adidas unveil their Consortium range for this Spring/Summer 2012 with the pack’s shoes acting as a blank canvas. As it’s a big year for sport and athletics particularly as the 2012 London Olympics are set and adidas being the official sponsor of the event, their premium Consortium range sees selected artists and creative visionaries from around the world take inspiration from their own Olympic memories and translate that on to various models.

London-based graphic artist Kate Moross lets loose on the Baltic Cup (above) sees her signature geometric style come through with reflective triangles that reference the Olympic colour scheme on a predominately grey suede upper. A grey midsole and laces underpin the shoe, and in true Moross style, her updated BC comes with an extra pack of bright laces that have alternating aglet colours to contrast the tonal base palette. More colour’s brought through by a bright green fabric loop on the heel tab and red loop on the tongue featuring Kate’s logo.

LA singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc’s been inspired by African athletes as he reworks the Decade Hi. An opted for oxblood leather represents African soil, whilst the translucent gum outsole represents the bare foot of Blacc’s inspiration, Ethiopian gold medalist and marathon runner Abebe Bikila, who competed in the Rome 1960 Olympics. A debossed logo of Blacc’s sunglasses and bow tie sits inside of the tongue tab signs this shoe off.

Japanese DJ Muro has flipped a Gucci makeup on his very own Pro Shell that he describes as ‘aggressive’. It’s an understated shoe being a black suede upper has subtle detailing throughout. Snakeskin three stripes, jersey material covering the ankle padding and his skull and crossbones logo sits on the heel counter make this a tough looking shoe that represents Tokyo in this pack.

The court shoe, the Matchplay, has been treated with finesse by Jim Thompson of Sydney label Three Over One. It’s a dressy high end affair, reflecting the brand’s grown man aesthetic, as Thompson’s own style is heavily influenced by the past. A predominately subtle waxed leather keeps a tonal lining, giving a deconstructed look complemented by pigskin suede toe box. Detailing of a cracked leather heel counter and slightly distressed white midsole breaks up the shoe nicely.

No Consortium pack is complete without an adidas classic runner, it being the ZX 500. Berlin native and sneaker collector Quote’s reworks this silhouette keeping loyal to the ‘80s original using a mix of nylon and mesh. A muted colour-way influenced by the blue and white track of the Berlin Olympic Stadium, home of his football team, Hertha BSC. Detailing’s subtle as Olympic colours appear on the outsole and the inside of the tongue fabric loop featuring a tattooed fist motif.

The adidas Consortium SS12 ‘Your Story’ Collection is to be released May 19th at No.6 and End Clothing. Check out the video below of how the shoes came to life, as they’re filled in.

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The now ever-so popular Nike Blazer is still running with its new found fame and fortunately good colourways continue to remain as part of its make-up. It’s hard to mess up on the Blazer. Trainer retailer size? have released these two exclusives of the shoe themselves and they may make you take a double take at them. Yes, they’re both hot shoes, but they bear a striking resemblance to the classic Nike x Stussy Blazer Mids that dropped in 2002. Their unique colour combinations remain as one of the most popular and sought after Nike x Stussy projects to date, and they’re similar to what we see here.

These hi-tops see navy/hot pink and charcoal grey/bright green colourways pulled off pretty well on all leather uppers which. As part of Nike’s current craze on vintage, yellow ‘vintage’ effects are applied on the midsoles and faded branding on the shoe’s heel counter, but also the box’s packaging comes in a classic orange colour. Nonetheless, enjoy these suspected homages of great shoes while they last, as they’re limited to 500 pairs around the world and are available now from size?.

Ahead of the Hidden Depths show at Fabric on May 16th, and following last week’s exclusive mix from Slugabed, Ninja Tune co-founder Jonathan More (and one half of Cold Cut) sat down with MD Peter Quicke for a chat. The two mull over 20 plus years of the groundbreaking label’s history and speak of Thundercat who’s headlining Hidden Depths. In this video interview, we also get a look around the label’s office, plus hear three previously unreleased tracks from quality Kwes, Amon Tobin and The Invisible.

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Leeds’ based The Chimp Store yet again deliver a great take on lookbooks. In their ‘The Chimp Who Would Be Human’, the retailer presents their stock of Summer 2012 headwear. Playing on the store’s name, the lookbook involves a surprised looking chimp to model it all, which only seems right. Snapped by Harlton Chesterton, a selection of snapbacks and camp caps from the likes of indcsn, Raised By Wolves, HUF and Rockwell are all donned. Have a look at the full lookbook below, which all the featured items are available now from The Chimp Store now.

Following up their pre-spring releases, young British brand indcsn have dropped the first delivery of their Spring 2012 collection.

The drop’s mainly hats of the 5-panel and snapback variety, and tees. On the 5-panel tip, there’s three floral prints utilised on the peaks, but more interestingly there’s a selection of water resistant duck cotton camp caps, both perfect for spring — theme of flowers blooming and preparation for the Britain’s temperamental weather. Lined up beside them are three two-tone snapbacks, each featuring different embroidered artwork based on original tattoo flash designs by artist Sam Layzell.

