ellesse collaborates with top creatives to promote design competition
ellesse is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the design competition CREATE TENNIS ART and with uber cool illustrator and typographer Si Scott as part of the jury. The iconic Italian sportswear brand is now unveiling 2 new collaborations, with textile print superstar Kate Gibb and Greek animation genius Babis Alexiadis. Two great inspirations to enter the competition!
Kate is an internationally renowned silk screen artist having worked for the likes of Dries Van Noten, Stussy, Adidas, Virgin Records and EMI Recordings. You might recognise her signature style from her ongoing collaboration with ‘The Chemical Brothers’ which started with the cover of the album “Surrender” (remember “hey boy, hey girl….”?).
Kate was influenced by vintage images of tennis players for the silk screen print she created for ellesse (see attachment). Applying layer upon layer of colour to these original images, she developed a unique print that captures the innovative qualities of the ellesse brand and the sense of tradition in her work as a silk screen artist.
Babis’ work focuses mostly on short animations and video art productions; it is recognised for being predominantly hand-drawn with a limited digital input. Babis has created pieces for the likes of BBC Big Screen West Midlands, the Midlands Arts Centre and Friction Arts and directed two music videos. In 2008, he won the first prize in the “Your Point of View” competition run by fashion brand BSB. He has also won the public choice award in the Micropolis international film festival in Athens, Greece.
The piece he created for the ellesse 50th anniversary consists of a quirky animation featuring hand-stitched characters which took over 100 hundred hours to create. Babis used a new technique and adopted a unique palette of water colours to illustrate the brand’s colourful history.
the deadline to enter the competition has been pushed to May 10th’; all you have to do is create a piece of art or design to commemorate the ellesse 50th anniversary inspired by the brand’s Italian heritage and sporting roots in tennis.
You could win €4,500 and be sent to the ellesse 50th anniversary event this summer in Rome where your work will be on display. An opportunity you shouldn’t miss… The categories for the competition range from fashion and textiles, right through to fine art, sculpture, street art, graphics and digital. Visit http://www.ellesse.com/50thAnniversary/ for more details and to enter the competition.
Burberry Creative Director Christopher Bailey will host a cocktail party to celebrate the opening of Burberry flagship store in Beijing.
Following a thread on the Kitmeout Forum and the following post by Dumb5, it would be interesting to hear other people’s definition of Fashion:
Burberry is offering Kitmeout Users the chance to win a bottle of their new fragrance Burberry, The Beat for Men. To WIN a bottle email your name and address to burberrythebeat@kitmeout.com
Paul Smith was delighted to be celebrating British design with The British Design Embassy who, for the first time, opened overseas at this year’s Salone del Mobile Milano.
“In his role as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, Tom Hanks stars in the second theological thriller by Dan Brown, ‘Angels & Demons’ wherein the Catholic Church is being besieged by the Illuminati, the most powerful underground organization in history.
Juicy Couture is winding down its men’s business, Dirty English, and the last shipment will be for fall. Does the demise of Dirty English substantiate the view that a brand cannot genuinely embrace both genders once they’ve established a reputation for being gender specific? Many men simply refuse to buy Juicy Couture/Dirty English and not because the quality of the garments but because of the overt feminine association. Perhaps there’s a lesson here for the whole fashion industry.
Stella McCartney has teamed up with shopping charity Buy Once Give Twice. McCartney has donated A Whatever It Takes Book Tote featuring artwork that represents a ‘Symbol of Hope’ with her signature on the bag. This bag is exclusive in the UK to BuyOnceGiveTwice and comes with a letter of authenticity.
The original award winning trail shoe from 1979 gets updated. Re-launched for the first time in more than 30 years is the 455, an original 1979 trail shoe that has been updated with modern materials and sophisticated color blocking for spring/summer 2009.
Wednesday is Earth Day, and to mark the occasion, Louis Vuitton decided to donate 15 percent of all sales from its U.S. Web site that day to The Climate Project, the non-profit organization founded by Al Gore.
YSL is another brand following the lead set by NOHARM. At this rate every major brand will be offering environmentally-friendly clothing.
Red Monkey jeans support the fight against Aids!
Rick Owens chose a former antiques shop in Mayfair for his London pitch. To spice things up Owens has added a life-size wax copy of his head between his gear. Incidentally, a selection of the mighty Gareth Pugh’s offerings are available in the shop too. About the wax head, Owens’ explained: “My little ode to Salomé”. The shop is definitely worth a butchers: 64 S. Audley St., London, 011-44-20-7493-7145.
Legendary Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen has put his name on a new line of Trainers. 
Yves Saint Laurent has joined forces with sister company Puma to create a high-top sneaker melding Stefano Pilati’s design prowess and the activewear firm’s technical expertise. The men’s style, available in black leather or gray suede, just arrived in YSL boutiques, however, in the U.S. it will be sold exclusively on the brand’s e-commerce site. Puma has already collaborated with other Gucci Group brands, including Sergio Rossi and Alexander McQueen. Source: WWD
Perhaps the ultimate boyfriend jeans, the classic gold RMC Martin Ksohoh Red Monkey jean is apparently being usurped by the fairer sex. Women are swiping their boyfriend’s expensive denim and hitting the town. The question is how will the denim wear and fade to the female form?
Cheryl Cole was crowned the world’s best dressed woman by Glamour magazine this week, beating last year’s winner Kate moss into second place.
A few reasons to admire and adore the John Smedley:
The first ever Oxford Fashion Week (OFW) is divided into six segments, Launch Show, The Exhibition, Concept Show, Swimwear and Lingerie, The Debate and Couture Show, 77 designers are expected to present their collections at OFW.
Pamela Anderson decides to follow the NOHARM lead too….
Pringle of Scotland collection – Menswear autumn/winter 2009
Contemporary with a deliberate sense of shape: a dual approach that transcends that boringly traditional look so often confused with classic style. A new way of dressing in which the choice of fabrics and their combination in different weights results in a totally renewed vision of the classic, a union of powerful fabrics that emphasises the impact of the garment.
SKITSCH, headed by Renato Preti, will include furniture and accessories from a wide range of designers such as Maarten Baas, Kiki Van Eijk, Joost Van Bleiswijk, Minale-Maeda, Philippe Nigro, Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe, the Campana Brothers, Front, Marc Sadler and Bertjan Pot, to name just a few of the 24 designers who have created over 50 eclectic projects for the line under the artistic supervision of Christina Morozzi. SKITSCH will be launched during the Salone del Mobile with the opening of a flagship store in the heart of Milan.
Designed and manufactured in Japan, the Sport Shu is a modern reissue of a PF Flyers classic first introduced in the 1940s. The shoe, available in original black and natural colorways only, features contrast stitching detail, unique rubber-patterned foxing, original PF logo and leather patching on the eyerow.