Why white trainers rule the world...

Those of a certain age, can only smile when they reminisce about Diadora trainers. Mis-spent youth and shimmying over the park gates; Or was that just me? Actually, that story might have come from my dad, as the brand has been around since 1948!

But for those who haven’t glimpsed the sports fraternity faves, the Italian heritage brand, is re-launching the classic B.Elite this winter.

The iconic trainer, a favourite of the football, athlectic and even ski-ing fraternity, was infamously worn by Bjorn Bjorg who won the grand slam in them eleven times! They can’t promise that they will give you Bjorg’s temprement, or style, but the cult white and gold model bridges the gap between lifestyle and trend led training footwear.

The brand still continues with the recognizable ‘five ball’ logo, and with its clean lines and nod to retro styling, it doesn’t really matter if you’re a jock or not!

Exclusively available at London trainer specialists Foot Patrol on a limited edition run. Get it while you can from www.footpatrol.co.uk

Wynwood Walls in Miami. Where it's all kicking off!

Hownosm

Eduardo Kobra

55employees have been super busy in Miami covering all that's going on in the art world. Over 15 different art fairs are happening around the Miami area with some of the most incredible work happening right now!

55tv caught up with Gaia and chatted to him about his work around the area and the process he goes through to produce it. You can see that now, along with loads more coverage of Art Basel in Miami on 55factory.net !

Pixel Pancho was in town from Barcelona and was starting his huge piece just down the road from Wynwood Walls project so we spent some time with him chatting and seeing what he was up to. Also near him is an incredible piece by Eduardo Kobra which stretches over a massive length of wall and includes several different murals all painted with an airbrush. It is seriously impressive and sees everyone who walks past do a triple take!

The whole vibe around the Wynwood area is amazing, everyone is so friendly and welcoming and it is brilliant to see artists from all around the world, congregating in one place and producing such a vast amount of incredible work. Wynwood Walls project has definitely got the recipe right here for this to keep happening every year and for it to keep growing and providing a platform for the artists to show their work in an incredible environment. Tony Goldman, who is responsible for setting it all up was at the Wynwood Walls project gallery while we were there and sat down for a chat with us about it all and his view on the street art scene.

Jade

One of the artists who we have seen working in numerous locations is Jade, from Buenos Aires. We first spotted him on the first night that we were in Wynwood, painting a wall tucked around a corner opposite the Wynwood Walls project. He was doing some brilliant work there and also at two other walls that we've seen, one near the railway line and the other up near Pixel Pancho's piece, all of them very well executed.

Another building which is absolutely incredible is one we found while walking around the area tucked a couple of blocks back from the main road which is completely covered in black and white stripes. Extremely graphic and impressive! In fact that is how I would describe the whole experience of Art Basel Miami Beach so far, extremely impressive.

55tv hits up Wynwood walls

55employees rocked down to Wynwood again yesterday to check out what was happening in this extremely exciting district of Miami. We weren't dissapointed!

We had spotted a huge ROA piece on a wall just off the train tracks the night before in the taxi back to South Beach so we decided to make that our first stop on the way to Wynwood. The scale and level of detail in the piece was incredible! After taking numerous photos and videos of the whole area we headed to see what was going on along the main stretch.

ROA

Bumping into La Pandilla on the way, we did a quick interview and filmed some of the painting being done on  a wall near to the Wynwood Walls Project. It is a beautiful painting and we can't wait to see what they have done on a wall nearby which is much bigger.

La Pandilla

It was time to go and have a look at the press opening for The Underbelly Project, Miami exhibition. With work from some extremely renowned artists it promised to be a wild show and it definitely lived up to that expectation! Work from Faile, Ron English, Gaia, Roa and many others was on show in a huge warehouse space just off the main road. A personal highlight was definitely the Faile prayer wheels.