Clothing wise, there’s four tees that have various graphics including animals that continue on from the brand’s snapbacks. Wolves work alone, whereas a bulldog is worked into a monogram print on a ‘Gentlemen’s Standard’ design that’s also used on a black coaches jacket. Other graphics include a political themed ‘A Little Knowledge’ — a black and white collage of famous predominately British figureheads — and a nod to The Clash with ‘City Rockers’.

Accessories are a good buy-in to a brand, so for good measure there’s also a Bic lighter to round off the collection. This brand’s definitely steadily growing with their own identity which is a good to see, and they manage to provide a pretty varied capsule to cater tastes. indcsn’s Spring 2012 collection is all available from their online store and The Chimp Store.

London’s small and cosy sushi restaurant chain Feng Sushi have just unveiled there new seasonal menu. Encompassing the Japanese ethos of healthy eating without the sacrifice of taste, these mouth watering dishes should easily tempt you to pop into one of their restaurants which are dotted around convenient locations in London.

Ahead of the Tiger Presents ‘Hidden Depths’ with Ninja Tune showcase at fabric on Wednesday 16th May, Slugabed drops this celebratory mix from the Ninja, Brainfeeder and Big Dada vaults. This electronic music filled mix delves into the back catalogue of the label including remixes for Wiley and by Night Slug’s Bok Bok + L-Vis 1990, whilst also dropping in some of his own productions from his forthcoming ‘Time Team’ album, due on the Ninja label. Go ahead and vibe out to this, it being a perfect mix to set up for the weekend and next week’s event.

Tracklisting:

1. Dwight Trible and the Life Force Trio – Life Force (Instrumental)
2. Slugabed – New Worlds
3. Jeremiah Jae – Money and Food (Remix)
4. The Death Set – Impossible (Shuttle Remix)
5. Daedelus – LA Nocturne
6. Slugabed – On My Way Home x
7. Wiley – Skanking (The 2 Bears Remix)
8. Martyn – Bauplan (Bok Bok + L-Vis 1990 Remix)
9. Slugabed – Dragon Drums
10. Zomby – The Forest
11. Hot Sugar – The Girl Who Stole My Tamagotchi
12. Super Numeri – The Welcome Table
13. Dwight Trible and the Life Force Trio – Is Music (Instrumental)

Online menswear retailer oki-ni have their product and focus on point. This can be seen through their STYLED series which we’re big fans of — even when it can be a bit too avant garde. Extending their editorial work, they’ve developed a FOCUS series, concentrating on a specific aspect of menswear may it be a certain cut or material.

This instalment of their FOCUS series looks at technical fabrics and how to wear them. It’s awesome since we geek out on new wearable tech findings and it’s a great advancement away from the heritage boom of recent years. There’s now a growing technical interest as specialist labels like Stone Island Shadow Project and Isaora lead the way, while mainline brands including Paul Smith and Raf Simons are now getting in on the act.

Here oki-ni show the best selection of technical wear is available and how to don it, looking good in both the fashion and functionality stakes. All the items are available to purchase from oki-ni.

Photographer Moritz Oberholzer has directed this original short film, ‘London Bus tour’, turning a rather dull subject into a thing of beauty. London’s renowned for its open-top tour buses that ride round the capital to show tourists the great landmarks, so Oberholzer and his gifted eye has captured what Londoner’s probably take for granted. He’s delivered this stylish slow-motion video and it’s something that all us Londoners and aspiring tourists can appreciate. A perfect soundtrack of Ratatat ‘Loud Pipes’ accompanies the visuals.

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The Cube by Electrolux is a pop-up restaurant coming to London and promises to offer guests a unique gastronomic experience. It’ll be located on the roof of London’s Royal Festival Hall providing a unique visual backdrop of London’s skyline as well as the unique opportunity to interact and learn from some of the best chefs working today.

Seating capacity is limited to 18 guests around one table allowing them to watch their meal being prepared in an open plan kitchen, which is equipped with new state-of-the-art Electrolux domestic appliances as well as professional equipment. As part of the experience, each chef will also offer their hints and tips on how to create restaurant quality food when entertaining at home.

The Michelin starred chefs, who have been handpicked from around the British Isles, will present a unique menu using locally sourced ingredients, serving a minimum of 5 courses accompanied by specially matched wines, unique sound and light concepts to complement the incredible setting. Check the video about The Cube below.

Bookings are now being taken for 1st-24th June 2012. Further dates will be released on the 21st May and the restaurant will run until 30th September. Bookings can be made by calling 0207 288 6450. Prices for a set lunch £175; set dinner £215 (including all drinks).

The Cube by Electrolux
The Royal Festival Hall
London SE1 8XX

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