This week was a pretty special week! I got invited down to Portland to visit the Nike & Jordan Brand Headquarters. They wanted to unveil a few special projects that they’ve been working on and I was fortunate enough to be a part of this trip.

Day 1 involved hanging out and eating great food as we discussed hip-hop amongst many other things. We dubbed that night the first annual Hip Hop Summit. Some real heavy hitters were in the room and were a part of this discussion.

Day 2 we took a bus over to the Tiger Wood facilities where we got to take a look at the Jordan Brand Holiday offering. The lineup consisted of new Melo’s, Wade’s and CP’s. We got a chance to sit and talk with Andre Doxer, Creative Director for Jordan Brand, designer, Mark Smith who designed the Wade’s and designer Justin Taylor who worked on the Melo’s.

We learned that the goal of the Jordan Brand is to leverage the best technology to date and to focus on performance. A few people commented via twitter that the shoes don’t look like “classics”. Well I believe that back in the day the Jordan’s that we all love today weren’t dubbed as “classics” yet and since the technology in footwear has become so advance it makes the shoes far more superior than the past.

Little did we know that after exploring all 3 models that we would head over to the Bo Jackson facilities where we would get to test out the shoes and get to play with them on the court. We received this super amazing Jordan backpack that was stuffed with uniforms, new shorts, tops, socks and a few other goodies. We were also given 3 pairs of shoes, the new Melo’s, CP’s and Wade’s. We put on our uniforms and then we headed out to the court where they tested our speed, agility, ups and power. I haven’t work this hard since high school! They put us through some real NBA drills, testing out each pair of new shoes. We were in Flight School for real… After all the drills we got to run some full court games where my team did not win…

My favorite shoes end-up being the Melo’s and I look forward to playing in them again.

It was truly a great experience and I can’t wait to avenge my team, so I’m joining training camp ha, see you next time!

Thanks Team Jordan!

My friends from Nike brought me down to Toronto during TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) for the North American Premier of Anatomy of a Urban Legend by fame director Thibaut De Longeville who directed Just For Kicks. The event was hosted by the incomparable Bobbito Garcia with special guest, NHL superstar P.K Subban and recoding artist and Toronto legend Saukrates.

We also got to see for the very first time the new Nike Sportswear commercial with PK featuring vocals from Saukrates.

The movie was about the iconic Air Force 1 and gave us a glimpse into the people who love them.

The event came to a close and the homie Jazzy Jeff shut the place down turning it into a great after party. Oh and funny man Russell Peters came through and DJ’ed like it was his full time job. He is really nice on the ones and twos

Check out my piece in a mini documentary here.

Thanks Nike.

Last week while I was down in Minneapolis and we visited NorthernGrade men’s market which was pretty cool experience. Held every September @ ARCHITECTURAL ANTIQUES IN NE MPLS. It is a pop up men’s market where everything is America- Made. The event is open to consumers and it is hosted by Pierrepont Hicks & J.W Hulme Co. This year’s main sponsor was Red Wing Shoes.

What made the experience cool is that I met so many great people and saw so many grade brands all made on us soil. The place was busy and I got the opportunity to buy a few amazing pieces and eat some incredible bbq ribs. I can see myself visiting Minneapolis every year for this event.

 

On September 10th, 2010, two Minnesota-based companies, J.W. Hulme Co, established in 1905, and Pierrepont Hicks who planted its roots in 2009, held the first annual NorthernGRADE Men’s Market, to celebrate American-made originals from the heartland. Inspired by The Pop Up Flea by ACL in New York, this Minneapolis event is a gathering of like-minded designers, artisans and brands — all true symbols of the heartland. They offered high-grade menswear, accessories and collectibles for sale direct to the public during the market. Celebrated with music, food and spirits, we support our Made in America brands. NorthernGRADE was founded to promote and celebrate them

I had the privilege of being invited to New York City to attend a dinner with Steve Stoute and a few of my peers. It is not often you get to be in a room, yet a private setting with some of the worlds most influential people. Mr. Stoute recently wrote a book titled The Tanning of America and he wanted to share it with all of us.

The venue was small, quaint and very intimate, we laughed, we drank and conversed about the things that were important to us. Steve and I had the opportunity to talk more in depth about some things that are going to directly change the course of my life. Steve’s influential has changed the course of the industry and it shows. How often does Jay-Z show up to your dinner party to hang out? It was a cool night and it was awesome to meet everyone else.

images courtesy of Joshua Wong

Thanks to Mr. Stoute and the Translation team.

 

 

I was invited down to Minneapolis for a few days to take the tour of the historic Red Wing Shoe company and factory. Michael Williams from A Continuous Lean invited down a few people to be apart of this Red Wing experience. I’m looking forward to updating you guys on this trip.