A couple of drinks later and we were off to Gallery Peretin for the opening of JR's show. A very different vibe in here to the rest of Wynwood that we have experienced so far, with crowds of buyers and gallerists dressed to the nines, perusing the work on show and indulging in the champagne and canapes. We caught up with JR for an interview about his work and the show. You can see that on 55factory.net very soon! Also at the gallery was Pharrel Williams so 55tv had a chat with him about his thoughts on the street art scene and how it has developed over the past few years.

Back to the Wynwood Walls Project for their opening of Peter Tunney's Exhibition in a space there. The work was outstanding with a strong pop art feel. He sat down for a while for an interview with us and talked about the use of Websters dictionary in his work, the state of the art market and how art can help to regenerate areas of poverty or crime.

Underbelly Project, Miami

Ron English

Art Basel Miami Beach

After arriving in Miami from LA 3 days ago in to a dodgy Hostel off Miami beach , 55employees Sims and Thompson were somewhat dazed and concerned regarding the difficulty of getting their heads around a new city and a different country. Thank god English was widely spoken!!

Spending the past 2 days beach combing, and generally looking for stuff to film or entertain us we were desperate for out art editor Tony to arrive.

As expected like a couple of horny pups, when Tony arrived he had it all planned out. Within 1hour we were in a taxi heading toward the sketchy area of Miami to hit the underground urban street art event of the year.



With a mass of warehouse buildings quickly being engulfed in graffiti art and street art and a huge hive of activity, the whole area has been taken over by these artists.







Unlike Europe the street art scene has a massive canvas to exploit in the US and in many ways is turning an exceptional run down area of Miami into living breathing and developing gheto of the arts.


With vast warehouses being turned into galleries similar to London's Viner St just for this weeks art run, and sure to be followed by more permanent locations in the area.

Within the past 3 years, it has gone from a small almost localised event of urban artists, to a serious collaboration of financial backers, social developers and global followers of this emerging scene.

In true gorilla style, 55tv and 55employees are there 3 days before it opens pulling together shows and underground filming and interviews with those that make the underground and street art scene what it should be, grass roots....

 Follow us for the next 5 days on 55tv to catch what the origins of street art has become. 

the popular way to wear pop art

Dans La Vie’s collection for SS12 is a dramatic mash up of four strong independent women- Madonna, Lady Gaga, Rhianna and Amy Winehouse.

Building on her reputation of bold, waterproof materials, Japanese designer Rira Sugawara paid tribute to the devastating earthquake which hit Tokyo earlier this year. Although this was certainly not a morbid collection. The second collection by the designer demonstrated ladylike chic, coupled with a few cheeky see through numbers, which are presumably the ones inspired by Rhianna!

Shorts, playsuits and Peter Pan collars make the collection accessible for day wear, along side belted macs, cropped mac tops and t shirts with Madonna motifs, which will suit a braver, younger and toned tummy customer.

With a nod to pop art, this collection is highly wearable, and will certainly go down a storm on a rainy spring day! Wellies optional.

By Sara Darling

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside, with Holly Fulton's SS12 collection...

If there’s one thing that will get you in the mood for summer, it’s the thought of a dirty weekend by the seaside!
And Holly Fulton’s fun collection for SS12, certainly hints at a cheeky weekend away. It is not intentionally smutty, but the suggestion is there, and by Fulton’s own admission, she revels in bad taste.

With playful colours which are fit for a donkey ride in Margate or a go on the waltzers on the Brighton pier, the Holly Fulton women will be filled with the spirit of adventure…And shells, and crystals and chequerboard motifs!

Inspired US poolside images from the 1960s, the collection focuses on soft candy floss pastels, with a nod to the eurotrash with seaside souvenir prints. The accessories only add to the tasteful tackiness, as the perspex and plastics blend perfectly with the bucket and spade imagery.

If you can’t go to Miami, you can certainly bring the beach to you- go on treat yourself to a trip to Butlins!

Go see 20 years of Dazed- you know it makes sense!

Today has been a day of culture, as I popped along to the "Making it up as we go along" exhibition. Trying to squeeze twenty years of one of the edgiest British fashion magazines into the rooms at Somerset House is no mean feat, but the exhibition, curated by Jefferson Hack and Emma Reeves, cherry picked the most memorable and visually inspiring stories, shoots and artwork, in a very Dazed way.

