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