Brand profile : Rag & Bone

Rag & Bone is a new brand in our portfolio at Blender Agency, and during Paris Fashion Week we will present it to our Scandinavian customers for the first time. We are truly excited to start working with the first class brand that is Rag & Bone.

Founded in 2002, rag & bone had one very clear vision in mind: to make clothes that they and their friends would love to wear every day. With no formal fashion training, Marcus Wainwright & David Neville set about learning how to make jeans. They believed that denim represented the history, authenticity and fundamentals of classic work wear that they would strive to reflect in their designs.

(....) In 2006, rag & bone was selected as a finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award and won the 2007 Swarovski Award for emerging talent in menswear, after also being nominated for that same award in 2006. In 2010, David Neville and Marcus Wainwright were named Menswear Designers of the Year by the CFDA.

rag & bone is a lifestyle brand, offering men's, women's, footwear and accessories collections which are available at high end boutiques and exclusive department stores worldwide rag & bone also operates four flagship stores, men's and women's, on Christopher Street in NYC's West Village, as well as a SoHo shop at 119 Mercer Street.

The the full story here.

Yesterday, GQ posted this video below, which gives an insight in the making of the Rag & Bone Fw2010 collection.

From GQ:

Check out this short doc the guys from Rag & Bone presented last night at the Crosby Street Hotel in NYC. It's a backstage look at the making of their FW2010 collection.

At this very moment are our Rag & Bone reps are seated front row at the Rag & Bone SS11 show in Meatpacking District, NYC. Check out Style.com for pictures of the SS11 show.

Rag & Bone SS11 Show (Natalie Massenet of Net A Porter)

Rag & Bone will hit a store near you soon.

Best,

BA

Lou Doillon for Vanessa Bruno - Day For Night

Day For Night
Directed by Stéphanie Di Giusto
With Lou Doillon et Valentine Fillol Cordier
3mn15

Day for night captures a mysterious fugitive impression of vital strength which is deployed in the darkness of the night.

In the light of day, it becomes sensual and delicate. Valentine Fillol Cordier has a sort of power over nature. She makes the trees quiver and the wind rages.

She carries in her wake flowers and petals of the tree of life. Day breaks, Lou Doillon appears. Valentine goes through the night and encounters Lou who brings forth daylight. A hovering magical moment on the surface of water. Lou sings a haunting melody. Her voice rings out and brings peace to the storm in the night. With Lou and Valentine all the feminin ambiguities start moving. Catlike and delicate, embodied but secretive...

After this soft and sensual parenthesis, the race between the two women, between night and day, between Lou and Valentine, becomes a liberation. Lou sets off for the sun.

With Day for Night, womanhood goes with masculin coats wrapped around soft sensual dresses. Colors are like dawn and dusk...

Here Vanessa imposes the group "Efterklang" a bewitching folk music. Then the sensuality and emotion of Lou's song which she has composed. The movie sets off with " The books". Day for Night is an emotion. A movie like a poem. A collection that is strong and slightly erotic.

Enjoy.

BA

Vanessa Bruno Athé - Pop Up Store

Last weekend, Vanessa Bruno opened its first Athé Pop Up store. The store is located at Rue Du Temple in the Marais area, in an 18th century building.

The store will shut down at the end of September, so make sure to drop by if you are in Paris this month.

BA

CALZATURIFICIO DIEMME

Diemme is starting to attract attention across different markets, and the respons is overwhelming. Below is a few press and blog mentions, from the last few weeks. Shortly, we will present the new styles and colours that will drop in the last quarter of 2010.

GQ, september 2010

Euroman, september 2010

Inventory Magazine, web

Nordiska Kompaniet, NK, web

For European and US wholesale requests, please contact us at info@blenderagency.com

Best,

BA

Helmut Lang Pop Up Shop

If you happen to be in Copenhagen this week, make sure to drop by Birger Christensen. They are hosting a pop up shop in collaboration with Helmut Lang. The 140 year old purveyor to the Danish royal court, was originally a supplier of furs. Today they still offer a fur line, and in addition to the Birger Christensen store, they run both the Chanel and Hermès branches in Copenhagen.