The show was not all about art on walls, but was displayed on cubes and mirrored boxes, which helped with the bottleneck of visitors who were vying to get in to the cosy rooms at Somerset House. Five rooms and the corridor were taken over by the magazine, and I have a feeling it could have easily taken over another five

Choosing the highlights must have been a logisitical nightmare and name checking all the photographers an impossible task; So many creatives have been involved with the style magazine, but it is the iconic covers and controversial stories which have made the cut.

Throughout the exhibition, I kept my eyes peeled for magazines I purchased in my youth. Some were there- shame I haven't still got them! But I think the same about The Face magazine and I worked there..

As a go to bible for reference, students and fashionistas, Dazed & Confused has been one step ahead of pop culture since its explosive launch in London in 1991; With Rankin on board, it soon developed into a platform for emerging artists, designers and musicians who all wanted a piece of the pie. As an independent title, controversy remains part of its appeal, and the exhibition references some of it's most memorable stars including Björk to Blondie, Pharell Williams to Kate Moss.

It's almost too much to take in, in one visit, but as its free I might even go again!

Showing until 29th January 2012.

By Sara Darling

Holy Moley! It's Jezebel&Toff

Jezebel&Toff is the brainchild of British born designer Vincent Miller. Born in England, raised in Oz and now calling home NYC, the label was inspired when Miller stumbled across a disused warehouse containing vintage army surplus in East Village.

With a background in performance art, rather than design, Miller performed onstage for artists including The Spice Girls, Robbie Williams and Run DMC before finding his niche as a designer; But this only adds to the drama of his collections, and their appeal to the music industry and performers.

The signature of the brand is the hand appliqué imagery and embroidery, which takes pride of place on everything from oversize army jackets, to harem jeans in Japanese denim. These large-scale mix media images such as the gold leather King Tut, Wonder Woman and the Virgin Mary mean that the wearer definitely stands out from the crowd.

The fact that Miller has chosen to work with a cross section of used army wear, recognizes the importance of uniform; But the fact that it is deliberately mixed up, using camo prints from a variety of nations, makes each piece unique. And with the designs limited to 100 per edition, you can join the gang, but there will never be a leader

Not for the fainthearted, J&T will appeal to the confident, forward thinking boys and girls who have something to say and want to be heard.

Check them on www.jezebelandtoff.com or at their store at 110 Thompson Street, SoHo, New York, NY 10012

By Sara Darling

Fashoin for men with manners.....

Eastie Empire, is a menswear brand with a growing fanbase of men who appreciate quality classics. The company was founded in 2009 by Sara Weston, who claims the label is designed for ‘journeymen and gentlemen’, and offers the modern man dapper clothes to dandy about in.
Inspired by Indian workwear and the British Raj, Eastern references are evident in the tailored fit and fabric choices. Each piece is a key separate, and can easily be adapted to a current wardrobe.
The collection ranges from tailored day wear which won’t look out of place walking the dog, heading a business meeting or in the terraces on a Saturday afternoon. Smart yet casual, the individual looks are reminiscent of the original dandy wear of the 1920s when men began to take an interest in clothes, and fashions were made to last.

The AW collection is aimed at men who have a personality and are a fan of quality tailoring. It re-works classics such as the Sports and Dancehall jackets, but also provides the basics- cotton shirts, blazers and trousers; The Journeymans Smock is the perfect laid-back denim accompaniment to smarter trousers, and if you are a fan of the traditional, the Eastie buttonhole braces and Francois neckerchief are a must to complete your look.. The collection has a unique sense of confidence and the attention to detail of piping and contrasting buttons, only adds to the charm and confidence.

Aiming to create stylish, understated practical pieces, the collection is now available across the globe and can be found in boutiques from New York to Melbourne to Colibri in London and Norwich.
Also available on line at eastiestore.com

By Sara Darling

55employees hit the Haygate....

