Dean Peterson‘s subway stop has a wonky step that tricks everyone. When people trip, comedy ensues. Enjoy…

This past weekend marked the 30th anniversary of one of Nike’s most iconic sneaker, the Air Force 1. To commemorate the event, Nike Sportswear set up shop at Rivington Court for an afternoon of basketball, music, and the release of the Air Force One Low High Frequency Digital Camouflage, or the “Digi-Camo” for short. The event was open to the public, and it was a mixed crowd of sneaker heads, curious tourists, and plenty of kids on summer break. Guests wandering into the event were treated to Mister Softee ice cream, and burgers from NYC food truck, Feed Your Hole. The afternoon wrapped up with a performance from Theophilus London. The temporary basketball court will remain on the Lower East Side through the end of the summer. Great way to kick off the summer and to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the AF1! Check out the rest of my photos after the jump.

Nike has teamed up with artist, Tom Sachs, in conjunction with his new show, SPACE PROGRAM: MARS, at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC. The show opens today and there will be a pop-up shop celebrating and selling this artisanal capsule collection in limited quantities.

Astronauts must be as fit as an elite athlete to even withstand the rigors of exiting the earth’s atmosphere. Their daily tasks require a substantial effort and endurance. Equally, their equipment must be up to the task of performing under the most unforgiving conditions.
The journey itself would end up inspiring the Tom Sachs: NIKECraft collection – The Mars Yard Shoe, the Trench, The Marsfly Jacket, and the Lightweight Tote. Nike design and Sachs applied materials that have never been used in sportswear, taken from automotive air bags, mainsails for boats and the space suit itself. Each piece is packed with functionality that would prove useful in the voyage through space. Zipper pulls that double as storage containers, paracord that can be fashioned as a tourniquet and embellishments like the periodic table of elements screened on the inside of a jacket – they all merge visual interest with purpose.

Check out key pieces of the collection after the jump.

Airbag Bag

Airbag Bag

Mars Yard Shoe

Mars Yard Shoe

Marsfly Jacket

Marsfly Jacket

Trench

Trench

Trench

Nike unveiled uniforms for all 32 NFL teams today at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, NY. The system, known as The Nike Elite 51 Uniform, is truly the next generation in superior lightweight performance delivering a fully integrated system of dress for athletes at the highest level. Nike offered key technological upgrades to all 32 NFL teams, and each team’s management decided what features to include in their team’s 2012 uniform set.

The key features are:
LIGHTER –The Nike jersey and pant, wet or dry are lighter than previous versions
FLYWIRE TECHNOLOGY- Eliminates layers, reduces weight, and provides lockdown fit
ZONED MESH VENTILATION – Provides cooling zones for optimal thermoregulation
ZONED STRENGTH – High tenacity, stretch material, for light weight lockdown strength.
CUT FOR MOBILITY – Four-way stretch, hydrophobic materials enable range of motion wet or dry.
STRETCH TWILL NUMBERS – Four-way stretch even on numbering system
CUSTOMIZABLE BASELAYER PADDING – Nike Pro Combat Hyperstrong baselayer with integrated lightweight, Deflex padding offering customizable flexible protection.
DEFLEX PADDING – Lightweight, flexible impact protection integrated into top “hit zone” areas
ALUMINUM D-RING BELT – Aircraft-grade aluminum D-ring belt reduces weight.

Check out this interactive tech sheet for a guided tour of the uniform upgrades.

Want to see what some of these uniforms look like up close? Check out my instagram images from the event after the jump.

Alex Smith answers questions about the Nike Elite 51 Uniforms

While staying true to their traditional look, the Dallas Cowboys actually integrated a few of these advancements into their uniform. The most obvious addition is the flywire collar.

The Atlanta Falcons chose not to integrate any new technology into their helmet, jersey, or pants. Why do you think upper management in ATL was so resistant to change? Do you think it’s because Mr. Blank doesn’t want to rock the boat with an already fickle fanbase? Perhaps he was afraid to change color-blocking to accommodate for the integrated tech? I do like the Falcons uniforms as is, so I guess I’m still happy with the way they look. I was hoping to be wowed, but I’m not disappointed.

