The Ray-Ban Wayfarer - Photo Courtesy of Mens Vogue

‘Fashion fades and only style remains.’

It’s hard to argue with Coco Chanel- the high priestess of haute couture- especially when she’s right. Few things can outlast the whim of fashion, particularly in this age of accelerated cultural recycling, but those that have and continue to do so, deserve both our praise and attention. There can be no better place to start our worship of style idols than with the ultimate motif of cool: Sunglasses.

To be more specific, Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses.

Whether you call them shades, bins, low-lamps or tints, no hipster of substance could seriously expect to be considered cool without a pair of dark glasses somewhere about their person.

The ultimate multi-purpose style item- along with shielding those precious peepers from solar damage - sunnies mask hangovers, lies and sneak peeks at the opposite sex. Whatever nefarious or naughty behaviour you’re into, shades have got you covered. They protect your cool and imply a certain primal detachment from the scene. Seriously, hiding the eyes adds mystery and a little menace to ones cachet at street level, but it’s a big no-no in the wild. Any serious predator will attack on site if it can’t see your eyes, preferring to rip you to shreds rather take chances your intentions. Just like cops will if you drive around after dark with your locs on, no matter what Corey Hart says.

Sunglasses are a keystone in the iconography of cool and from aviators to wraparounds to the absurd designer windshields pimped by Paris Hilton, Ray-Ban Wayfarers were the trailblazing frames that made shades part of our lives.

Born in 1952 the Wayfarer design was an aggressive new shape that reflected the style of the time - think swooping Cadillac tail fins at the corners - and the angst in years to come. Although designed for primarily for pilots and intended for men, Wayfarer shades found greater popularity among a newer and iconoclastic breed - from street punks to surfers to matinée idols - intent on shaking up the world around them. It might seem a little sensationalist, like we’re reading to much into this, but look at the crew that wore them and made them famous; Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol. These are the glasses Audrey Hepburn rocked in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and were the personal choice of none other than J.F.K.

What makes Wayfarers even more remarkable is longevity; like Chuck Taylors, Red Tags or Coke’s glass bottle, the design has remained largely unchanged for more than half a century and within that time, no matter how often the fashion tide breaks high and rolls back, these shades remain safely on the shore. They were as much a part of motorcycle danger in the 50’s as leather, lived through the 60’s on the faces of presidents and artists and despite lying low in the seventies (although Jack Nicholson was rocking them at Oscars, as he does to this day..) Wayfarers returned resurgent in the eighties.

Starting with the then youthful future Scientologist and Oprah abuser Tom Cruise - who felt that Risky Business just wouldn’t be the same movie without them - and followed by the likes Debbie Harry, Miami Vice and Elvis Costello to name but a few, the eighties proved to be a high-water mark in popularity for this design classic. Through 1986 Wayfarers had sold some 1.6 million pairs and spawned a generation of dedicated followers.

Fast forward to Today and, as we re-live the 80’s one motif at a time, Ray-Ban’s are back on the noses of the great and not-so good once again. Although remixed in acid tones, two-colour sets and clear frames for this generation, Wayfarers maintain the same profile that broke the mold way back in ‘52 and put them on the head of every hep cat or fly girl since then. But not my head. No, my melon is far to wide and oddly angled to support such a dynamically geometric shape. A tragedy in itself but made worse by the news that, in the months to come, Style Heist.Com will be open for business and selling some of the hottest homages to the Wayfarer flavour. Seriously, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then this design classic should be blushing.

Crafty Engineer from Paul Frank - $155 CDN Available soon from Style Heist.com

Modern Amusement 30’s - $200 CDN Available soon from Style Heist.com

Courtesy of Paul Frank and Modern Amusement respectively, come the Crafty Engineer and 30’s frames. These slick shades share high-class construction, real attention to detail and a sharp twist of Californian style. Representing the Wayfarer profile, but slightly softened at the corners for that Big Wednesday surfer feel, you can rock these with confidence and be both classic and contemporary. The bird motif on the Modern Amusement 30’s and the metal diamonds and inlays on the Crafty Engineers are a delicate punch of branding that lifts them above the everyday mimics, of which there are many. Whether they are knocked off by Boss, Marc Jacobs, the night market or anyone else, you will find Wayfarers - or something a lot like them - on the rack in every shade store or dollar emporium in any country from here to wherever.

Like Madame Coco says - style remains.

A selection of Gram Design kicks.

For those that don’t know, ‘ones & twos’ is Cockney rhyming slang for shoes. Shoes, shoes, shoes.

