Last month we talked about  branded pop up stores in the US – and now we’re turning our attention to how the concept has taken on a creative manifestation in China. As opposed to a large brand setting up a pop-up store, dysemevas is a design boutique run by Dee Poon that sells clothing, accessories, jewelry and tableware by China-based designers.  Set up in Hong Kong for 6 weeks, the store went through a few transformations during the six weeks including changing from a casual T-shirt and jeans store to a more formal store featuring designer suits and jewelry.
Dee Poon [...]

At the PSFK Conference Asia 2008, Jeff Staple, Founder and Creative Director of Staple Design and Reed Space, talks about his “accidental” career path. Jeff went from hand-silkscreening tee-shirts in school to heading a global design, consulting, apparel and retail operation in 11 years— on his own terms. He speaks about lessons learned and knowledge gained in the process.

For tickets and/or information about our upcoming event in London, go to www.goodideassalon.com

As we reported back in September, there’s suddenly a whole new world out there to fashion designers who may not have the cash or the desire to stage an expensive runway show. The pervasiveness of the web and accessibility of high quality multimedia equipment/tools have made it possible for designers to reach a much wider audience at a lower cost, both to the environment and to their bank accounts. For a while, this practice of shunning the catwalk was limited to underground, avant garde designers constrained by small budgets. But by the end of 2008, more and more mainstream fashion [...]

Everybody loves getting their monthly mail delivery of movies and magazines, so why not clothing? Swedish clothing designer Karolina Svensson at Orkan Lia is offering a subscription-based service that delivers custom tailored outfits for each subscriber. Svensson’s designs are inspired by 1950s and 1960s prints & textiles with a contemporary flair in cut and color. While certain sizes may not be available, the service extends to men as well as children.
Pricing is reasonable considering each piece is custom-fitted, with subscribers getting around a 20% discount from her retail pay-as-you-go clothing. Dresses range from $85-$125, skirts at $70-$85 and tops between [...]

At the PSFK Conference Asia 2008, Piers Fawkes (PSFK) sat down with leading experts in Asia’s creative community to explore the emergence of a new generation of multi-skilled creative minds.  These young individuals feel they can turn their hand to multiple product and service offerings, often challenging the way established industries operate.
Focusing on how this ‘creator class’ leverages the internet to hone their skills and market themselves to a greater audience, the panel, including Brian Tiong (B-Side), Paul Tan (POOL/AWE50ME), and Jason Anello (Yahoo!), explore how agencies and companies can collaborate with this unique group of talented individuals.
(apologies for the [...]

Like fellow Frenchwoman Colette Roussaux, Christiane Celle has mastered the art of curation. Each piece in her Calypso boutiques is an instant classic–easy, chic, and versatile. Her latest project, Clic Gallery, marks a shift from fashion to photography. This Noho store, opened in October 2008, has already earned a reputation for its careful selections and eclectic taste. You can find photography books from publishers such as Verlag Schaden, Rizzoli, Phaidon, Taschen, TeNeues, and Steidl, as well as small independent publishers,  signed trade titles, limited editions and artists editions with signed prints.
Last month, Clic St Barth opened near the banks of [...]

More than 1 million tons of textile waste are thrown away every year, 50% of which is reusable. Goodone clothing company, based in East London, are doing their part to see that one person trash is another’s treasure in a truly economical way. They make one-off products by deconstructing recycled and fair trade clothing and reconstructing them into a brand new item. Good One also offer their consultancy to brands and retailers wishing to re-work their waste whether it be in to new design, sourcing, production or sustainability through their specialist skills and expertise in the fashion industry.
And, on top [...]

With cycling’s recent surge in popularity as a commuting alternative, it was only a matter of time before the clothing caught up. We spoke with Abe Burmeister, co-founder of Outlier, on the line’s inspiration, futuristic textiles and good ideas for public transport in 2009.
Describe the inspiration behind the line. Was it born out of necessity?
Absolutely. I just couldn’t find the clothes I needed when I wanted to ride my bike on the daily. I was destroying all my jeans, and I couldn’t ride to business meetings out of fear of getting caught in the rain or ripping up my nice [...]