From the excitement of my "DAY OUT" on the Haygate estate, 55employes were so excited from the story of another land they wanted to take the trip. Chris and Nick in all 55style headed South with the cameras to document the area like a day bunked off school...
Not before walked half a mile from Elephant and Casely carrying a double mattress. Dont ask, it just had to be done...





A rather bemused intern followed them around, felling quite out his comfort zone while 55employees shot away (the intern soon discovered this wasn't Chelsea, and in a sick way think he relay enjoyed it)





Andrew Rutland
Nick Thompson
55intern








Rutland on hearing the news we were south on the Haygate Zooomed down on his old woman bike to be blown away by the whole site and area.
For Rutland to be excited is some thing.....

55employees are planning a night trip, not on Acid tho!! if any one is interested to join for the evening.
We wil be participating in night shots and not getting stabbed and mugged.

Really we had an awesome afternoon quite fascinating!!! If this is not enough to get you heading south on the underground to Elephant and Caste then i give up!!!

What a perfect day on the Haygate estate.

After a VERY long day, and night and up again at 7.30am not for the want of wanting to stay in the luxury of the Kennington play boy pad!! No thats not an ipad we've reinvented.


I thought I would pop to the Elephant and Castle SE my old marching ground and have a look around the pound shops. Even 55employees need a bit of ME time!





On the way, after out RUM interview I thought I would pop and take a look at the Haygate Estate, as its soon to be pulled down. Not knowing if i would actually get in there.

Much to my joy i found the whole estate basically empty but open to who ever wanted to wander around.

What an absolute joy!!! I spent a good 2 hours like a curious kid wandering around the sky walk ways between the blocks, up and down the odd stair cases, gasping at the HUGE stretches of tower blocks. The external walk ways running like SiFi ships gracefully almost hovering.


I couldn't quite get my head around the beauty of it all. Being a massive fan, well lover of Brutalist design walking around the Haygate Estate was thrilling yet morbidly upsetting.








Soon to happen the whole place is to be bulldozed. Not content with demolishing the whole area that is one of the largest holding of mature trees. Its incredible the amounts of folage and wood land that have over the past 30 years established its self. All to go. Also the 3000 people that have been moved out of the area since 2006, and still the place is empty and standing. Also the surveyors report that all the building are sound and only need refurbishing.




Unfortunately it is too late for the Haygate. In my recent pass
around 2005 I was on a hugh film shoot over the entire estate when most of the place was still populated. Now a ghost city with the murmur of central London just beyond its walls.












Advice. Get your selves to the Haygate for an after noon, then pop in to the Elephant and Castle shopping centre for a trip back to the early 1980s. Astonishing, and it will all be gone in the next 3 years replaced by generic glass buildings and city worker.

YUK!!












Any how, for me this was a perfect day. For others going to the country side, me the Haygate estate.

Truly Inspiring !!!!

It's been just over a year now since I moved to London, and what a year its been! I've seen some wonderful brilliant and crazy things. Like Greenwich Uni burn on the set of Pirates of the Caribean 4. I've seen and witnessed first hand the acid trip that is Camden Town at night. I knew 55Employee, Kieron Allender before he started disliking the majority of the Population, yes there was a time when he tolerated folk and in some cases liked them. And finally I've seen 55Employee Nick Tompson interview a Jedi and a Morris Dance outside the Bank of England.

But I've done some pretty crazy but epic things too... But thanks the side effects of alchol I don't remember most of these.

However I do remember joining 55Factory. I dont remeber how it happend, I remember turning up to 'the Bunker' with something cool on my iPhone, and now I am legally contracted never to leave. All I do know is that 55Factory is the BEST place to work. And 55Employees are the happiest alive because the love what they do! (Apart from Kieron)

My role at 55 is tilted 'the Nerd' not officially. Since starting at 55 I have developed the Mobile Website which now appears if you visit www.55factory.net on your Mobile, or when you scan our funky QR code on the back of 55Page.

I also designed and animated the new intro for 55TV.

