TREND TALK: HELLO AFRICA!

A NEW COOL IS RISING OUT OF AFRICA

Africa’s influence in fashion, business and innovation is growing. According to trending watch.com “…Africans are expecting brands to champion, support and cater to the identities they create for themselves.”  The new Guinness ad highlights a society of “elegant” people in the Congo known as the Sapeurs. The video follows these trendsetters who believe in ‘putting more in, to get more out.’ What shapes their identity is not economic status, but creativity and respect expressed through fashion.

Beyoncé on the cover of L' Officiel Magazine

Singer Elle Varner rocks an african teacup dress on-set of video shoot

Solange in African inspired outfit on the cover of Complex magazine

Rihanna accessorizes with African bangles during her 2010 AMA performance 

African Design Makes Waves:

As African-inspired prints & patterns are becoming more popular with fashion bloggers, trend-setting celebrities (like Beyonce & Rhianna), top stylists and designers; Africa is continues to make big waves in fashion and design. African Batik fabrics such as Dutch Wax prints (also known as Wax Hollandais), Ghanaian Kente cloth and Ankara, Kanga (a fabric from East Africa) have been worn down the runways of New York, London, Milan and Paris. The Balenciaga collection for spring 2013 featured African fashion influenced by Dutch wax prints and Ankara. H&M included African elements in their 2012 collection developed by the designers of the Italian fashion label Marni.

Recently Project Makowla launched an innovative new service that allows vendors to sell their African-inspired pieces and reach their consumers all over the world in a more direct manner. Now, people can have custom pieces based created with authentic African fabrics. The process is simple. Customers send photos of their favorite design, measurements and their choice of African fabric. A seamstress from West Africa or Ghana will then create the custom piece and ship it directly to the customer.  

Nigerian-born designer Duro Olowu is another example of the impact and cultural reach that Africa is making globally. Olowu was one of the first designers to collaborate with JCPenny and released a limited edition collection in the spring of 2013. Based in London, Olowu pulls influences from his London up-bringing as well as his Jamaican and Nigerian roots. FLOTUS, Michelle Obama, is just one of the many celebrities that have been seen in his head-turning designs. 

Duro 2013 Collection for JCPenny

Another COOL movement, Africa is Now, goes beyond fashion and includes five themes to promote innovative solutions; Africa is Sharp, Urban, Tradition Reinvented, Resourceful and Transformed. As a part of the movement, the Indaba Project has been created to feature works in design, dècor and architecture across the continent. Rebranding Rwanda is is one of the projects in the works under this project. 

Other projects include developing art exhibitions and galleries in Dakar called Dak'Art. International artists are selected from all over the world with the aim of creating a global image. There is also a kickstarter campaign called BRCK which developed the first mobile wifi device built for Africa’s most undeveloped regions.

There are so many more innovative African-influenced projects happening all over  world. To get more information on these #Certified COOL and creative projects, you can visit the official Design Indaba site. You can also get in on all the cultural vibes below with our style edit! Happy shopping and stay COOL.

THE SHOPPING BAG
#CertifiedCOOL AFRICANA FASHION FINDS 

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By: Joanne Joseph, COOL Contributor

FASHION FILES: NIKE FREE HYPERFEEL

Coming Fall 2013.

So we started the Miami Chapter of Mission I'm Possible,

a cool running crew with a fashion edge. Working out and training

is always a little more fun when you look cool... at least we

think so. We're always on the look out for something cool to rock

on the RunWay so when we came across the new Nike Free

Hyperfeel we felt our hearts skip a few beats. They're light, flexible

and feel like you're running in socks.

For all the deets check this out:

http://www.dezeen.com/2013/07/17/nike-free-hyperfeel-running-shoe-by-nike/

Follow us on Instagram!

@NinjoWilson

@TerranceWilson

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FASHION FILES : NIKE SKY HIGH DUNK CITY PACK

 

One of the coolest pair of kicks right now are the New York Sky High Dunks by Nike.

These beauties are one fifth of the City Pack scheduled to release in March. Each pair of kicks 

in the pack represent a major city around the world including: Paris, Milan and London. Each of 

the five will release at different times in the city it represents. Release dates are as followed: 

London (February 16th), Milan(February 23rd), Paris(March 2nd), and Tokyo (March 19th). 