Located in Shanghai’s trendy Tianzifang area is a boutique that may change your impression of design and manufacturing in China.  The NEST design collective and store “is dedicated to contemporary product design, high quality craftsmanship, and responsible manufacturing.”
Among the current group of designers featured at the Nest are bambu, who produces housewares out of bamboo and other renewable resources and Wobabybasics, a sustainable baby clothes brand made from 100% certified organic cotton and handwoven.
In addition to the concept store, NEST hosts regular DesignerTalk evenings with topics such as “Defining Responsible Manufacturing in China.”
NEST

StyleBible.ph is the online voice of Preview, a leading fashion publication in the Philippines. The site is also in the process of building a well-curated online collection of independent homegrown clothing and accessories. Recently, PSFK got a chance to chat with Managing Editor Isabelle Andaya on the Philippines’ place in global fashion as well as on some leading and emerging talents that are shaping the local movement.
So what is Philippine fashion’s place in the world?

I would say that the number of people interested in fashion in the Philippines has grown and we are slowly discovering our own style and identity. [...]

NY based designer Rebecca Turbow’s Safe clothing line (designed with emotional and physical security in mind – all soft greys and teals and simple, clean lines) has tapped UK wunderkind graphic designer Kate Moross to create a windbreaker type jacket in soothing grey and yellow. Just 50 of the jackets have been produced, each labeled individually. At $150, it’s a great way to get your hands on something so unique – Turbow is a pretty in-demand designer, and Moross has great street cred, having designed for Top Shop and Animal Collective, among others.
Safe

Weddings are a big deal in Manila – the success of most high profile fashion designers here rely heavily on how skilled they are at making wedding gowns. Two of the country’s most reputable designers, Rajo Laurel and Frederick Peralta, have been leveraging their reputations for matrimonial chic on a line of designer wedding cakes for local bakeshop chain Red Ribbon.
An article from The Philippine Daily Inquirer provided some color commentary:
Fabric and music were among Laurel’s inspirations for his cakes. His “Bossa Nova,” layers of fondant that remind one of a woman dancing, takes its cue from flirtatious Brazilian music. [...]

As part of PSFK Conference Asia, we presented the Singapore Showcase with AWE50ME. The showcase profiled 10 of the most exciting members of the new emerging ‘Creator Class’ of multi-skilled talents and their ambitions. These young creatives have innovatively redefined their genres in New Media Design, Mutant-Creativity, Recyclism, Cross-Over Art, 8-Bit Music Producing and Photo-Documentary Making.
AWE50ME is a creative community space where unique individuals share their vision with each other. It’s an active black book of exciting people across Asia living their passion and creating the scene around Art, Design, Music, Photography, Fashion, Video, Events and Popular Lifestyle Culture. Their [...]

PSFK friend Jack Cheng points us to this lovely notebook from Muji: the “Chronotebook,” a day planner that offers the same functionality as your cluttered Dayrunner, but through a simpler, smarter design. The Chronotebook features the face of an analog watch in the center of each page, the AM clock on the left hand side and the the PM one on the right. Users can then map out their day visually by filling out time slots around the clock. Jack Cheng explains the beauty of such a simple planner:
[With a typical day planner] you have a day and date printed [...]

I’ve finished my presentation for Friday’s PSFK Conference Asia – and one of the last slides comes from a comment that was left on the site the other day. Gabriel Amadeus said:
“[Creator?] Hey, that’s me! Not that I am successful at it or anything, but I much prefer to be a jack of all trades instead of specializing in “vector illustration”, “interactive flash”, or “band posters”.
“In the past week I’ve designed flyers, banners, screenprinted shirts, welded a homemade bakfiets (dutch cargo bike), organized a scavenger hunt, planned a freakbike booth at the Oregon Manifest, and applied for a bunch of [...]