So far so good! Yesterday I met so many readers and followers of the site at Northern Grade and it is very humbling to be shown so much love down in the midwest.  Northern Grade is quite the consumer trade show, showcasing the best in MADE IN AMERICA product. I saw so many great things, pictures coming soon.

Thanks for rocking with me guys!

 

 

I am on the beautiful Island of Corsica. I’ve seen so many beautiful things so far. I can’t wait to update you all.

I went to the private Isaia annual rooftop party while I was in NYC. The party is like the who’s who of the fashion industry. The product looked great and I also got to rub shoulders with some of the people that inspire me. What was super cool is that I got to taste “Turtle’s” from Entourage’s tequila Avion. The Tequila was the main sponsor of the event. It was pretty good ha!

My brother WIlliam Yan shot me outside of Project NYC.

Shirt: Club Monaco

Bow tie & Pocket Square: Regular TY

Pants: Cargo pants by J Brand

Shoes: Ronnie Fieg for Sebago

Bracelets: The 5th one & DBK

Watch: Nautica

 

This was part of the MADE BY section. I sat down with jewellery designer Gabriel Urist, who made me a ring out of peach seed. Watch a quick video here

 

Bowery Lane Bicycles were being made on the spot. Handcrafted Vintage Inspired Bicycles that are made in New York City.

Falling Whistles unveiled some new collaborations.

Intelligentsia set up shop once again serving amazing coffee to the industry.

 

 

Torono native, Gregory Allen showcasing at a trade show for the first time.

 

The ever so talented Hatford Denim Company set up their workshop and started making denim on site.

NBA player John Salmon previewed his new collection Salmon & Brown at project. The collection had some really nice pieces.

The BKC is really a problem.

 

 

 

 

The BKC

 

The Blind Barber set up a barber shop and started cutting hair everyday for 3 days. They must have cut over hundred people.

Dee & Ricky came through.

 

 

Speakeasy

Technology is changing the game…more on that later

Splashlight Studio came in and turned Project into a full fashion shoot. Lights, camera, action.

 

 

Made By

 

 

The game is changing…

 

People are expecting more and the experience has become the standard.

I am very happy and proud to be involved in the evolution of what we know as a tradeshow. I had the opportunity to curate a Blogger project for Project and also continue my journey as the official Project correspondent. This task involves me sitting down and having intimate conversations with the some of the leaders of the fashion industry, from buyers, to retailers, designers, brands, stylist, pr firms and bloggers.

“Something just feels right” seemed to be the common sentiment throughout the week.  I’m not sure if it was something that people could have put their finger on but they just all knew that something special was happening.

There were so many great initiatives activated at the New York Project show. The “Made By” platform was incredible, brands from all of the country set up workshops and designed and created products on the spot. The Blind Barber initiative was outstanding, they set up a barbershop in the middle of the show and cut hair and served drinks as if they were in their shop in LES.  I am not really one to tout my own horn but the Blogger Project was fantastic, I gave brands the opportunity to meet their favorite bloggers and the bloggers had the chance to work with their favorite brands. They created content on the spot and showcased it through multiple social media outlets.

I think Project as a tradeshow is setting a new standard for industry. The visionaries behind this brand really have a grasp on what the world and our industry needs. So many great brands and people walked the floor and were utterly impressed by the décor, layout, initiatives and the vibe.

We will be recreating this experience in Las Vegas. See you guys in a couple of weeks.

Make sure you check back for all the videos documenting this experience.

 

 

I’ve always had dreams of creating a Tradeshow of sorts for bloggers and their favorite brands. I’ve always felt the importance and necessity to build up the community that I am so closely involved in.

This year I teamed up with the Project Trade show to bring this dream to fruition. I curated a special space at The Project Show for some of my favorite blogger friends. Strawser & Smith provided all the furniture for The Blogger Project. It was clean, minimalistic and decorated with metal chairs, leather couches, amazing light fixtures and a beautiful wooden table. The bloggers had the opportunity to work with Splashlight Studio to produce beautiful content for their blogs live on the spot.

I wanted to give brands an opportunity to meet and engage with some of their favorite bloggers and I also wanted to give these bloggers the opportunity to work with some their favorite brands and document the week from their eyes.

The outcome was fantastic and the reception was overwhelming. I called upon Selectism, The Madbury Club, William Yan, Denim Therapy, The Denim Guy, Por Homme and Aveder Outfit to be part of this first Blogger Project Experience curated by me.

A special thank you to all the bloggers who made this experience possible. Thank you to amazing Project team and staff for believing in the vision.