Creativity

Its been a little bit since we've posted. Today's post is just random web sightings that inspire "creativity". And with the weather in Austin cold and wet its a great reason to stay inside and channel that energy into something dope/progressive/new. Rise and Grind!!!

Action Book

I stumbled across this in a banner ad. Im loving the site design. Its simple, clean and to the point."Behance Outfitters" makes products to help creative proffesionals organize themselves and boost productivity by "making ideas happen". This Action book is exactly what i need when my mind is running a million miles a minute (all the time) and i have a chance to stop and clearly write something down (none of the time). I want it.
Their sister site is The 99 Percent. Here they focus on what happens after the initial conception of an idea. "Making ideas Happen". A really good site to spend some time on (and take notes!) & learn a little from leaders in the creative and business industries. I think its going to be at the top of my "blogs i visit daily" list. (...yes i know its not a blog)

FashionServed
This one is a cool site with daily updated fashion photoshoots/editorials and part of a suite of
"--served" sites (ie fashion,photography, industrialdesign) with the tagline "Fresh works from leading creative professionals" looks like a good spot to get some fresh inspiration.

-S.DeBose

Kirin in Cozumel

So, vacation # 2 came late this year but was without a doubt worth the wait. I recently spent 6 days in beautiful Cozumel, Mexico and it was dope!!! As you may very well know vacation at the beach is about partying, water sports, and drinking. I definitely did all those things to the max (like you wouldn't believe), however, I also had time to relax and rejuvenate my creative spirit.

Although Mexico is not known for its fashion scene, the beauty that exist around every corner can inspire the uninspired quite easily. With a new lookbook and photoshoot on the horizon, Kirin is moving full steam ahead with new ideas, creative concepts, and tees/accessories that will definitely be the talk of the town! Stay tuned, no telling where we will be next...

D Griff

Jockin Jay-Z

It was a packed house and the lights were low in anticipation for hip hop's biggest star. Rhianna's voice came blaring through the speakers as the hit song "Run This Town" began to play throughout the Frank Erwin Center. The crowd noise reached fever pitch as Jay-Z rose from beneath the stage draped in "all black everything"! Yea, black diamonds too. Wow... Anyway, As

Hova got into his set I was really impressed with his stage presence and charisma. He really commanded the crowd and captivated the audience at every moment of the show.

Jay-Z and his band (which was really good by the way) ran through many of his classic songs like "Hard Knock Life", "H.O.V.A", "Excuse Me Miss", the Texas favorite and seemingly Pimp C tribute "Big Pimpin", "Can I Get A", and one of my personal favorites "Public Service Announcement". I counted 8 songs performed from the new album Blueprint 3. As a avid Hovita fan I have to say I was a little disappointed in the set selection at times. Since 1996 Jiggman has been a force in hip hop culture so I was upset that he didn't perform a song recorded before 2001-2002.

Nonetheless, the show was incredible!!! Jay Hova was impressive to say the least and seemed to really connect with the crowd. At the end of his set he went threw the audience and personally thanked about 20 people in each section of the arena for coming out and rockin with him. I thought that was pretty cool. Being about 6 rows away from one of the best rappers alive (sorry lil wayne) was cool in itself. And, although I was late N.E.R.D and front runner Pharrell get much props for doing their thing as well. I have seem them perform several times and they never disappoint. Overall a great hip hop show and one I would have hated to miss.

D. Griff

Welcome to the Good Life

Quick-what are the top 5 things that come to mind when you think of a "perfect day"..?

You probably eat your favorite meal-served to you by gorgeous women, you find some free money,you meet (or make out with,lol) a gang of smoking hot models, you get alot of free booze, and you pick up a bunch of fly new gear, right? Now some would have a few different scenarios thrown in there but its essentially every guys dream day, am i right..? hehe

Thats basically a play by play of this past Saturday. I got to sleep in (rare for me because i work super early on the weekdays and despite my best efforts am still a night owl), met D.Griff and some co-workers at a bowling tournament, won a gift card (its not a bag full of cash but better than nothing,lol), picked up some new gear at the mall,was beasting for wings so we ate Hooters (my personal favorite-i like em crunchy not baked), and proceeded to bar hop until we found a fashion show that we decied to pop into ala wedding crashers,lol

Now a little background..we had actually heard about and planned on attending this show but got caught up in the hustle and bustle of the work week so we completley forgot about it until we walked by. The Runway to Heaven show was sponsored by Glossy magazine (the fashion pullout of the Austin American Statesman),Elite Events, and The Austonian; and was a charitable event benefitting Austin Children's Shelter and the Dell Children's Medical Center. They had a fashion show, a silent auction, an awards ceremony and all the food and drinks you could have from some of Austin's best bars, restaurants and "spirits" makers.
It was good to see and meet many of Austins creatives, tastemakers, and industry insiders all in one spot. Everyone was dressed to impress, and the conversation (much like the wine) flowed freely. We did our share of networking, and at the end of the night the Dj played all the tunes you would need to turn a runway into a club-which is just what happened.People literally stormed the runway and danced, posed for photogs, and started kissing (and in some cases licking lmao) on each other!! hahaha, Without divulging too much personal info (im sure some of the stuff that went down is illegal in at least 13 states,LOL) we partied and drank the night away with some strickingly beautiful (and very cultured) women and made some helpful industry conections. Let no one say that Austins socialites dont know how to get down...

