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Complex Con-stantly LIT!
Complex Con-November 4 & 5, 2017
Long Beach, CA-Recap from our Streetzblog on site LIVE correspondent and via Some great Insta-Nabs.
The Hottest street wear brands, designers and Hip-Hop entertainers converged in Long Beach, California November 4 & 5 at Complex Con 2017. Back in the Day, Complex was an up and coming magazine Founded By Marc Ecko. His own clothing brand having hit it’s Apex years earlier, Complex was an under the radar Street and trend mag, I would buy the day it came out. As the internet and social media blew up, the magazine lost it’s pages and the paper it was made on became much thinner.
Fast Forward to 2016 and the first complex Con occurred, some saying that there were 400 VIP tickets sold, the same source told us this year, there were close to 2,000 VIP tickets sold and over 50,000 in attendance! Who needs a magazine? When you can turn your brand into one of the top 3 go to spots for street wear, kicks and tech trends. And put on a Con that attracts the Biggest and Best cultural icon of our time! (BTW: Unofficially, The top 3 are Hypebeast, High Snobiety and Complex).
Complex Con 2017 had everyoone who is anyone in the Street game. DJ Khalid, Pharrell with NERD, M.I.A, Cam’ron, Wiz Khalifa, Skrillex Lil Yachty, DJ Mustard, Kid Cudi from How to make it in America, Maxwell Osborne & Dao-Yi Chow from PSNY, Chris Stamp from STAMPD, Travis Scott, Vince Staples, Action Bronson, Kobe Bryant, Yes Jules, Ben Baller & D’Angelo Russell. Along with the stars of the weekend: Off-White’s Virgil Abloh and Takashi Murakami. Here’s a few pix of the 2 making Sweet Custom T’s on the spot!
Our Streetzblog corespondent traveled from Hawaii to Cali on the sole mission to meet Murakami and buy a couple thousand dollars of his limited edition gear. She succeeded as you can see by this picture, along with an autographed book. (She did say it was a 4-5 hour line to meet him and another 2 hour line to get her things at the end of the day). I told her via text: Looks like it was well worth the trip and time spent in line. BTW: She also stood in the Off-White line, but after another 3 hour wait, missed the Limited Edition Hand screened shirts by about 100 people.
Number One Tip: If you go to Complex Con or another Big event like this. Go to your favorite booth/designer first then have fun at the rest of the event.
If I was there, I would have gone str8t to the PSNY area to make some custom Nike Air Force 1’s. Would have tricked out the special PSNY x Nike AF1 Hi’s. Here’s some pix from the special master class area, where attendees could customize their own AF1’s with PSNY.
Here are some of the Custom Nike AF 1’s made at Complex Con:
The Top left Silver pair was made by Maxwell Osborne from PSNY. Jeff Stamp from *STAMD stopped by and made a pair And check the bottom left with Virgil’s version along with pal: Macklemore. *STAMPD has recently released a collab with Hawaii’s own, Town and Country Surf/T&C Surf. Pretty cool and close to home.
Here are a couple of Sniper Wells from Streetzblog’s latest projects. Fluorescent Painting with matching custom Jordan 21 Kicks!
Our Correspondent scored us some nice pix from the event including Pharell heading up the steps, The Limited Edition Fools Gold Boxes going for $50, some attendees and art from Murakami and NERD. (Thanks Much for getting these and other great pix on today’s post!).
Pharell was looking pretty Swank with his matching bright orange hair & spiked Biker Jacket:
Hope everyone had a good time at Complex Con 2017. And much Mahalo to our special Streetzblog Correspondent for all the great pictures. *All pictures are courtesy Streetzblog Corespondent or from the Live Instagram feeds over the Nov 4 &5 2017 weekend. See you on the Streetz…Blog!
Go to Guide to DSMNY
Go to Guide-Dover Street Market NYC
Continuing to create new episodes of content, Streetzblog is keeping in the tradition of multiples ala the Hawaii Designs and Makiki Heat Series. With the Go to Guides. These will be guides to various places throughout the world with ideas and suggestions on where to shop, eat and sleep. In that order.
We also think it would be cool if you could add in your own suggestions on the Go to Guides in the comment section. Either mention something that pertains to this area of town or give us a tip on the similar subject but in your part of the World. The more tips and suggestions the better experience it will be for the various Streetzblog visitors looking for places to see, shop, eat, play and sleep.