Michael Vick answers questions about the Nike Elite 51 Uniforms. The Philadelphia Eagles were also one of 5 teams that decided not to change their existing uniforms. Perhaps there is equity in what they’re rolling with and they don’t want to change for the sake of changing? I guess I can respect that.

The Carolina Panthers haven’t integrated much of the new offerings yet, but they did get a logo update. The Panther now is sleeker, has simpler color-blocking, and now has matching whiskers.

The Seattle Seahawks did get a complete uniform update and I’ll be reviewing them in a separate article, coming up shortly.

Finally, design-wise, we don’t see many visual changes among these uniform sets, but I imagine that there will be some exciting changes coming in the next few years as this is just the beginning of Nike’s relationship with the NFL. Also, teams are only allowed to change their uniforms once every 5 years, so I imagine more teams will be hungry for new looks as those deadlines expire.

In the last decade, street-inspired graffiti artwork has slowly begun to stray away from its original home. This often frowned upon style of art, which uses the space on blank city walls as a modern-day art canvas, is now finding a new home, a home off of the streets and into some of the world’s most well renowned and upscale art museums. The best of the best are even selling their work to some high-end art collectors who are paying thousands of dollars for art that only a few years ago was looked down upon.

Here in Atlanta, where graffiti can be found on almost every corner, The High Museum of Art is now home to an exhibit curated by the hugely influential and the greatly respected street artist, KAWS. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1974 with the name of Brian Donnelly, KAWS was a student at the School of Visual Arts in New York where in 1996 he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration. After graduating, KAWS had a short-lived work career at Disney. While he was there he painted backgrounds as a freelance animator. He also had contributed to the animated series Daria, Doug and 101 Dalmatians.

His art career began as a young aspiring graffiti artist in the late 80’s when he began spray painting freight trains and covering the city walls of New Jersey with his name. He later moved to New York City in the 90’s where he would paint on phone booths, bus shelter ads and even high-rise billboards. At first, his modified ads would be left untouched for several months on end. But once the popularity of KAWS’ work began to rise, the pieces were a hot commodity and were being snatched up all over by his many fans. With all of the marketing hype surrounding the persona of KAWS, he had no time to take a break. In the late 90’s he began creating limited edition vinyl toys, which were instantly grabbed up by fans and toy collectors across the globe. His key market appeared to mainly be in Japan, where collecting toys was very common and highly respected. KAWS has also been involved with a few collaborations with different clothing companies like Original Fake, A Bathing Ape and Kung Faux. He has even made snowboards for Burton and different kicks for Nike and Vans. KAWS has painted everywhere from Paris and Berlin to Tokyo and London. KAWS’ ability to blur the line between fine art and street art is a huge reason he has such a wide audience. His sculptures and paintings both have recurring themes in them that anyone can understand in any language. His new exhibit “Down Time” at The High Museum highlights some of KAWS’ older work that he has created.

Walking up to the museum in the Sifly Piazza you are greeted by a 16 ft sculpture of KAWS’ character, Companion. Created by KAWS in 2010, the sculpture portrays a generic grey and white cartoon character with a Mickey Mouse inspired body and gloves whose head is a skull and cross bones. The gloves, that cover Companion’s eyes in a see no evil fashion, have KAWS’ trademark X’s on them. The sculpture gave me a sort of depressing vibe and you almost feel bad for the sad guy. KAWS says Rodin’s The Thinker was an inspiration for Companion’s posture. I get the feeling that Companion is down because even a happy go lucky cartoon gets somber sometimes, right?

Inside at the top Sky Level of the museum the rest of KAWS’ art can be found.

The first room is filled with 27 circle canvases that KAWS has hand painted. The images are close up views of his KAWSBOB prints, a play on SpongeBob SquarePants. The canvases were all close-ups of character eyes crossed out by X’s and views of mouths with tongues out and teeth showing. His use of straight lines is so thorough and precise it’s almost like he’s a robot.

Strolling over to the back room was a more intimate look at some of his smaller pieces, which were still equally amazing.