-SD

"I always had a passion for flashing, before i had it i'd close my eyes and imagine..."

The NBA Comes To The Atx

Last night the greatest game on earth (in my opinion that is) came to the Frank Erwin Center for one night only. The San Antonio Spurs took on the Oklahoma City Thunder in one of the last pre-season games before the regular season kicks off on Tuesday, October 27th. Former UT hoops star Kevin Durant took the court to a thunderous applause and a standing ovation. So, as expected Durant killed it straight out the gate! Dude ran off about 10 straight points as the Thunder took an early lead. Now, if you know anything about basketball you know the Thunder suck so that lead slowly dwindled throughout the first half. It was an entertaining game but in the end the slow and steady Spurs whooped that azz 119-102. Wouldn't it be great if Austin had a pro basketball team? No diss to the developmental league Toro's but with Austin growing at an incredible pace are we next in line for an expansion team? Who knows? If my dream comes true, trust me when I tell you I will be first in line for season tickets.

Darren G.

A Few (minor) Site Updates

We've updated a few small things on the site. Added a "Looks" page where you can see us (yes us, we didnt have our models readily available) rocking some of the tees they way we would when we go out. We still have to put the LookBook shots out which we'll do as soon as the shoot is finished. Those will be much of much better quality, and have much more beautiful people (if such people exist lol) along with that creativity Kirin is known for. Some of the tees on the looks page are actually out of print,and some are of the "super limited" variety but you may still be able to get them in your size by signing up for the mailing list or following us on Twitter. So stay tuned, we've got soo much dope stuff coming out you'll need to hit rehab from the addiction son!!!!

(cue the drums ba-dum-dum-tsssh!) lol

-S.DeBose

Kanye's Pastelle Canceled Indefinately

The past two days have brought both alot of hope and alot of sorrow to fans of Kanye West (or at least fans of his much hyped upcoming clothing line Pastelle). The interwebs (/nerdspeak) have been buzzing over the recent news out Monday that photos from his lookbook (pictured above) have leaked online, and the subsequent news on Tues that the line has been canceled. One of our Favorite streetwear blogs, HighSnobiety had the scoop on Tues and reported that they recieved official word that the line "will not be coming out.Ever..".

This is a little shocking to hear especially the day after photos where leaked, and after a long year of Kanye seemingly becoming all consumed in his new craft, even postpoing his entire schedule for 5 months! Including his now defunct tour with Lady Gaga. Word is he only produced 4 pieces the entire time, so my guess is that being the perfectionist we all know Kanye to be, he likely got so pised about the leak that he decided to scrap the entire line and just refocus his energy on something new. He is apparently going to come up with a new, self titled line though. So what do you guys think, Pastelle was more collegaite inspired, and perhaps the "K.West Collection" will be a little more urban chic, ala' Ecko/Cut'n'Sew ?

-S.DeBose

Yohji Going Broke?

* image is trademarked (TM) & copyrighted (c) by its respective owner(s)

Now that titles a little misleading-I'm sure personally he'll never go broke,lol. But his self titled company, the powerful & respected Fashion House-Yohji Yamamoto Inc.; has filed for Bankruptcy in Japanese courts. The worldwide economic downturn has drastically affected the Fashion industry, and Japan is no exception. The Japanese are well known for their affinity of luxury brands-Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Versace, but it seems even these global giants are no match for simply being broker than you have been in years past.

The designer whose Adidas collaborative Y-3 brand is well known to Streetwear aficionados has sad that his company's debts outweigh their assets ($67 million USD); but through Japan's Corporate rehab law he will continue to work and operate the company both in Japan and overseas. It's crazy when you see these corporate giants that you would never imagine going broke filing Chapter 11 (or the French/German/Can-American equivalent). Kinda brings you into the real world, eh? It's like even the "Good Life" has to face real life sooner or later. Sad, i know :(

-S.DeBose via cnbc

American Fashion Menswear

The CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) has come out with a new book titled "American Fashion Menswear" which chronicles the history of American (men's) Fashion since it was first settled. Its supposed to be the most complete and authoritative book on the subject to date.