Today’s go to guide takes us to the #funandfabulous Dover Street Market NYC experience. As done by Scott at Streetzblog 2x. Once in 2014 and the other time in 2015, both in the month of December. BTW: Happy New Year! (1/1/16)
Streetzblog.com’s Go to Guide to Dover Street Market NYC
- Head Down 45th to Lexington, make a right, pass the Post Office. Go to Grand Central Station. Note: If your suitcase is too full of goodies from NY, stop by the Post Office on Lexington and send a large pre paid box back to your home. During the Holidays, You can even watch a bit of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer while you stand in line.
- Grand Central Station: I suggest going in to the marketplace. Here you can find the freshest Meats, Cheeses, Candies and a full-on Cornucopia of delicious delicacies. Great presents and you can take awesome photos of the freshest food around town.
Secret Time: Now this isn’t quite as fun as finding these places all over the city and going to the original venues. But if you are low on time or just like to get things done quickly. Go into Grand Central Station and you’ll find some of NY’s and the World’s best and most talked about institutions. These include the Shake Shack (Remember the Shake Shack in Central park in Sex in the City, we’ll this is is the place) The same burgers, French fries and frozen custard can be found here. Magnolia Bakery-Try the famous Red Velvet Cupcake or buy a box for the relatives you’re coming back to or going to visit, Cipriani Dolci, Diptyque, Frankie’s Dogs on the Go, Juniors Bakery (Like the cheese cake place with the long lines in Times Square, yep same place), Michael Jordan’s the Steak House NYC, the New York Transit Museum and Gallery, Oyster Bar and Restaurant-this is the place you see in all the TCM movie classics and yes! it is the oldest restaurant in all of Grand Central, Two Boots Pizzeria, Zaro’s Bakery-been around for over 75 years and still tasting as good if not better as day one!.
It took me 28 x going to NYC to find the secret to getting all you need in 1 place. And the place to go is Grand Central Station. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on seeing the town. But this is a super-duper secret if you are low on time or just want to see everything you imagine NY to be all in one simple destination.
- Step out of Grand Central Station and continue down Lexington. There’s a couple good deli’s to pick up some coffee-In NY I always order Deli Coffee extra Sweet and Light-it’s like drinking a donut with caffeine or get some fresh carrot juice along the way. And don’t worry you didn’t walk past DSM yet, its about a 15-20 minute walk to DSMNY.
- DSM: Be careful that you don’t miss DSM. You need to pay attention and turn right at 160 Lexington Ave. at 30th. Street. The area looks very residential. But yes, this is Dover Street Market. I suggest that you go to each floor and see what’s going on. Bring your camera to take pictures of the monthly art installations along with some of the best clothes you will ever see in one place. Note: Some things are a bit pricey so be prepared. The first year I bought the DSM x Converse black Hi-Tops and the 2nd year I nabbed a Patricia Field Black with white lettering Vogue in Japanese Snapback. I was very tempted to get the Commmes Des Garcons drop crotch shorts, but they were just a little too pricey for my budget on that day. Also while there, make sure you talk to the workers, they are usually very friendly and happy to help you find what you’re looking for. They are also dressed very hip and happening. Check out their looks for inspiration.
- Note: If you can’t make it to DSM in person they have a great Mail order shop entitled DSMNY E-Shop. It’s here you can purchase the limited edition items. I picked up a Jordan x DSM shirt and a sweet Commes Des Garcons x Supreme blue plaid workers jacket that I get lots of complements on. Yes, it was pricey, but very worth it!
- After shopping or Window Shopping at DSM. Go back the way you came a couple blocks and eat at Vezzo the thin crust pizza joint. It’s dark inside which always rates an A+ for me, the pizza is really good and they have a fantastic Arugula, slivered cheese, pear, and Gorgonzola salad to die for. And the serving is HUGE. Perfect after a long walk and many steps in DSM, I think there are 7 total floors at DSM and the best and most fun way to see it all is be the steps. (They do have an elevator so no need to panic).
- After you eat, you can head over to Korea town, or back track to 37th and head to Around the World magazines. That’s what I did the last time I was there. Around the World Magazines has some of if not the best Fashion magazines all in one spot. And in the back there are older editions of great titles for awesome prices along with additional fashion and graphic design oriented books. Around the World Magazines is located at 148 West 37th Just past Broadway.
- After the Magazine store, lunch and DSM my daily budget is pretty done. So I usually walk back to the Roosevelt Hotel on 45th and Madison. My favorite hotel in all of NYC. Say Hi to Alfredo if you go there. Tell him you heard about him from Scott from Hawaii on Streetzblog. I’m sure he’d be delighted to see you. If you do stay here, make sure you make it to breakfast on at least 1 of your days. They guys down there are super friendly, they have unlimited Starbucks coffee, fresh fruit, some of the best bacon in the world and it’s a pretty cool vibe with pictures of Teddy Roosevelt on the walls and great views of the streetz from the seats. The Roosevelt Hotel is located at 45th and Madison Ave. smack dab in the middle of Mid-Town.