For men the choice of footwear is essential; part fashion, part statement and totally political, ones pick of kick can determine how far you get with a girl or your employer. Indeed, the well known and well worn mothers maxim of judging a man by his shoes is a global truth, even reaching as far as the unheralded fashion center that is Pyongyang, North Korea, where in a four colour wardrobe social status is all about the shoes.

Women, of course, have known about the importance of footwear for years. Anyone who has even dipped a toe into the sea of female fashion and surrounding culture will know the perpetual frenzy and near religious zeal that surrounds a pair of Manolo Blahnik’s, Jimmy Choo’s or - praise be! - Christian Louboutin’s. I can’t claim to understand such excitement, but as I do with many things Woman, I bow to superior knowledge.

What is clear is that shoes are crucial to ones outward appearance and potential well being, but where does that leave the habitual sneaker user or the terminally hip? No use have we for the Hush Puppies, penny-loafers or wingtips of this world. Not with our skinny jeans and lo-fidelity attitudes; explaining the hype-ness of a colourway to any prospective mate who is simply not as finely tuned to the relevance of such things is an exercise in failure and possibly humiliation or ridicule.

Thankfully salvation comes from the heavy weight champs of convenient living; the Swedes. Yes, the nation that gave us low cost furniture and high quality porn have turned that native ingenuity to footwear and saved us from an ugly compromise.

Gram Design have put together a high-end blend of the very best parts of sneakers, skate shoes and straight shoes and come up with a range of footwear which fit with any wardrobe. From lo-top to ankle boot all the Gram designs reference the great moments in pop kicks and mix it with an eye towards modern style. The result is a glorious mash up; think Dogtown meets Marty Mcfly’s Nike’s with a twist of John Bender and your getting close. Made from versatile but durable cotton denim these shoes are created with care, both in shape and colour. The flamboyant should check the slick bowling shoe finishes for thoughtful throwback style. The more sombre should reach for the charcoal or neutral tones. Whatever you pick, you’re bound to make a good impression. The Swedes wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Envy 133 from Voodoo PC and HP

Given the ever rising tide of Apple-evangelism, powered by all that glistening, glowing touchscreen goodness, it is surprising how slow PC manufacturers have been in challenging the Macmonster on the ground of serious fashion tech. Sure we’ve seen a few brightly coloured efforts, more thoughtful designs but little that can really compete at the higher end of geek chic.

Until now.

The Envy133 from Voodoo PC packs power and innovation into an ultra-portable high-gloss case and at 0.7 of an inch thick, this is as thin as it gets. Voodoo have squeezed all sorts of goodness into this machine and, by teaming up with computing giant HP, still kept it at a competitive $2099. Not released until June 27th, this beautiful beast is already being pimped on the gadget blogs as an “Air Killer”. More realistically, given Apples current stranglehold, the Envy is an anti air option; a carbon fiber make over for the PC guy in those Mac ads. For those of us who still appreciate a little clunk and a little control in our computing, it’s nice to have options.

God knows we need em.

Science Machine - Chad Pugh

When the egg heads of the black & white era set about filling entire rooms with vacuum cylinders and magnetic drums to sort out a series of punch cards, the idea of computers as a creative tool couldn’t have been further away. Now there’s probably a billion times more juice in a knock-off Casio watch from the night market and a trillion times that inside whatever sexy box of bits that connects you to the web than in those monster machines.

Luckily some people are both talented and dedicated enough to wield that power with an artists touch.

Chad Pugh’s Science Machine print is a strange and beautiful mash-up of high-school text book and high tech style. The limited edition print run has already sold out, but the story of it’s creation is making waves amongst designers, geeks and anyone interested in seeing a mad professor at work. Condensing some 40 hours of drawing time into seven minutes of video results in a manic, eye watering experience which is no little achievement in itself.

Check it for yourself at Vimeo.

The Gutter, Brooklyn, NYC

StyleHeist would like to go on the record and say that there is no finer or more noble and wholesome pastime than 10 pin bowling. A true American classic, a night on the lanes is a cultural institution that goes back to the fifties. Unfortunately for this noble game your average lane is suited to the over fifties and the kids, unless you’re heavily into the po-mo irony…

….But now in a hipster hot-spot, a new Brooklyn joint has seen the light and crafted a visionary glimpse of futuretainment. The Gutter is a retro-now synergistic blend of bowling and the worlds most popular pastime: drinking.

Built from reclaimed chunks of lanes past and tricked out in down home living room chic, The Gutter pulls together the best of both worlds; Fine beers, high style, high scores, high times.

With only 8 lanes and little local competition expect big crowds and big atmosphere.

Just don’t steal the shoes.

