Braun, German tech giants who are perhaps most well known for grooming kit and kitchenware, have actually been making timepieces since 1971. And this is the reissued BN0035 chronograph watch. It's beautifully crafted with minimal decoration, featuring a clean black leather strap, stainless steel casing and pure white face. Quality is there too as we'd expect, running with quartz chronograph movement and it's fitted with scratch resistant mineral glass. It looks very simple but holds a sophisticated and elegant presence, that would finish a sharp look brilliantly.
Having made her name known through her beautiful track "Video Games" last year, Lana Del Rey today releases her debut album "Born To Die". The American artist has interestingly been widely hailed over here in the UK, whilst keeping quiet in her home country, until her controversial SNL appearance which according to the media backlash hasn't quite worked in her favour. Which is a shame because I think she has huge talent.
The unique thing about her is the feeling behind her voice. Very noticeable in this album is her ability to portray the voice of an innocent angel to a wicked queen in one line, strong to vulnerable, rebel to sweetheart. It's an emotional range that I've not heard before, which makes it such an engaging album throughout. Perhaps the songs don't quite match the greatness of "Video Games" but the journey is gorgeously recorded and something about her hauntingly beautiful sound is addictive. For me, it's superb. And she looks stunning in this cover artwork.
So I was one of the millions of people across the world with my eyes glued to the television in sheer awe, watching the Australian Open Final between Rafa Nadal and eventual winner Novak Djokovic. That is, eventual in the most literal sense of the word. It was six hours of epic tennis, showcasing everything from emotion to skill and strength to passion. They were fucking warriors.
There's been plenty of media hyping this up to have been the greatest match ever, and all in good reason. It encapsulated all that is great about sport, totally inspiring. The match swayed continuously, with both players taking the momentum and showing their best. It really could have gone either way and in many occasions too. The final set had Nadal all over it until he missed a backhand volley by a few millimeters, a point that he had set up perfectly. Djokovic came back out of nowhere and stormed to a deserved victory of 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7 7-5. It's all very good writing about it afterwards, but it's a match that is most valuable watched in full, and one that will remain as a significant point in the timeline of tennis for generations.
This week, a special pack of suede mids came out from Puma, special because it's made in Japan. It means top quality material, deeper colour tones and a nicely embroidered "Made In Japan" tag on the tongue. The mid tops come in two equally attractive colourways, colours from a certain blog I know.
The retro sneakers have a solid monotone look, housing full burgundy or navy uppers on clean white outsoles, with gold logo details which contribute to the exclusive feel these Japanese editions inevitably hold. They dropped this week in Japan and so are available to purchase. A very nice simple bit of suede footwear.
Kitted with a quality leather upper and soft crepe sole, this is the new Alan Crepe sneaker from one of my favourite collaborations, Ransom by adidas Originals. Part of the Spring/Summer 2012 collection, the Alan Crepes take a simple summer silhouette with near to no branding, emphasising the iconic Crepe sole and its wooden welt, which works so well against the clean leather body. It comes in two colourways, black and my preferred choice of tan. The perfect shoe to finish that summer look with elegance and no noise.
MONKEY MAJIK have today released their eagerly anticipated first single of 2012. Entitled "HERO", it comes as their second release since the devastating Tohoku disaster of March last year, which affected heavily the band's hometown of Sendai. It struck them hard and their music has reflected this strongly, aiming to look forward, stay positive and rebuild. After releasing their beautiful single "Headlight" in October, they enter 2012 hoping to make it a better year than the last for all, and "HERO" is the first step. The new single includes an all-English version too, drawing out the hero in all of us, with the song fittingly tied up with the Japanese Red Cross' blood donation campaign. Featuring not much more than the mellow sounds of the piano and acoustic guitar, it's a touching track which encapsulates their feelings as a band very powerfully.
Through the year, they will continue their volunteering work, reach out further through their SEND-AI project, as well as going on a Japan tour running from May to July. Plus, it was revealed yesterday that their next album, the 7th original LP, is now completed and will be given the name "Somewhere Out There", with its release set for March 7th - a now significant week for the nation. There's also news about Blaise's next solo album from The Alphabet Project, which can be expected later this year too. Stay tuned for the latest information first on my MONKEY MAJIK Page.
