is the time when the people get the freedom and are being together again. You know, like free and celebrating this life. So this is what I want to do with the collection. After the pandemic, let's celebrate the fashion. Let's have fun. Let's put all the colors, go out on the street, and just celebrate the fashion. So it's all about having fun with fashion and celebrating.

What is the biggest difference between this collection compared to others?

So this collection is a mix between what I have done before in the past as a couture designer, I did a lot of red carpet looks. So what I want to do is have all the sequin dresses. We have all the sequin shoes, we have the elegant boots, but then I mix these boots with some casual stuff. For women's we have a lot of like beautiful evening gowns, they're coming in the end. And then, you know, we try to gather a little bit of this kind of elegant stuff for the men with Swarovski on the belt. And I just want you to see it, it's just a mix between this Berlin and Los Angeles. It's very sophisticated, but it's at the same time sporty, but at the same time very elegant. So I want to really mix and put what I have done before, what is in my heart couture, and then make it this wearable.

And how do you want people to feel when they wear this collection?

Just comfortable. Many women who wear my dresses are thrilled and tell me often, "Your clothes are so comfortable. They are elegant, but so easy to wear.’”And this is what I want them all to feel confident. And that when they go for the events, parties, you know, that they feel all confident. And making them beautiful, I mean, clothes should make us more beautiful.

And for this collection, if you were to compare it to an 80s song, what song would that be?

"Let's Dance" by David Bowie. I will say Madonna's "Material Girl." You wear the dress and you have fun.

This is Marcell's world. What are the rules? The people that are wearing your clothes, what qualities do they hold, and what ethics do they have? What does your world look like?

My world? It’s about celebrating. The people who are wearing my fashion, should celebrate themselves. And I celebrate people wearing Marcell von Berlin. I celebrate all the humans around the world, because we all have beautiful souls. It's about coming together and celebrating the beautiful life we have