Dangerously Beautiful

Being a creature of the night rarely has its perks for me, but I just found one.

I stumbled across a television series on the Sundance Channel entitled “Big Ideas For a Small Planet.” Coincidently, I happened to catch the episode that discusses how the fashion industry can become more eco-friendly (gasps&awe).

These companies are amazing.

Generally, the environmentally friendly, or as the trend word for today would be- green, alternatives I have seen for producing fashion have been zany, wacky, cool-if-you’re-into-that-sort-of thing sort of thing. However, some of these companies featured in this episode (entitled: Wear) have sought pragmatic solutions and are putting forth a great effort that in my humbly-cynical opinion, may actually work!

Not to get too preachy, but it is my blog….

Simple things we (me and you, buddy) may not consider in our endless pursuit of that nu-nu FRSH ish. The life cycle of the simplest garment and how destructive it is to our environment is shockingly huge. The pesticides, the crappy wages paid, the amount of waste produced in transporting goods, holy over-hyped-cut-&-sew Batman!. And then I open my wholesale catalogs, and colorway options for organically produced goods are 8 to the non-green-produced 18, NOT to mention the huge increase in pricing.

/rant

That being said, it is something to constantly keep in consideration, especially as these green practices become more commonplace and affordable.

(The show after Big Ideas began with a singing one-eyed French prostitute, hence, I must recant on stating there are few perks of being awake all night).

-Captain Planet

MAGIC is a huge convention, way bigger than only the streetwear sections (there are actually 2 streetwear sections…..streetwear and ‘PREMIUM’ streetwear……).  Wandering around I saw men’s formal wear, every kind of hat, women’s apparel, manufacturers, corporate licenses and more.

Coming back to my neck of the woods (2nd floor, South Hall, non-premium), I was always interested to see what newer or less established brands are doing.

The thing that carried over to me the most, however, was character.

The fashion industry is known to maybe have some shallowness and egocentricity throughout, but generally the streetwear side of things is a lot more friendly and laid back.  Don’t get me wrong, it is quite obvious many of the populace of our little niche scene were not the cool kids in high school and are SERIOUSLY overcompensating for being the Screech’s of their formative years.   But many of even the well-established brands are cool, down to earth people (as evident by the number of adam bomb stickers in my possession).

Some even go beyond the fresh aesthetic and combine meaning and passion in what they do.  Take Hoodman.  Reading the name, I initially just walked by.  But upon speaking with Eddie and crew, it became quite evident that Hoodman packs a lot of punch in their designs and ideology.

The tee Eddie is wearing is inspired by The Bluest Eye.  I was like, hold up….this $%#$ reads!!  He’s also got his Obama ’08 shirt, and regardless of your political ideology, you’ve got to respect the passion behind Hoodman’s endeavors.  Cop their stuff from Digital Gravel  and local boutiques who know what’s up.

These kats were cool. Three days in a row they set up shop and did screen-printing on the spot!

1)Grab a blank t-shirt (American Apparel), different colors everyday, trust, your size is running out first

2)Wait in Line………..(this is actually step 2-12)

3)Tell the kind or kooky screen-printing afficionado which design from which brand you want on your shirt AND where

4)Watch in amazement…

5)Rock the new unique hotness

6)holla

I asked my screen-printing hommie, Absent, to give me his special touch. A tear came to his eye, as all day everyone had been commanding him…as if they knew what the heck was up. However, that’s not him in that last picture. That is random-dood who hopped in my shot. Some people flip out when they see an XTi.

Oh, by the way, that ending scene where Kima was saying goodnite with the youngling was BEAUTIFUL!

day #2 of MAGIC, I had seen pics of Jay-Z, heard rumors of Paris, read about other “celebs.” Only person I had seen thus far was Paul Wall. Needless to say, I was not all that ecstatic, especially since he wasn’t handing out free 10k grills. Then, I’m talking to Lex and hear a voice…..a voice…….hey, that sounds like “YO, this is Mos Def…,” so me walks to the stage area.

The crowd wasn’t all that inspiring, but Black Dante still held it down. First vid is over a Madlib track which Mos reported was to feature Slick Rick. The second video is over a Dilla beat. I hope more and more and more DOPE emcees over various Dilla tracks surface. A las, more MAGIC pictorials.there is more of her….but a) AFG is kiddie-friendly & b) my personal stash will always pwn this bl0g.

This being the last day of MAGIC, it seems only appropriate to begin posting pics from the first day.

In my defense, the MGM Grand wants to tax a brotha on the wifi game, and wordpress has been tripping out here in the desert, as well. However, I do have a slew of pics for you to peruse, as well as my award-winning, side-splitting, and other-ways-hyphenated commentary.

I’ll be riding the MAGIC posting for at least another week as I wrap up here in Vegas. FORTUNATELY, I’ve got 4 (four, cuatro, pre-golf stroke) mid-term exams & papers awaiting me at home. I’m coming home Miami.

chao

Stopped by the GTC print shop last night and picked up my fake-AFG business cards. Fake only because I have yet to decide on a logo, and I just wanted to have SOMETHING while at MAGIC playing brand-entrepreneur.

Saw Louiz, who I had not seen since the last time I picked up flyers.

And then I wandered around looking at cool printing machines.

I’m off to go spin at the premiere night of Static Cling. It’s also School of Communications’ debut spinning as a duo.

h0lla

While most were in-gear for super Super Bowl madness, I decided to take a stroll through Coconut Grove. I’m sure I’ll be referencing various parts of Miami throughout my blogging life, so I’ll skip the history lesson of the Grove for now. I will say, it’s laid back, breezy, and fairly Caucasian.

I also stopped by a new bookstore in the Grove called…..

Last but not least, I caught this band of hippies grooving with their drums. It was actually dope.

Afterwards, I stopped by Invasion and checked out their latest stock. I really like their boutique. I will have to snag some pics.

I’ll be attending my first MAGIC convention next week.

h0lla.