Balmain x H&M First Look-Men’s Collection 2015
Balmain x H&M Military x Jetsetter Inspired-First Look at the Men’s Collection
Finally a Sneak-Peak at the Balmain x H&M Men’s Collection 2015
In 2014, Streetzblog had a very fun time tracking the Alexander Wang x H&M collection, from Rumor, to Men’s and Women’s first looks, to even shopping early in the morning for the goods. This year, it’s Balmain who is doing the H&M Collab. Seems the clothes took a while to appear, but here they are! At least some of the guys gear.
Looks to be a lot of Military Green, some black and wow a Michael Jackson inspired leather jacket. From what I’ve seen from Balmain’s main label, some of their clothing has too much accoutrements and bling to be wearable, unless you’re a Rock or Movie star. This collection, so far, looks pretty wearable. My choices in order are: The Green Pea Coat, The Kicks, The textured backpack, the black pants with the zippers, and the Military shirt. I doubt I could wear the black jumpsuit or red leather jacket anywhere I go. Overall, pretty wearable and the quality is looking spot on.
Projected date for the collection to be in store and on-line is Thursday November 5, 2015.
What would you wear?
Thank You to Highsnobiety’s Balmain x H&M info for the picture. And thanks to British GQ for the original picture, where you can also check out an Interview with Balmain’s Creative Director with Balmain’s Creative director-Olivier Rousteing.
See you on the Streetz of Honolulu this week. December 18-21 in NYC and Dec 22-27 in Chicago.
Fashion and Fitness Go Goth!
The Health Goth Craze
Health-Goth makes the cover of SPORTSWEAR INTERNATIONAL. Issue #264. December 2014. A/W 2015-16 preview.
The Streetzblog definition of Health-Goth is: Awesome High-Tech, functional and fun fabrics that look just as good on the street as they do in the gym. Utilizing these 4 colors: Black, Grey, Silver and White. The Perfect example of Health-Goth is the Alexander Wang x H&M collection.
Rick Owens produces some great Health-Goth gear. He’s known for his oversized black and white Ramone’s Sneaker that shows homage to the Original Black and white Converse All-Stars:
These are my feet, just not my shoes..LOL
Hood By Air/HBA is another brand leading the Health-Goth Look:
ADYN exemplifies the Health-Goth look with slightly longer cuts in the length of a Health-Goth shirt, High-Tech materials and the all black look:
Even Adidas is in on the Health-Goth Trend with Rita Ora: (Note: This collection added in a bit of Neon Yellow to the Health-Goth color palette. That’s ok, as long as it’s not the main color of the collection. A bit of Neon yellow or Flo Green goes well with the more sporty Health-Goth.
Whatever 21 shows us the Health-Goth look while hanging out at Home Depot. Notice, they go for more of a White color first, then the black in this collection. Different from the original Black clothing as the more dominate color. Enjoy the video:
Cottweiller has some nice grey’s mixed with whites, along with some pretty fab fabrics: Check out their website, it sure has a very futuristic vibe to it. Almost like playing a video game when checking out the various looks.
Some of the original Health-Goth proponents are already saying the trend is dead. But as you can see by the following excerpt from New York magazine. The Health-Goth craze is still trending in the City and at the Gym.
For the Instagram Celebrity: KITH 644 Broadway Near Bleeker St. 646-6486285 Brooklyn-based Snarkeitectue helped redesign Ronnie Fieg’s luxury-sneaker shop last Fall. Making Room for more paparazzi friendly neoprene Y-3’s and pebbled leather Buscemi high-tops ($865) not to mention branded KITH hoodies and Health-Goth sweatpants. Direct Quote From the March 9-22, 2015 issue of New York Magazine.
And for the Future is Now image of Health-Goth, I bring you an image from Today’s/Saturday March 27, 2015 Instagram feed. Alexander Wang’s Foam Injected leather T-Shirt from the Men’s Spring 2015 collection.
See you on the Streetz, Actually, Now I’m headed over to the gym to get my Health-Goth groove on. Going to wear my Black Quicksilver Eddie Would Go surf shorts, a plain all black H&M long sleeve T-Shirt and my Alexander Wang x H&M Scuba inspired Kicks. I hope to get more healthy than goth today. We shall see by where I turn up after the gym. Have a nice week!
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