Selectism

Some fantastic leather sneakers are coming once again this season from Italian brand Bottega Veneta. The brand is now celebrating a strong comeback since a couple of seasons and we don't see that changing any time soon.

Last season we presented you their beige suede slip-on. It comes back this season in suede and leather, in overall three colorways. They added another high top sneaker in brown to the line-up and a low top suede sneaker, that comes in bordeaux. The entire line-up looks great, and it almost looks like prices went down a little. The slip-on used to go for over 600 USD if we are not mistaken and now all sneakers are priced between 530 USD and 600 USD, which is still a pretty steep price - but you can be sure that the quality is outstanding and hard to get anywhere else.

Have a detailed look at the entire line-up of Bottega Veneta Fall/Winter 2008 sneakers after the jump.

Japan's OPENERS gives a preview of the Tom Ford Fragrance Collection as it will be sold on the third floor of the Hankyu Department Store (in Japan). Also of note is the release of an "Extra Special Edition" frangrance for the Japan market. For the time being, 12 frangraces will be available.

The Brunopasso BD-1 is an espresso maker inspired by Ferrari. As Rigel Celeste at Luxist puts it, "I like sports cars, and I LOVE coffee, but I admit I totally don't get why the two seem to get combined so frequently. First we had this Lamborghini-inspired espresso machine and now, from Brunopasso, the PD-1 machine was created with Italian sports cars in mind. Of course there aren't many ways a coffee machine can look like a Ferrari, except of course a shiny red paint job (among other choices), automobile-inspired gauges that form a little mini-dashboard, and a lever made of beechwood for pressing the coffee."

More views of the Brunopasso BD-1 after the jump.

Engadget reports in on the new Jaeger LeCoultre Chronograph that will unlock the doors on your new Aston Martin DBS. "You know that Aston Martin DBS not sitting in your driveway? Here's the watch to not go with it, the €27,500 (more than $40,000) Jaeger LeCoultre AMVOX2 DBS Transponder. First spotted last year, the Swiss timepiece capable of locking and unlocking the DBS from a distance of 10-meters has had a rough time making the transponder reliable due to the mechanical watch's impact on electrical fields -- a Faraday Cage of sorts"

Every product manager and designer at every brand started making plans for Olympic inspired product, whether official or unsanctioned , three years ago. And that list includes brands you would never expect, like Gucci and Prada. While its unlikely that any Olympic athletes will be competing for the gold while wearing Gucci, the iconic fashion house is just one of many luxury labels and mass-market brands that have created a wide range of special products to celebrate the 2008 Beijing games. Vanity Fair's Society and Style blog breaks it all down for us. See a sampling of the gear at VF Society and Style.

Two of NYC's top young designers, Shipley & Halmos, join Tyler and Josh of Men.style.com to talk Olympic style, runway inspiration, and the multitalented Carl Lewis. See the video at Men.Style

In what some are believing to be one of the biggest acts of fraud in the fashion world, the story of how Simon Easton (purportedly) conned and convinced museums, galleries, and collectors of the likes of Damien Hirst into purchasing fake Seditionaries clothing is only beginning to become unraveled.

First, some background from Threadtrend, "Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood had a store called SEX, a fetish clothing shop which eventually turned into Seditionaries.  This reincarnation centered on Punk lifestyle clothing, and it’s the label that those famous striped mohair sweaters and slashed “Anarchy” and “God Save the Queen” screened t-shirts were born under.  As the legend goes, every Punk visionary to ever walk the streets of Chelsea popped into the shop on a regular basis"

Now for the real dirt on what Simon Easton has allegedly done via WWD. "Malcolm McLaren is worried that fake clothes could be circulating under the Seditionaries label he designed with Vivienne Westwood in the Seventies. The punk impresario alleged that a certain Simon Easton, believed to be based in the United Kingdom, has managed to sell a significant amount of fake Seditionaries designs to unwitting clients, including the likes of artist Damien Hirst, auction houses and museums."

For those looking for even more detailed report on the back and forth in this controversial  issue, be sure to read this post from Haidee Findlay-Levin over at HINT and Jamie's coverage on Supertouch.

DNR is reporting that there is a bright spot amidst all the economic doom and gloom. Men’s apparel sales have actually been pretty good. Driven by the popularity of dressier casualwear, men’s wear sales continue to outpace women’s at retail, and they’re getting stronger as retailers approach the all-important fall selling season.  In new figures released by The NPD Group last week, men’s apparel sales rose 2.1 percent to just over $57 billion for the year ended June 30, 2008. In the same time frame, women’s sales fell 3.8 percent. Boys’ wear sales were flat in the period and girls’ apparel sales fell 3.4 percent. “Men’s is growing at a faster rate than women’s,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the Long Island–based market research group. In the last three months alone, he revealed, men’s sales are up 3.1 percent, compared to women’s, which fell 1.5 percent.  “Usually what happens is that dad gets left behind in favor of mom and the kids,” he said. “But what’s happening this year is that mom is the one doing without.”  Cohen attributed the uptick in men’s sales to the increasing popularity of dressier sportswear. “Men’s fashion has gotten a little dressier on the casual side, and guys are sporting better sport shirts and slacks, which is a big change in a down economy.” Good news for all our favorite labels.

Hypebeast is giving us a look at a portion of Swedish clothing label, H&M, Men’s Fall/Winter 2008 collection. As usual, H&M is right on trend with some nice tailored pieces and a muted color palette. 

Give it up to leather masters Billykirk. for making a modular tote. Modular in that the handle straps comes in two sizes - long and short. They are clearly thinking of you and your significant other with this one. Have to run to the grocery store and plan on packing heavy? Shoulder it with the long handle? your girlfriend is hitting the beach and needs to pack a towel and some light little things? hand grasp it with the short handle. Available in black, brown, or tanned leather from Blackbird.