The book covers the various cultural identities and styles that encompass and represent the varied generations of American men. Filled with renderings, sketches, magazine ads, and photographs, it has many recognisable faces including Ralph Lauren, Aaron Eckhart, JFK, and Brando. It goes for around $31.50 on Amazon.

-S.DeBose via Luxist.com

Grooming

So I found this really great hand lotion that is thick enough to last through a couple hand washes, but also thin enough to not really feel greasy. It's Dr.Teal's Therapeutic Bath & Body Line-Chapped Hands Creme in Eucalyptus & Spearmint flavor ( i know, longest name in the world).
Every modern man needs to make sure he stays classy not ashy, & this is an affordable solution that will work great as a daily moisturizer.
The best part is, EVERY SINGLE TIME i put this on around the office, practically every female i encounter asks what cologne I'm wearing. NO joke. I've even had a couple tell me they could smell me after I've passed down the hall. Not in the "7th grader just discovering cologne so i spray on half the bottle" sort of way, but in the "just enough to leave a great impression" sort of way. And with the price below $6 when i picked it up at HEB Grocery, this is Steven's must have product for the month.
-Steven
(the sites grossly under-updated, so just check your local grocer, Walgreen's, or Beauty Supply Store)

Secret Sales

We got a WHOOOLE lotta dope stuff coming out of the pipes for ya'll REAL SOON! Actually have an order coming in Friday, and have been "refinishing" the upcoming designs as well.


PLUS we have started a new program where we will clear out inventory that we likely wont place in the regular line by having "secret sales" on our expeimental and first print tees. These tees will be ones that we have had laying around, overstock, or ones that have random mashups containing elements from multiple tees within current or old lines.


Since these tees will not go in the regular lines, they will be "super" limited by nature because we only had a few laying around/left over to begin with. We will announce them for sale on Twitter (@KirinClothingCo) and on the blog here, and they will be a pretty good (read: cheap) price so be sure to check back often!
-Steven

The Sartorialist

...Where the fly get inspiration.


So if you read GQ Magazine, then you've probably seen Scott Schuman's work. He's been covering (street) fashion photography for 5 years on his blog, thesartorialist.com; as well as for GQ. With 15 years of experienve in the fashion industry, he closed the doors to his showroom and decided to grab his camera & shoot everyday people on the streets of New York that he noticed had a flare for indivualised fashion.

Schuman shoots from a designer's perspective; looking for colors, pattern mixing, proportions, and genre variations. He doesnt judge the entire outfit as good or bad, but rather at its potential for inspiration. In the 5 years he's been posting to his blog, he has parlayed that into a monthly column for GQ, recurring spots on style.com, and even a guest speaker on international fashion industry panels.

I personally know that whenever i see his photos in GQ, i always do double takes. Its as if im seeing the people on the street firsthand. Everyday folks that dont really look like celebritites at all, but simply stand out because they look incredibly well put together. You;ll be surprised how inspiring it is. Even from a non-fashion perspective they are just intriguing to look at.
And i cant spend too much time on the website because it makes me want to dig through my closet and start mixing wild new outfits from the old stale crap sitting around, haha which wouldnt be a bad thing if i had some new ish up in there, but I DONT. So then i go out shopping which leads to trouble, ya feel me? LOL anyway, Scott just finished a book that is being released this month compiled of his favorite pictures from the site archives titled (surprise!!):" The Sartorialist". Its definately going on my list of (usually) random books to pic up next time I'm at B&N. On a related note, im also getting the itch to head back to NY, lol
-Steven

edit: I was unsure about the legalities of posting his picks directly on here, but the post feels so naked without something, so i took a couple screen shots. You may recognize the guy in the first pic. The story behind it is completely random too! lol small world..

Whats REALLY Good?!?

YOYOYOOOOOO!!
It's been a looong while since i've posted something on "Whats Good?". I've been neglectful, i know :( but forgive me. I have been staying busy though, authoring two other blogs, making music, and of courese, new designs! But I'm back, and i brought a few friends.
Since Kirin has always been about creating big things from the little things life gives you, I'm proud to announce our new line: Creation and Destruction. We will soon have a revamped website, complete with new designs, a new lookbook, and new lifestlye section.
Now on to those new friends: Darren Griffin is the new Operations Manager, who will handle the day to day business that keeps Kirin running,as well as being one of the names you may see onsigned onto the tag of the Limited Edition Prints.
And Danni Mitchell is the newest member of the promotions and marketing team whom you may see out on the streets hustling swag, or in your favorite boutique hustling wares. Their bios will be up soon.
In the meantime, they will also be contributing to the new "Whats Good?" where we continue to bring you the latest that we find in fashion, art, and culture from all over this big blue ball of freshness we inhabit. Stay tuned.
-Steven.

BTW if your on Twitter, get at us! @KirinClothingCo.