Nas and FILA ITALIA line. He may codesign a line of his own with FILA to come next year with this one year deal, that includes the Nas Fila High coordinated with the jacket. I think this is a good match for NAS-not really known for fashion endorsements. I guess he's seeing the moves others are making and saying why not, Rap money ain't what it used to be, Esco--that was a the last brand he teamed up with. I can't wait to see what he creates, on fabric...Its bound to be hot considering what he creates lyrically.


"My best friend Will and I loved Fila," Nas said. "It represented prestige and everything that was cool to us. When Will passed, we buried him in a black Fila sweat suit, so doing a deal with them has a lot of significance for me."

According to Fila president John Epstein, it was a natural match. "One of my executives spotted Nas shopping in our Manhattan store and struck up a conversation with him," Epstein said. "Nas isn't interested in selling out. He's interested in being true, and that fits with our brand."

Nostalgia aside, some might view Epstein as brave to co-brand his company with an MC who's pledged to unpack America's racial struggles.

"I had some trepidation, and then I started talking to 16- to 20-year-old kids in focus groups," Epstein said. "They looked at me like I was crazy for not understanding his message of positive change. Nas is relevant to his followers, and I don't have to understand it as long as they do."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/music/news/e3i5ec77cd2494302135463b5e43f4c6921Retweet this button on every post blogger

C&C is a brand that has been out since 1997, but recently has been putting out some hot clothing from L.A. that is straight dope from their concept to clothing.Crooks & Castles.

If you've ever seen the striped print on some of their clothes (nope, that ain't you're auntie's Prada, that's some hood Prada only Street dope. That's why affectionately call them Street Prada, but that's just me.

Quick from their own website:
http://www.crooksncastles.com/about.php

"Crooks", criminals, pimps, hustlers, thieves, etc. And "Castles" those who got rich by becoming a crook......Those who stopped at nothing to get their "Castle". We too hope one day to be the next rich crook. In some of our designs you might see a familiar icon or logo that we took (stole) and gave it our own twist.....We felt that some high fashion brands only catered to someone in a certain lifestyle or with a rather large bank account. Therefore we took what they made and crafted it to fit ours. In all honesty... who cares. We just really wanted to make some... Hot Shit!








Street Strength -- The concept is all in the name, a real dope twist to "Prada" trademark (hope no lawsuits penting!) and fresh style BADASS but not ALL about skulls, cross bones, bloody crosses and, Not hating, I'm just saying....
Block is Hot-- a lawsuit really could be pending if PRADA's lawyers are on their game, Stay up C&C and hope "all the money [they] stacked [won't need to be] all the money for bail" -B.I.G.
RE-ing Up Ability -- streets is really watching--artists and athletes is pushing it,..Jay-Z flossing the CASTELLANO (C&C Co-designed) SHADE's on an INTERNATIONAL STAGE (GLASGLOW 08)..expect an HBO Entourage placement soon, if not already!
the darkers (shades) they co-designed with
Dis Threats They can easily fall into the trap of just being another trendy look of the Skulls/CrossBones Punk rocker trend [that's finally dying down!] if they don't work that Crook/Castle concept into more of their marketing.

Remarks:Retweet this button on every post blogger

The more I look at Hip Hop Culture turning more and more into a business, looking at my own endeavours to pursue my own business of what I am most interested and passionate about, I came to the realization tonight that I could combine my continued pleasure of the Culture and styles, with business grown and the appreciation for well run and established brands. I think there is a market for finding, researching, promoting above all else, wearing Hip Hop brands that are and were borne out of the ground and peoples desire to represent themselves through gear, clothes, kicks, sneakers, hats, polos, jeans, knits, tee shirts, hoodies, boots, shiny belt buckles, cuff links, knit caps, button downs, embroidered blazers, shorts, colored-army-muscleshirt-and-plain-old wife beaters. Ecko, Phat Farm, Rocawear, Sean John, Gino Green Global, Ralph Lauren, Polo, Nautica, Levis, Timbaland, Nike, Bathing Ape, State Property Clothing, etc. All these brands have either been birthed out of Hip Hop Culture, borrowed from the trends of the culture or are helplessly being shaped by the youth culture of Hip Hop and its trend setters globally! How funny is that,..the same fad that people from the ghettos across America became a movement that became a JUGGERNAUT to change what pop culure wears and carries themselves,..all spurred by capitalism, towards gigantic proportions. The same fad that produced world wide known lyrics, genre bending music, international dance, record labels, also created enormous sums of wealth for many young entreprenuers to become upstart business men that would not only produce Clothing labels, but other lines of business as well. But not to lose focus, this blog will seek out, promote, examine the fashion and business of clothing labels, find newest sustainable trends and explore new fashion labels that were brought on and influenced by the Hip Hop Culture to produce the dominant swagger and appeal urban Hip Hop fashion has brought to young and old. We will also explore international styles from other "ghetto" influenced urban fashion trends and labels.Retweet this button on every post blogger

Mark "Ecko" and Datwan Thomas drop knowledge, about their respective industries: Hip Hop Publishing and Fashion Marketing and Design...

Shout out to Styleaholic.com empress Najwa Moses:

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Louis Vuiton has "donned" K dubs to create a signature line of Louis Vuitton shoes. Good thing because its time to start living up to the name Ye without having to pay for it, if you feel me. Get the money!


http://www.styledash.com/2008/07/01/kanye-west-to-design-shoes-for-louis-vuitton/Retweet this button on every post blogger

A lil shoe game.....



Lace Theory 101 from Freshnessmag.com on Vimeo.Retweet this button on every post blogger