KAWS’ sketches were an inside look at how his art process as a whole begins. His attention to detail and use of shading is so unique and impressive. There were at least twenty framed sketches, all of which were eye-catching. The sketches ranged from outlines for T-shirt designs to ideas for toys. Most people walked right by the sketches but I highly recommend taking a closer look to actually see how detailed this guy really is.

The tucked away room also features KAWS’ collaboration with fashion photographer David Sims. These photos of celebrities like Kate Moss and Iggy Pop were made even cooler with the help of KAWS. His ghost-like character is hugging Kate’s body with such perfect form that they appear to have been at the actual photo shoot. There were about twelve of these photos displayed on the wall and they led you to a display of a few vinyl toys made by KAWS. There was his take on Pinocchio and Jiminy Crickett with and a few different versions of Companion also. My favorite was the almost cute Darth Vader doll with red X’s for eyes.

KAWS is truly one of our generations top crossover graffiti artist so I would totally recommend going to check out this exhibit while it’s in town. The exhibit ends May 20, so make sure you make some time to check it out.

LESTAT‘s Lovelife EP is the first collection of “cyberpunk dance music” tracks from the NY-based outfit. I’ve been listening to this EP in my headphones for quite some time now. It’s great to get work done to.

Download (via LESTAT.co): LESTAT – Lovelife EP

Whenever people ask me who I’m influenced by (as a designer & human) the first thing out of my mouth is always “Charles & Ray Eames”. I cannot begin to describe how their work and approach to their careers represent how I strive to exist.

The husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames are widely regarded as America’s most important designers. Perhaps best remembered for their mid-century plywood and fiberglass furniture, the Eames Office also created a mind-bending variety of other products, from splints for wounded military during World War II, to photography, interiors, multi-media exhibits, graphics, games, films and toys. But their personal lives and influence on significant events in American life — from the development of modernism, to the rise of the computer age — has been less widely understood. Narrated by James Franco, Eames: The Architect and the Painter is the first film dedicated to these creative geniuses and their work.

This film opens on November 18th at the IFC Center in New York City. For a full list of playdates, head here. Anyone want to road trip to Tallahassee on December 9th?!?

As a part of Nike Sportswear’s original video series, Always On, Nike has released an exclusive video featuring LA basketball star Lamar Odom and rapper Stalley today. Stalley created original music accompanying the video, featuring Odom’s journey from his home in Los Angeles to his hometown turf in Queens, New York. Reflecting a “day in the life,” this installment portrays a homecoming for Odom from walking down Jamaica Avenue and practice at Frederick B. Judge Park. The video resonates on how deep his roots have shaped him to be “always on” by visiting various places that has helped develop his mentality and dedication to athleticism from his upbringing in NYC.

Included with this video is an original track from up-and-coming Ohio rapper Stalley called Born To Win, which was produced by J. Rawls. Stalley is also a basketball player whom in high school decided to pursue music instead of a career as a pro-athlete. Understanding the heart of what drives an athlete, Stalley’s track flows cohesively with Odom’s laid-back, humble style creating a reflective atmosphere. Behind the scenes footage offers us a deeper look in to the minds of Stalley and Odom and the creative process involved in both outputs.

Always On is a Nike Sportswear campaign highlighting the lives of a variety of athletes, coupling them with exclusive music tracks to tell the diverse stories – on and off-court in and out of the studio, in all aspects of their daily lives. For more information, visit www.nikesportswear.com.

Download: Stalley – Born to Win

Congrats to Noah Young of Atlanta, GA for winning our Enduro MMXII “Conquest” Bike Giveaway! We definitely feel the love from everyone who participated in the contest and we want to thank everyone involved. We shipped Enduro MMXII tees to our supporters all over the country. Thank you so much!

Noah, we’ll be in touch to arrange for the bike to be delivered! #FistBump

While I was in New York last summer for World Basketball Festival, there was much talk of how Kevin Durant had not yet played at NYC’s outdoor basketball mecca, Rucker Park. Well, it seems that an appearance of KD at Rucker was well worth the wait, because he scored 66 points in 1 game the other day. Whaaa?!?!? Video after the jump.