Disposable - By Sean Cliver

Yeah back in the day, everyone at Styleheist skateboarded and it was never a crime. Looking back, the way we treated our boards might have been. Untouched graphics were never cool - the sure sign of a poseur - but damn what the hardcore say: Those graphics were important!

It was a connection. Remember that first board? Not the heavy as lead Toys-R-Us starter, but the first one you picked, bought home and built. Those graphics spoke to you and for you. Remember the time you popped a fat slide, flipped your deck and saw all that smudged paint? You felt bad, we know you did because we felt it too.

But that’s the nature of the beast and Sean Cliver knows it. A long time skate artist, he has put together the definitive paper-bound memorial to all the designs that have been smeared on curbs all over the world- Disposable: 30 years of Skateboard Art.

What makes this book special is that delves into artist mind and what goes in designing art for mass destruction. Featuring contributions from artists and skaters alike - Ed Templeton, Steve Cab, Jeff Grosso and Mark Gonzales to name a few.

Running for 228 full colour pages with over 1000 images this is the ultimate coffee table skateboard museum.

Skate and destroy.

Check out these little beauties! Oil lamps made from Genuine US Army surplus Grenades and gilded in either silver, gold or au natural by our friends over at piethoutenbos. These hot ticket items would of once sent people running but now when lit the only thing running is the wick, with a continuous burn time of almost 24hours! The only problem when gifting these puppies is that your buddies might not catch on when they first open the box, still thats part of the fun!

(Text from DigitalThread.com)

We like to call him the man of 1,000 type-faces, Hydro74 is a type treatment wizard who can bring the bling to any combination of letters, from A-Z. Mostly freelancing for a number of companies at this point, Hydro’s work runs the gambit from magazine photo-illustrations to apparel designs, records sleeves and much, much more. His edgy hand-drawn treatments and graphic stylizations are highly sought after, and can be seen in publications and on clothing around the nation.

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Wow, the kid has talent! Hydro is about to release his new book ‘Legacy Of Defeat’. Packed with over 250+ type pieces & illustrations. With pricing around the $30-35 mark, the Style Heist team will each be rocking a copy on their coffee tables! It is a piece of Hydro74 and pretty much covers his catalogue of work. Look for more info soon or visit the man’s blog to keep up to date >here<

Here he is, the “Furni Meet BigChief” a free cardboard cutout toy that you can “glue, cut and paste” into a 3d little dude guaranteed to make you the coolest kid in the office/world. This collaboration between Milan design company Bigchief Design and Furni is a way for them to give something back to all the people that have got them this far!

Miniot 30gb I-wood case

Don’t worry, it’s not dead - only sleeping.

If you’ve ever seen an unhappy i-pod you will appreciate the importance of taking care of your best-est audio buddy. Strap him into one of these ultra-dope I-coffins and he might just live for ever.

Knocked up by the wood-meisters at Miniot, these cases are carved from a single piece of hard wood and it shows; rounded edges, near invisible hinges and continuous grain make this an executive ride for your pod. Available for the Nano and 5th gen I-pods in 5 standard woods and - for the high rollers - limited edition ‘heritage’ flavours, all with free monogramming. Check out the walnut burl, it’s just like the dash in Arthur Daley’s Rolls Royce….. True class.

June 2007 the ‘Tour de France’ begins in London. This is the first time the tour has started here and to celebrate this event there will be an exhibition held in the Tank at the Design Museum in London. Curated by Ben Wilson, ndustrial designer and bike fanatic, ‘Fixed’ is a historic look at the fixed gear bike from 1888 to the present day.

This Exhibition will feature four bicycles. A rare example of an early fixed geared bike the ‘Swift solid tyred safety bicycle’ built c1888. A 2007 ‘Terry Dolan’ full carbon fibre track bike, currently used by some of the UK’s best track riders. The ‘AF1’ a fixed geared bike recently built by the Wilson Brothers for the sports brand Nike. And finally an example of a courier bike, evolved and adapted throughout its life, fabricated using disparate parts from various bikes to create a (well loved, well used piece of kit.

Along side the bikes will sit a unique insight in to the construction of a bicycle. An exploded, annotated diagram of a fixed geared bike laserd into a piece of sheet glass and suspended in the Tank.

After enjoying the spectacle of the race as it travels across Tower Bridge and along Jamaica Road bring your bike to the Design Museum and tell them why you love it. All contributions will be filmed to form a unique archive of memories, appraisals and passions.

For more photos of the exhibition and much more from the Wilson Brothers check their blogs, these guys are very talented!

www.wilsonbrothers.co.uk
www.benwilsondesign.co.uk