Source Sneaker News

Kith NYC has the NYC edition left in size 11.
21Mercer also has them in various sizes (walk-ins only).
Look out for the full pack in mid March worldwide.
UPDATE: Just found out that 21 Mercer has London (plaid) and Milan (brown) also available now.

See more COOL here.

COOL PEEPS : THE KING

Martin Luther King was and still is one of the coolest people to live. Anyone confident enough to put themselves out there to promote virtues will always get cool points in our book. So here are some of the great MLK's most essential words of wisdom to marinate on.

WORK: All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

LEADERSHIP: A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

ETHICS: Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. The time is always right to do what is right.

SERVICE: Life’s most persistent and urgent question is:  “What are you doing for others?”

JUSTICE: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

VALUES: If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values – that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION: Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

THE END OF DISCRIMINATION: I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

VISION & PERSEVERANCE: I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. (From Dr. King’s final speech the night before his assassination).

BIG SHOUT:
Thanks to Mark Toth for pulling these great words of wisdom from MLK.
Thanks to H.Q. Roosevelt for the amazing photos!

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TREND TALK : LEATHER LOVE

We last featured Zara's fall lookbook which had leather moments incorporated into some of the pieces, and with one of this summer's hottest trend being leather shorts (yes)... it only seems natural that leather will carry over into the fall season in a major way.

Some of the highlights will be the leather peplum, leather leaggings and pants, pleated skirt, and button-up shirt. There are a few unusual or playful ways to incorporate leather for fall with leather bow-ties, skinny ties, shades, and yes, leather socks which were made popular by Rachel Comey, who brought these to market in 2009. They didn't really fly, but with this major leather season, we think its time for a come back.

The most important thing about rocking leather is that it only looks good when you keep it COOL.

See more COOL features on our blog THAT'S COOL. Just click and scroll down. 

TREND TALK : BLACK OUT

Black has long been associated with elegance, formality, wealth, and mystery. Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth. A black suit or dress can make you look thinner. When designing for a gallery of art or photography, you can use a black matte to make the other colors stand out. It is considered to be a very formal and prestigious color .

Black also has negative connotations that include, death and exclusion. What draws me to the color is that it has such powerful connotations that are both positive and negative. It's interesting that a color that is so decisive has such a split personality. 

Either way, the famed Jay-Z phrase, “All Black Everything,” is really what we're featuring in this post. Black-on-black design is incredibly sexy, stealthy and modern. Black never goes out of style, but black-on-black is on another level of cool. The best way to execute black-on-black design is by expertly combining textures and finishes, and using simple dramatic angles and curves. For example:

-The Minimalist Black House, Q House by asensio_mah + J.M.Aguirre Aldaz is designed with simple, clean lines, which will make it look ultra modern forever.

-The Black Lamborghini Avenger is already pretty modern looking, but the hit of black matte takes it beyond.

-Black lipstick looks best when its shiny and your foundation and eyeshadow is perfectly matte.

-Wearing black on black clothing looks best when you mix layer with different fabrics and textures to help break it up a bit.

-Shamballa Bracelets are hot, but all black Shamballa Bracelets are hotter and look more expensive. I'm noticing more men wearing these.

-Nike HOV Collection uses the same Air Force design. Blacking them out just gives the design a new edge.

-Black out watches like the Hublot Big Bang black out watch uses a brushed metal, a combination of matte finishes for a super stealthy effect.

-Black leather drum kit (via Fancy) is just too cool.

-Oneida Black Flatware uses minimal lines and matte black finish for a modern and elegant effect.

-DeLonghi Geodesic Brilliante Kettle is designed with an interesting geometric pattern that takes it from just another black coffee maker to a work of art that just happens to make coffee.

-I love the heavy use of black in interior design, but it only works with super simple and minimal furniture.

-The Black Swan Superyacht 70m by designer Timur Bozca. Its a black yacht. Need I say more?

-And of course we must end this post with a nod to the godfather of black-on-black... Mr. Carter. Thanks for being so COOL.

See more COOL features on our blog THAT'S COOL. Just click and scroll down.