But I'v been mainly working on the 55App for iOS Devices. The app is very close to being finished and has some great features on it, like all the latest content all the beautiful faces of 55Employees with the ability to contact us all. It also has some nice twitter and facebook intergtated features. Oh and finally this Blog!

So stay tuned for the App and many other exciting things only at 55Factory.

By Joe Barbour (joebarbourdesign@gmail.com)

55factory gets article in RUM magazine

55employees Sims and Thompson recently were asked to do a six page article for RUM magazine on Brutalist Architecture. Never ones to not rise to a challenge they scrambled together a bunch of images shot around the narrative, then proceeded to spend a sleepless night writing some thing that made some sense in the way of words.


As usual, it was a last minute request, literally giving us 2 days to collect the images and do the words..... And on top of this prep for a 10 pages fashion shoot the next day. Needles to say the RUM article was finished and sent off, and the fashion shoot was AMAZING with the most fantastic model Trissian for D1 models London. More to come on that one very soon!

All tho a little ragged the following day for the Fashion shot, 55employee Darling had it well in order for the boys to take it a little easier!

Given this opportunity with the RUM article, 55 employees blow the trumpet as much as possible for 55factory work force and associates, as well as giving a DOPE essay on Brutalism. Well thats verry 55factory any how!!

Its in Fashion............

With Fashion Week over in London for another six months, fashionistas are buzzing with inspiration for next season’s collections. Incidentally excitable just in time for this late summers heatwave! Which with nearing 30 degrees at end of October is confusing for the head, and even more confusing for the wardrobe!

Many of the young new gen designers chose to show a bright colour palette, with clashing colours and vibrant citrus yellow shining through. My personal favourite was the harlequin patterned dresses and playsuits shown on the Spijkers en Spijkers catwalk. Muted tones and giant stars, styled with headscarves and minimal jewellery mean that the clothes can do the talking.

Florals were blooming in Erdem, Christopher Kane and Peter Pilotto’s collections and even the King of the sequin, Ashish joined in with a floor length floral number, with real pansies attached to the Doc Marten boots. This is not the romantic, washed out version, but incorporating bold colours, cigarette pants and slimline jackets, which can be styled up with plains for the less adventurous.

Pyjamas also seem to be making a welcome return on the men’s and women’s catwalks; If you are a fan of comfort dressing, you will probably love the easy to wear Richard Nicoll and Paul Smith collections; Both male and female Topshop/Man fans will be pleased to see that the Unique and menswear range offers a silky version, perfect for strolling down the promenade in Cannes!

If it’s a more structured look you’re after, look no further than the shiny pvc detailing lead by minimalist giants Acne, who sent their models out in baggy metallic skirts and leather tops. Aquascutum had the best black pvc trousers, and Antonio Beradi used pvc in his detailing of his space age collection. Mulberry jumped on two trends by ticking the pvc box with a fabulous yellow jacket, and Burberry Prorsum, Julien McDonald and Jaeger London also picked up the yellow theme. A theme which I have no doubt will be seen at many a wedding come February 12!

White is going to be massive next spring/summer. Different shades of white were mixed up in various fabrics, lengths and layers at Christopher Kane and Antonio Berardi. Another colour you won’t be able to escape next year is vibrant orange spearheaded by Matthew Williamson. Buy orange now and you can guarantee 12 months of on-trend dressing!

Sixties shapes are still a strong contender- these featured on dresses, coats, and blouses at Roksanda Ilincic, with a swingy shape accentuating long legs and is a trend that leads nicely on from AW.

The most talked about show amongst my fashionista friends was the Mulberry show, which transported us to the world according to Mulberry! If next summer is one long fun fair ride, I will be happy to be head to toe in Mulberry. I love the fact the whole British summertime expectations were covered with cutesy rainmacs, pleated maxi dresses, and lace trimmed dresses, all in ice cream hues. This truly was as spectacular show and the models and their backcombed hair worked the playfulness of the collection.

