Fashion Friday: Urban Outfitters x Without Walls, Adidas x Rick Owens, Kahlil Joseph x Kenzo + More!
Fashion Friday returns this week with many collaborations and cool collections; a mix between the latest for Spring/Summer 14 and more Fall/Winter 14 styles in the works. Let's begin with Adidas' latest collaboration with Rick Owens. The second collaboration for the brands marks the birth of a new sneaker called the Tech Runner. The minimalist design of the shoe makes it very similar in appearance to their last collaboration, but the structural changes and use of shapes make this line truly innovative. Geometrically-inspired designs are available in grey, white and black. The futuristic aspect of the design gives these shoes a unique flair and great appeal.
There is more cool footwear on the way, however. Street wear label HUF released their Summer 14 Footwear Collection featuring a wide-range of pairs, each more fun than the last. All of them will be a perfect fit for the summer season with looks ranging from flowery prints and bold graphics to more casual colors. With vacation season coming soon, New Era has been proactive about addressing the matter with a new line of head wear in tropical prints. They gave a different look to bucket caps and hates from 59FIFTY's collections for the Lakers, LA Dodgers, Marlins and Miami Heat. Both of these fresh looks are Okayplayer approved for the warmer months.
Last February, Urban Outfitters launched their new lifestyle brand Without Walls. Taking the social media world by storm, the line made a huge splash with its launch on March 1st. This week, they released a video introducing a collaboration with Brooklyn-based label ICNY (Ice Cold New York). The label is known to use unique reflective appliqués on apparel and accessories to produce a strobe-like effect when lit. This makes the clothing ideal for bike riders, runners and others with an interest in maintaining visibility at night. The items from the collaborative collection are the ideal fit for night owls, including pedestrians and skaters. Without Walls dropped the news alongside a Spring/Summer 14 lookbook photographed by Ja Tecson. The lookbook brings spotlights the daily life of ICNY founder Mike Cherman.
Last but not least, one of the strangest fashion films in recent memory dropped this week. French label Kenzo teamed-up with director Kahlil Joseph to deliver the mysterious looking short Dawn In Luxor, which combines the mystical, beautiful, weird and paradoxical. The Los Angeles-based director brings the same unique aesthetic that informed his previous music videos and short films - Shabazz Palaces'Black Upand Flying Lotus'Until The Quiet Comes included - to this project. In order to present the Kenzo Spring/Summer 14 Collection, they captured a wild taste of California that pulls from all of the senses: "sensual yet tough, relaxed yet intense, sophisticated yet free-spirited", featuring the talents of experimental hip-hop outfit Shabazz Palaces and the striking Eritrean model Grace Mahary. Like it or not, the unique narrative will definitely provoke conversation.