nike digital floral stefan janoski pickup

Digi Floral Stefan Janoski

I've been waiting for these since the design was leaked a few months ago; expecting an exclusive release - they landed in the UK last Friday, I managed to pickup a pair from Prime Delux before the availability switched to 'In Store Only'.

The Digi variation of the full camouflage print has been seen as an alternative to Supreme's Power, Corruptuon & Lies Vans. The Supreme PCL retailed at around £114, with resell from £150+; this pair of Janoski however, retail from £65.

They are very nice in person. I loved the design from the leak; however the official capsule image made me skeptical. But good thing is that they're a helluva lot nicer in person. What did disappoint me was that the shoes come with 2 pairs of black laces - if it were me, I'd have offered white as a variation. Looks Like I'll have to pick some up off eBay.

Digi Floral Stefan Janoski - another view

It does seem to me that the 'digitalisation' of these full prints - floral, camo, leopard (soon?) are an attempt to rehash a trend that has been ongoing for at least a good 2 years now. While I do think that a bit of originality in print is necessary - the digital variations are a good step towards that; whilst maintaining a reflection of the current digital age we're currently in.

I believe these drop in the US next month.

the music industry does not own the internet

Today, I discovered that UK Internet Providers Virgin Media, BT, O2 & BE have recently blocked three major BitTorrent websites - being KickassTorrents, h33t & Fenopy. The censorship follows suit of a High Court order a few months ago, blocking BitTorrent king, The Pirate Bay.

This issue is something which bothers me; I've briefly touched on censorship in my Google Glass post; but I feel this is more current. I'm a big believer in the open internet and anti-censorship because that's what makes the internet what it is. You have access to every single piece of information ever recorded, written and archived, from any perspective you want. The best part is that the information is constantly updated and open. We live in a time where we have access to all this at the push of a button. Take Wikipedia for example; an entire unbiased encyclopedia available for free.

I don't think the internet should be regulated or 'owned' by anybody - especially the media industries who insist on throwing stacks of cash towards lawyers to keep their archaic business model in place. The dynamics of how consumers are accessing new media is shifting entirely; but it appears that the music industry isn't playing nice. The conventional method of purchasing music is moving towards a more open-ended access with platforms such as Spotify and pirating music.

Piracy has become an issue with so much propaganda around it; it's unreal. Last year, I wrote my EPQ on the effects of piracy on music industry sales; and recent studies have found that piracy doesn't affect sales and statistically, people who pirate are more likely to buy more music than non-pirates simply because they have access to it (think 'try before you buy'). So why are the music industries so hellbent on protecting their business model?

I feel like the RIAA are stubborn to adjust their business model in a way that the television indsutry are doing. TV is slowly moving to on-demand - a la iPlayer, Netflix, 4od, Internet TV boxes etc to stay relevant and it's working! My prediction is that conventional channels will be no more, in favour of internet/on-demand based TV. Now, if the music industry could do this more willingly, we wouldn't have an issue.

Censoring these torrent websites is an incredibly short-sighted ruling and The Pirate Bay actually gained more traffic (thus more pirates) from news coverage of the censoring - I'm sure that's not what the music industry hoped for. Besides, there are literally 100's of ways to bypass the websites block. So what good is blocking a website doing? Making an example? Asserting authority, or a desperate attempt to stay in charge?

Censoring concerns me because the line is going to be incredibly blurred. Government wants to introduce certain bills to allow censorship and monitoring without warrant, such as SOPA, CISPA. The trouble with these bills is that while the government representative will say "it's to protect children, it's to stop copyright theft" - the actual written law is done so vaguely that it can cover any form of censorship.

Don't believe me? Look at MegaUpload.

Keep the internet open. Freedom of information is one of the most vital things we have.

supreme x comme des garcons 2013 t-shirt pickup

A few months ago, I posted about picking up the black polkadot Supreme x Comme Des Garcons t-shirt and the big faff around with ParcelForce I had. This week, I'm happy to say that I picked up the 2013 edition of the collaboration - but not without the traditional postal service controversy!

Supreme x Comme Des Garcons 2013 olive box logo t-shirt

The second edition of New York's Supreme and Japan's Comme Des Garcons collaborative effort was released last Thursday; this particular t-shirt was one I purchased via Dover Street Market's e-shop & thanks to DHL holding my parcel for 3 days (to which I only discovered during a phone call with DHL's head of customer complaints, Zoe); this arrived at my house this afternoon.

The t-shirt sports the infamous box logo, mirrored on the front & Comme Des Garcons trademark polka dot design on the back. In comparison to last year, the similarities end at the mirrored box logo & polkadot design. See:

Supreme x Comme Des Garcons 2013 & 2012

The 2013 edition sports black polkadots on top of a digi-camo back print. It seems to be that the two companies decided to stick to the traditional themes of what made the previous collaboration successful; whilst maintaining to 'push the boat out' a slight bit more with the digi-camo/polka on CDG's behalf - although relative to CDG, this is very tame. I do feel that the print being back-only is so Supreme can maintain the 'clean cut' theme they seem to be opting towards in some of their lines - it's for that reason I feel Supreme & CDG collaborated in the first place is so Supreme can be looked at not only as a skate brand; but a viable choice for the more formal occasions (aka 'upper market'). However, in this particular collaboration, this definitely applies more to the shirts and wallets, rather than the t-shirt and camps.

It does irritate me how some brands only seem to go all out during collaborations. I can understand the motif is that you're not only catering to your audience; but an entirely new audience; especially two different brands in Supreme & Comme Des Garcons. It's interesting to see what each company can bring to the table.

The material definitely feels thicker and more sturdy on the 2012 t-shirt; however the print has proved to be very weak, with some polkadots fading and smearing. This appears to be the opposite for the 2013 collaboration, but we'll see what time shows.

Overall; I am pleased with the purchase. I did fall in love with the collaboration in the Lookbook preview and doubted it when the Capsule was released.

Which do you prefer, 2012 or 2013?

2013 & 2012 Supreme x Comme Des Garcons