Coming to iPhone users in February, new American brand Monolith will be releasing their debut product to replace the phone's back with solid wood panels. Taking a similar approach to the leather backs by Sled, the wooden backs are to be fixed into place ourselves so that the material is seamlessly integrated into the Apple iPhone. There are three wood/colour options in oak, teak or walnut.
The designers at Monolith have provided a vintage feel to the smooth silver technology, a combination that is beautiful when executed well, and I'd say this ticks the boxes. It looks stunning. The packaging is also self-made, using cardboard custom laser-cut, housing the product nicely whilst highlighting its natural grain effectively. With the market for iPhone cases in more demand than ever before, these quality back panel solutions look to be the perfect addition and unique take we are looking for.
Released this week is this new Vintage Green colourway of the simple and elegant skateboard sneaker Eric Koston 1. Paired with a metallic silver swoosh, the model is made of a suede upper and clean white outsole. Once you nail a sneaker's silhouette, they become very fun and easy to be creative with, matching various colours for varying seasons, and the Nike SB lineup has achieved just that with the Janoskis and these Kostons in my view. Any colour, any time, chances are I'll like it. Vintage Green is nice.
Available at the Monocle Shop, the design savvy magazine has some new collaboration items released this month. It includes the beautiful Library Lamp, teaming up with Stockholm-based architect and product designer Andreas Martin-Löf for the second time. This gorgeous piece acts as a stylish bookend whilst softly illuminating the shelf through the upward-facing minimalist light bulb. It's hand-made using solid brass featuring a yellow woven cord and dimmer setting. Priced at £175, it's undoubtedly an excellently designed product, which would outshine any book on display. Love it.
The US Embassy Tokyo hosted an event last month for a youth programme they organised for those affected by the Tohoku disaster. They invited Blaise Plant and will.i.am from MONKEY MAJIK and Black Eyed Peas respectively, to show support and raise awareness. To have such huge idols promoting together, it's quite significant.
The pair hadn't met previously before, but they were asked to perform on stage at the event, and this video was uploaded today, full footage of the improv performance. And wow it's special. Not only is it a unique and spontaneous collaboration, but the product is sublime. Blaise knocks out the riff for the MM song "watching you" and after a verse or two, will.i.am enters with some impressive freestyle. It's almost ten minutes of musical joy.
Puma have launched their new campaign "Puma Football. Brings Japan Together." Football in the disaster-struck nation has had a huge effect over the last couple of years, with both the men and women reaching great success on the international stage, which has consequently made the sport and its players front page news.
This week, Puma released the TV commercial for their all new Powercat 1.12 boot, fitted with the latest technologies for a good grip to enhance shooting power. It features many Japanese household names, including national team captain Makoto Hasebe. It's very encouraging to see all forces of the industry working to make Japan closer and stronger.
And so it was confirmed yesterday that English centre back Gary Cahill had finally completed his move from Bolton Wanderers. He arrives at Chelsea as a very capable defender, and with good experience too. I would think he's set to become John Terry's preferred partner over David Luiz for the second half of the season, with the latter showing some naivety and room for learning in his recent performances. The potential is certainly there, already displaying his vibrant character and attacking flair. For now though, I'd feel more comfortable with Cahill there, who's got a mind to attack himself, having scored 15 goals at Bolton.
The most interesting thing to come from his signing perhaps is on the England front. For the defensive trio of Terry, Cole and now Cahill to be playing together week in week out at the highest level of club football can only strengthen the solidity in communication and structure, which will be key on the international stage I believe. Regularity and consistency is something England have not enjoyed much of, and if Terry and Cahill can extend and improve their partnership, then this ought to be exciting news. Especially with the position up for grabs with Ferdinand's form and fitness on the decline. I look forward to seeing him in action.
The unrivalled world's best footballer to grace the pitch with the generation's most incredible feet, Lionel Messi was awarded his third successive Ballon D'Or award this week. To mark the special achievement, his main sponsor adidas and their fitting three stripes have created these custom adizero F50s for him to wear for the second half of the season. Coming in a clean white and gold colourway, this just goes to show how bad all the vibrantly coloured mainstream lines are in comparison. I just don't understand the current trend in football boots with candy purple, flash green and blinding orange, they're just silly. But this Messi model is very pretty and it features the award-winning years, a message of gratitude, the Argentinian flag, and also Leo's new personal logo, following the likes of Tiger Woods and Roger Federer. It's a brilliant pair of boots, available to all through miCoach.
