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Comme des Garcons Black

FashionLeave a comment

In 2009, in response to recession, Comme des Garcons created BLACK Comme des Garcons, a line of reasonably priced classic CdG garments replete with their own boutiques around the world. The practical nature of the project was reflected in the small, minimalist spaces themselves.

As part of the ongoing effort to outfit the various sides of the Comme des Garcons universe with their own scent, CDG is launching the BLACK perfume this week. The cedar and vetiver based scent also somehow seems practical and well-rooted. Comme des Garcons is no stranger to woody, incensey scents, having done the Hinoki and Sequoia perfumes, among others. BLACK continues the strong cedar base with hints of leather, liquorice, birch tar, and pepper wood, and tops it off with black pepper from Madagascar and incense from Somalia.

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LONDON’S LN-CC REBOOTS

RetailLeave a comment

London’s favourite progressive retail store is located as far as possible from the obvious touristic shopping routes – in the heart of Hackney – and is only open to customers who request an appointment by phone or email ‘to control the amount of people in the store’ as its co-founder Dan Mitchell explains it. Though LN-CC (Late Night Chameleon Cafe) is a rather new store on the market, its clever mix of fashion brands, selection of books curated by Conor Donlon of the underground Donlon bookshop, and its rare Japanese music collection, hand-selected by Chee Shimizu, the owner of the Tokyo-based record store Organic Music, – has made the whole ‘concept-store’ idea sound exciting again. Recently, the shop underwent some renovations and last week I went to see what it was all about.

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Boudicca F/W 2013

FashionLeave a comment

Entering Boudicca space at Vyner street, 45, I suddenly remembered why this address sounds familiar – designers used to host Halloween events here, for which they invited their fans to participate and show their baking skills in creating craziest cakes for the occasion. Results were unpredictable and sometimes impressive – cakes in shapes of human-size skeleton, broken hearts, and monsters. Boudicca fans have quite an imagination.

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Alexandre Plokhov at Atelier New York

FashionLeave a comment

Dear readers,

If you happen to be in New York this Sunday, you can stop by Atelier New York (304 Hudson St.) where the Russian-born designer Alexandre Plokhov will be holding a trunk show. You will have an opportunity to meet the designer and order items from his Fall/Winter 2013 collection, which we thought strong, in the size, fabric, and colorway that fits your specifications.

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Enslaved and Pallbearer at the Bowery Ballroom

CultureLeave a comment

It was the last night of their North American tour and Enslaved, the Norwegian black metal band, did not seem tired in the least. Coming off a stretch of shows to promote their new album RIITIIR, Enslaved toured the states with fellow bands Pallbearer, Ancient VVisdom and Royal Thunder. The Bowery Ballroom was sold out and most in attendance chose to stay in the main room, shirking the basement bar in order to hear the bands. Each performance brought with it a different sound from folk-metal (Ancient VVisdom) and southern doom rock (Royal Thunder) to Pallbearers brand of old-school doom and finally the prog-black metal that Enslaved have refined over the past 22 years.

SZ MIX | DANIEL FRANCO

EventsLeave a comment

Hey SZ Fam,

As a fan of the “harder” side of music I decided to start by putting together a small collection of Doom-Metal together for your aural pleasure. These are some greats, both old and new, from bands like Neurosis, Jesu, Ahab, Isis and My Silent Wake. Each of these tracks will lull you into a trance-like state before reaching into your head and jiggling your brain about in it’s fluid. Best listened to with the volume very, very loud.

Enjoy….or suffer my wrath.

SZ Mix – Sruli Recht

Culture, FashionLeave a comment

Dear Internet,

Here is my aural journey:

Beginning with When Gravity Fails, two tracks, Moving through Cast By Shadows, Field Dressing, and up through Circumsolar, the birth of my son and the songs that put we sing to entertain or put him to sleep, and most recent collection Concentrated – these are the various and categorically unrelated songs probably most listened to during these milestones of the past two and a half years.

There is no real unification behind these tracks, but they capture past and present parts of my life. Each of these musicians, their words or sounds, captivate and take me to creative and inspiring places.

Sruli Recht