Helmut Lang Pop Up Shop at Birger Christsensen, Østergade 38, 1100 Copenhagen C

Best,

BA

Office Mix Vol. 2

It's summer, and the summer sounds better with music. Erlend, our music connoisseur, has compiled a little summer threat for yours truly (Spotify).

While you're at it, check out Jazzy Jeff and Mike Boogie's brilliant Summertime mixtape. It consists of 49 great summer tunes, from Kool & The Gang, Quincy Jones, Roy Ayers, Ramsey Lewis, Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots with George Benson, among others. In other words, the usual suspects, and that's just perfect. For complete track list, see comments.

Best,

BA

Diemme

Diemme is a shoe factory and brand located in Montebelluna, a small town in the northeastern part of Italy which is widely regarded as one of the most dominant areas for production and research of technical and performance footwear. 75 % percent of the world’s ski boots are produced in or around Montebelluna, which has a local footwear industry that dates back to the 1870s when local shoemakers began making boots for woodcutters and mountain people in the area. It is a small town with about 30000 inhabitants, but there is a strong local support sector which inclueds local tanneries, shoelace makers and eyelet suppliers. ”Made in Montebelluna” is practically a trademark in itself as the town has a reputation for high standard of craftsmanship and quality materials.

The founders of Diemme, brothers Dennis and Maico, had both been working with shoe production and research their entire life when they decided to start their own company in 1992. In addition to their own collections, Diemme produces footwear for other labels as well, in particular in Japan where they have produced for a wide variety of brands and retail chains. Due to the local presence of fabric, sole and hardware suppliers, Diemme are able to produce limited runs of handmade products with superior components to a highly competitive price.

The leather is of exceptional quality, soles are mainly from Vibram, and above all the products are exceptionally light and comfortable. You can truly feel and see the quality and incredible attention to detail when you study the products up close. Diemme specialize in high mountain, hunting, trekking and safety footwear, and have now partnered up with Blender Agency to release limited collections in unique colourways.

Diemme will be available in a store near you, from this August. For retail or wholesale inquiries, please contact us at info@blenderagency.com

Ciao!

BA

Lunch with the FT: Marc Jacobs

Head over to Financial Times, for a lunch with Marc Jabobs.

Best,

BA

RIKA MAGAZINE issue no.two

I don't know where you are going, but I'm off to to the Stars!

Ulrika Lundgrens' Rika has been with us for some years, and the brand keeps getting stronger every season. Their creativeness seems to have no end, and the distribution of the brand on the global scene is impressive. Their work with Opening Ceremony confirms their ambitions and the latest Rika Magazine embraces the scope of Rika potential as a brand.

Rika at Opening Ceremony Tokyo

Rika presents the new Rika Magazine the following way:

To celebrate the Spring/Summer 10 collection, Rika launches the long-awaited and exclusive secod issue of Rika Magazine.

This very unique publication shapes itself as a creative diary, an aesthetic testimonial to the designer Ulrika Lundgren’s relationship with fashion, music and art, as well as a personal interpretation of the publication’s grand theme “I’m Off To The Stars”. Readers will take the hands of Daisy Lowe or Anna Brewster amongst other ike-minded creative personalities and embark themselves on an insightful journey to London, New York, Paris and Stockholm, where our heroines discover different cities and mix their personal style with selected items of the Rika SS10 collection.

Rika at Opening Ceremony Tokyo

Along with the main features, the editorial stars interviews with Pamela Love and Lilly Wood And The Prick, pictures by Marc Hom,Liz Collins, Helena Christensen, Ryan Foerster, Rikki Kasso and Blaise Reutersward, styling by Robbie Spencer (Dazed & Confused) and Robert Rydberg, as well as creative collaborations with SurfaceToAir, Uslu Airlines, Paris Texas and other friends of Rika. Last but not least, the magazine presents the exclusive designs by Rika for Opening Ceremony.