In contrast, another of my favourites was the Jean Pierre Braganza show, which embraced the Warrior Woman, with the models owning the catwalk and stopping halfway down to “strike a pose”. With an unusual summer colour palette of black, grey and red, we can expect the JPB fan to be full of drama. Leather and fringing were used, and the menswear collection was equally as fierce. With digital printing and laser cut fringing, this will definitely suit someone who takes no prisoners!

Giles Deacon chose to show at the Royal Courts of Justice, and the setting begged to be filled with extravagance and illicit excitement, which his collection demonstrated. Beautiful ball gowns finished with ruffles and feathers, ready to take on the red carpet, were sashayed down the catwalk. The more ready to wear pieces showed swan printed shift dresses, trousers and blouses, allowing him to be Prince of the statement looks!

Another name to watch for high glam party wear is Ashley Isham who already dresses many celebs including Kylie! This season he showed a combination of full length decorative evening gowns and a more youthful mini dress selection. Styled to the hilt with the bird’s nest hair and floral headpieces, this is something that probably won’t translate in to the world outside fashion week!

Back to the Vauxhall Fashion Scout, and the Eudon Choi show provided some great key pieces that you truly can wear with everything. There were no fancy gimmicks- you get what you see with this Korean designer as his collection was predominantly clean lines, interesting cuts using butter soft leather. with an equestrian edge. He chose to make a masculine collection and his jodhpur inspirations in camels, browns and greys got the thumbs up for wearability from all the Editors around me. Even though there was not much flesh on display, each piece was extremely sexy and so, so easy to wear.

In conclusion, London fashion is as diverse as ever. You will be able to find something to suit all tastes, however flamboyant or safe you want to play it! I would say bring on the sunshine, but it is already here…now we just have to wait six months to get hold of the clothes!

By Sara Darling

 Deep in the bowels of 55factory sit, ummmmmm 55employees brain storming or sorting out stuff, or things and bits and bobs 55factory related. There may be the odd beer or 4 in the control room kind of knocking around to keep them moist! 

Find Of The (fashion) Week

While scouring the streets around fashion week for fresh blood for the growing 55Factory community our streetwise experts came across this wild and wonderful being..

Meet SANCHEZ the drug mule.

This unruly character was found roaming the streets of London looking fabulous yet suspiciously dodgy.

Y'know Dodgy in that sort of webbed toes, six finger kinda way...

Under the lustful control of intrigue and mystery our 55crew followed this strange being back to his make-shift home to experience his lifestyle and party potential.

And Sanchez did not disappoint....

This was the place he called home - an out of order public matrix connector - littered with numerous empty bottles of fun.

Sanchez was adamant that we toasted with his favourite russian vodka to celebrate our new friendship.... in hindsight, this was a very bad idea.

Memory of the events of the rest of that ill fated night all seem to be an agonising blur for the 55crew, who awoke the next morning a long, long way from home. There minds broken, bruised and confused with no Sanchez in sight.

All that was left was his rock & rolla glare shades.... Maybe one day he will return for them?

lets hope not.

LFW 55Lowdown PT.2

Covering london fashion week - as well as launching a new publication - is pretty thirsty work I can assure you! Luckily, being fashion week veterans now, we got ourselves hooked up to some of the best extra curriculum activities that fashion week has to offer, once the sun goes down and the neon lights come up!

Our 55Highlight of the week had to be the Bloody Gray party @ Concrete, shoreditch. The blood Gray team had managed to wangle one of our favourates, The enthralling lydia lunch, into perfoming a rather intimate set in the bowels of this pretty dam RAD drinking hole in the land of shoreditchia.

The set was complimented by a live artist at the side of the stage painting a random masterpiece, shown above! The best part of the perfomance however was when Mistress Lunch left hooked a drunk stage invader, who had taken to giving a solo dance perfomance on stage in his after work office gear. This guy went down like a sack of potatos.

Lunch packs a punch!

BELIEVE.

Another TOP FAV of the week was the lou dalton after party at East Bloc, where we showed of our very own brand of 55Party!