In related news, do you know who won the women's award? Japanese national captain Homare Sawa, who had a truly dazzling year, leading the nation to its first every World Cup accompanied with the top FIFA world ranking. The equivalent coach's award was given to the Japanese coach, Sasaki, who managed them to this superb feat. Amazing news.
Back in December, British brand Victate brought us their winter collection, featuring some of the finest garments around, whilst expanding their range and growing as a line too. They've been hinting at it for a couple of weeks, but today their flash sale "Five Days of Fun" was announced to commence next week. Every piece, from the Mainline t-shirts to the Private Stock oxfords, will have a day of slashed prices, and it's a proper impressive slash too. As a close friend and loyal customer, even their original pricing reflects completely the effort, quality and care that is put into each item, so the sale is a bargain you just cannot miss. The intricate graphic tees and sweats, tailor-made oxford shirts and leather monogram card wallet will all be there, so be sure to check it out at victate.co.uk.
Japanese leather specialists Roberu have released their new Spring/Summer range, of course utilising their top quality leather material and craftsman know-how to the maximum. Here are the Zip Wallets arriving in six colours, all using original oil leather, which is sure to wear naturally and beautifully through everyday use. It's segmented inside to separate coins, notes and cards as you wish, and they are fitted with vintage slider zips from WALDES, to give a refined, stylish finish. The wallets are accompanied in the drop by other accessories including a card holder and pocketed half wallet. For sure, you can rely on Roberu for the finest in leather goodies, and this range doesn't disappoint. Check it out.
Continuing their work with the designers at KiBiSi, AIAIAI yesterday unveiled their new headphone range, Capital, also on display at the Agenda trade show today. Adding to the lightweight Tracks and quality TMA-1s, this new model is set to conquer the harsh usage in the urban environment, inspired by the large cities of the world. And for sure, I use my headphones most when I'm on the tube in rush hour or walking through the rain. The Capital has been made to handle just that, flexible and rugged, made with fibreglass-strengthened nylon and rubber. It promises to provide crisp, clear sounds, whilst protecting it from damage in the city conditions. Sounds exactly like what we typical citygoers have been in need of. Its colour range will be released soon, which I predict will involve vivid combinations from a striking palette. Sounds great.
We've seen a resurgence of Nike Air Max 90 over the last year, and it seems as though the hype will only grow bigger as we move into 2012. I wasn't so sure what all the fuss is about though, as a fan of all things clean and simple, the Air Max for me has too much going on with its layers, textures and colours. However, I am also a fan of all things burgundy. And having just spotted this, I am in love! It's a wine red colourway from the Medium Grey range, from which we saw the Volt last week, blocked with flash yellow. But this burgundy colour is so perfect, complimenting the navy, white and main man medium grey excellently. It's a colour scheme that fits the palette of a certain blog... I'm led to believe these sneakers comes out soon, and I want it.
As part of a commemorative range of coins for the London Olympics 2012, The Royal Mint have released this 50 pence Football coin. Quite a witty approach playing on people's lack of knowledge on the oh-so-important rule that is Offside, a competition winner designed this 50p piece which will be in circulation soon. Not much more to say but I thought it was funny.
Released last month are these iPhone accessories from newly founded wood and leather craft specialists, Sled. All of their products are handmade, and the pictured product is the "Pack", a third of their iPhone back range. They're each meticulously crafted with hand-selected cowshed and birch wood, ready to replace the original back of the iPhone. Delivered with two magnetic screwdrivers and an online instructions video to help you out, it's the perfect accessory to leather up our iPhones, even providing us with a DIY feel. Not sure how protective these will be for the phone, but they certainly add some luxury and class to an already elegant device. They must wear beautifully too!
Adding to the Fall/Winter '11 collection, the adidas x Ransom collaboration line releases these simple and rugged high-tops, the Army TR. Available in two neutral colourways and uppers made of suede or canvas, they feature a broad side ribbon, distinguished toecap and matching eyelets and laces. There are also two low-top options too, but these mids are much better balanced, making for a top choice item of casual winter footwear. The relationship between the designers has grown stronger over the seasons and their products too have been more and more impressive, as it appears this is a collaboration with much more to give in the future. I'm sure there'll be Spring news coming soon.
The firework display in London last night was immense. 11 minutes of sheer entertainment. Watch it now in HD with BBC iPlayer. And have a very happy new year.