The exclusive nature of the magazine allows selective key stores worldwide to carry and distribute it. With only five thousand copies it is a limited edition and develops to a collectors item.

To celebrate the launch of this second issue during London Fashion Week 2010, Rika will open its first pop-up store in collaboration with London-based retailer The Shop At Bluebird.

Creative Director: Ulrika Lundgren & Art Director: Jacob Wildschioedtz (NYC) Stay tuned and join us on our way to the stars.

—

Love & Peace

*

We are very much looking forward to follow the progression of Rika, and recommend you to drop by your nearest Rika retailer, to join the Rika galaxy!

Best,

BA

James Perse Window Display

Marc Atlan Design Inc., has been making window displays for James Perse since 2006. Take a look at the sublime work of Marc Atlan below (all pictures from www.marcatlan.com).

Best,

BA

Before anyone did anything, Evisu did everything

A very anticipated comeback is on its way. The seagull denim from Japan, Evisu, has teamed up with denim guru, the founder of Paper Denim and Earnest Sewn, Scott Morrison. It already appears as the perfect match. From our previous experience with Earnest Sewn, we know that the products will be as good as anything out there. We recognize the same product feel, and the rumours tell that both the fittings and washes are amazing. We are glad to announce that Blender Agency will represent Evisu in the Scandinavian market as from 2010. We still have our old raw denims from Evisu in the closet, and can't wait to get hold of the new ones.

Evisu SS10

History

Evisu is the first true collectible “purist denim” brand in the world, introducing casual denim wearers across the globe to connoisseur-quality Japanese selvedge denim and custom distressing. Evisu plays a pivotal role in the history of denim, the brand that many credit for starting the Japanese “Replica Movement” which in turn, birthed the premium denim category we know today.

Evisu SS10

In 1988, Hidehiko Yamane, an avid denim collector, importer, and tailor by trade, set out to replicate the American classic 1944 Levi’s 501 with an obsessive attention to detail. He founded Evisu in 1991 in Osaka, Japan, naming the company after the Japanese god of prosperity, who is sometimes playfully portrayed on the label. Evisu is one of the five unofficial members of what most people in the denim industry know as ‘the Osaka Five’; the five most influential and respected denim brands in Japanese denim history.

Now

For 2010, in preparation for the new decade and the commeration of Evisu’s 20th anniversary, the design baton for Evisu was passed to American designer Scott Morrison. The overall rebranding and updated style changes of the new 2010 collections reflect Scott Morrison’s signature approach to denim. Morrison is considered by many as a pioneer in the denim world, founding and designing both Paper Denim & Cloth and Earnest Sewn. With his arrival at Evisu, he and his team have brought a renewed focus to denim, fit and wash, as well as an updated approach to Evisu the international brand.

Evisu Woman SS10

The Seagull

The famous hand-painted Evisu “Kamome” (“Seagull” in Japanese) logo on the back pocket was a reference to the Levi’s 1944 printed ‘Arcuate’ logo, which for a 9 month period during WWII, had to be printed instead of sewn due to US government restrictions on thread and other materials essential to the war effort. Over time, the hand-painted logos chipped and faded as the denim became more and more distressed - each jean becoming an individually distinctive, and collectible, one of a kind item.

The “Seagull” logo has evolved a great deal over the past 20 years, and once again we’ve decided to update the iconic seagull. Basing the newest incarnation of the logo on a found example of an early 1990’s original hand-painted design, the new, thinner ‘less is more’ gull.

The lines Scott and his staff will present will be Evisu, Evisu Genes and Private Stock. In addition there will be a more fashion oriented line called Stylecraft. We have just reveived the first pictures of the FW10 woman collection, and the pictures are looking very promising (see below).

Evisu will most definitelly find it's way to a store near you within 2010. We hope you are as excited as we are.

Evisu SS10

Best wishes for 2010,

BA