Prey for the Hunted

While denim wear was born in America over  150 years ago  it is today’s premium denim craze that is as American as Apple Pie.  Levi Strauss & Co. was founded in 1853 when a young German moved from Bavaria to San Francisco. He started making rugged overalls for railroad workers made out of a cotton twill loomed in a special way creating a durable fabric identified by its unique diagonal ribbing.

While denim fabric continued to be used in many apparel items it wasn’t until the 1950s that jeans became fashionable in America. As the jeans phenomenon exploded in the 50s and 60s Levis updated there production facilities to keep up with demand.

Fast forward to 2003 and jeans are still a staple of American fashion. In keeping with the American sentiments of individuality and excess the notion of premium denim was born. Jeans which were accepted as a mass produced workwear items that cost $20-$30 were reborn as fashionable pants that defined personal style and cost between $200-$300. New brands were born with the mission of creating unique and exclusive denim using many of the storied original production methods.

Raw Denim and Selvage Denim

In 2007 the French conglomerate PPR bought controling interest in Puma. At first it was unclear how the sportswear giant would fit in with Gucci and other preium brands under the PPR umbrella.The Puma acquisition cost a cool $7B so they must have had some plan for how to leverage the Puma brand. There have been opportunities for Puma to collarborate with big time designers such as Alexander McQueen but I have never really liked any of it until now. More YSL for Puma Shoes

Oh Camilla Belle, I seem to see your face every where I turn and I am not sure what to think when I see it. First I think wow this is a hot actress of Brazilian heritage.

Then I think this crazy broad is dating one of the super annoying Jonas Brothers who is busy saving his virginity for Jesus instead of gladly handing her his V-card. Then I see some pictures of her and think that maybe she is not hot at all. (see below) More on Camilla Belle

In the last few years military influence has been seen in all areas of fashion. Kill Spencer is a new line of mens’ bags that is serious enough to move beyond military cliche and uses battle tested materials that actually deliver on that military cache’. LA Based designer Spencer Nikosey uses clean modern lines and constructs them with repurposed treated canvas used in the Korean War. The hardware consists of black anodized steel buckles and snaps and looks like it will withstand just about anything that gets thrown at it.

See More Kill Spencer Bags

I have to be honest I kind of dismissed the whoel boat shoe phenomenon as a passing hipster trend, but I am getting the feeling that this trend is still pretty far from sinking as we enter spring 2009.  The original Sperry Top Sider (pictured above) was invented in 1935 by Paul Sperry. The shoes became popular as they were adopted by the US Navy because of the traditional non marking white out soles.

Here we are 70 years later and every hipster kid and shoe brand wants to jump on the boat shoe trend. Where the hell is this trend going? Well when you see niche brands and fashion brands a like jumping on the band wagon you think this trend is here to stay.

More on Boat Shoes

One look into Tim Hamilton’s humble beginnings and you might not guess that the man was on his way to being a major force in mens’ fashion. This same young man who grew up as the youngest of seven in children in Iowa has now received the coveted CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear. While the label that bears the Tim Hamilton name is only 3 years old Tim is no stranger to the fashion word having come from a design internship with Ralph Lauren and a Parsons education. See More Tim Hamilton 2009

Gourmet is a relavtive new comer to the sneaker scene, having been around since early 2008 as far as I can tell. (There lack of website makes fact checking difficult) They are an independent shoe company combining a unique perspective and sneaker industry pedigre that will hopefully help them rise above being another obscure streetware brand for sneakerhead kids. The brains behind Gourmet Shoes are Jon T. Buscemi (Girl/DC shoes), Greg Lucci (Zoo York) and Greg Johnsen (Situationormal/Hall of Fame). In 2008 they launched with a very streetware collection of shoes based loosly on the silohettes of the fames Air Jordan XII and XIII.

Not that I can’t appreciate some Skittle colored Jordans but I am thankful that the company has been evolving rapidly coming up with some fresh and truly original designs. Gourmet’s founders also have stayed true to their mission of using premium materials in all there shoes ranging from patent leathers to EPI leather borrowed straight from the pages of the Louis Vuitton catalogue.  The photos below are some of the new styles coming for Spring Summer 2009.