Celebrating ten years of the National Design Awards, Design USA: Contemporary Innovation at the Cooper-Hewitt covers all the prize winners in a retrospective exhibition. The National Design Awards program was founded in 2000 with the aim of helping to increase national awareness of design in education and promotion of excellence. The exhibition is divided into five themes – CRAFT, EXPERIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, MATERIALS, and METHOD – all of which are fundamental elements of design disciplines. In total, the exhibit works to explore and explain the changes and shifts to American design over the last decade and highlight where its moving in the future.

Design USA: Contemporary Innovation runs through April 4, 2010. The web component is worth flipping through.

You’ll recognize the above design by Jonathan Ive & Apple. More winners after the jump.

Nothing new about these shoes, but notable for being a style classic (at least to one market segment). The “Mr. Casual” is the original loafer from Belgian Shoes. Designed in the 1940s by Henry Bendell, the shoes were originally manufactured in Belgium. Made by hand in the “turned” manner, they are sewn inside out and then turned. This technique, apparently, accounts for unparalleled comfort.

The “Mr. Casual” comes in an array of leathers and suede’s. The name itself may illicit a chuckle. For most of us the Belgian loafer might appear needlessly formal, yet for  swarms of East Coast WASPs they are standard casual fare. Word on the New York street is Andre 3000 is a big fan.

We’re all for anything that has even a hint of brogue-ing, so posting up these oxfords was a no-brainer. While we love a grand gesture, sometimes it’s the little details are what makes a shoe. For instance, the tan leather sole contrasts very nicely with the burnt pine upper and suede throat line, giving the shoe just enough of a twist to make it worthy of a purchase. (Edwards of Manchester)

Go take a leap to see detailed pictures.

Stop right there. We know what you’re thinking – tie dye?! Yeah, tie dye. Let’s be honest, 99.9999% of people on this site will already have a pair of decent-to-good quality selvedge jeans already, so what’s the point of us recommending more of the same? It makes a lot more sense to push the sartorial boat out. A couple of risks won’t hurt; and if it really looks terrible, you can just take them off. Be warned – these are ridiculously slim, so anyone who’s done a squat thrust in the last ten years would be advised to steer clear. (Pudel)

01. Mini DV Case iPhone Stand

Have an old DV video tape case sitting around? (likecool)

02. Stools Made From Reclaimed Wood

“Designer Nicolai Czumaj-Bront’s beautiful Pitch stools are made from reclaimed wood, and no two are alike. “As the weathered and worn wood is shaped, the beauty and character from the variation in color, material arrangement, and signs of wear are exposed to produce a highly precise yet imperfect design,” Nicolai writes. “While the overall form is consistent each piece is individual.” (core77)

03. Ciuca Beer (above)

“After the smashing success of Stejar Beer, the people from SAB Miller called us again to renew the Ciucas Ber package and logo. We kept as many element as we could from the previous package versions and just refined them a bit.” (packingoftheworld)

04. ORDOS 100 #47: JSª

“The outside is inside, from the inside you live outside. The idea of the GREENHOUSE is to establish a strong relation between the inhabitants of the house and the site, its climate and context. We have named the main space of the house the “GREENHOUSE”. It is an inside-outside space. It will have an artificially controlled garden that will radiate heat to the house in cold months and allow for crossed natural airflows in the hot months.” (archdaily)

Today we came across the beautiful Duffle Shirt of Japanese brand Corona. Rather than a shirt, it is actually a wool sweater with elements taken from the classic duffle coat, making this the perfect Fall knitwear companion, especially on those cold, yet sunny days of the season. Its a casual piece, and it stands out of the crowd nicely, due to its great details. (Utility Coop)

More views of the Corona Duffle Shirt follow after the jump.

As part of his Autumn/Winter 2009 Collection, designer Raf Simons presents the Neoprene Sleeve Shirt. We have seen the designer make use of the material in an nontraditional way throughout the season on gloves and coats, here neoprene now appears on classic shirts. We actually like a lot the fit of the shirts. On the back the shirt makes a little too much use of neoprene for our taste, yet at least something different has been tried. While the beige colorway might come off a little too much like a figure skating outfit, we like the strong blue accents set on the other colorway.

The Raf Simons Neoprene Sleeve Shirts are now available in two colorways from Oki-Ni.

More views of the shirts follow after the jump.

Commissioned by Dazed & Confused as part of the Onedotzero Festival this past September during London Fashion Week, “You Make Me Feel” film follows a narrative structure & stars the amazing Shaun Ross. All clothing in the film comes from Hood By Air’s Autumn/Winter 2009 collection.

London’s Royal College of Art opened CP Company’s  ”Past and Future Exhibition” celebrating 20 years of the Mille Miglia Jacket , or goggle jacket as it is known in some circles. The exhibition which was first shown in Milan during the International Furniture Fair in April,  features the new design as well as 20 Mille Miglia jackets selected from the C.P. Company archive.

More photos CP Company’s Mille Miglia Jacket Exhibition in London after the click.

There was no shortage in diverse boots being worn by the masses at the Inzauma Festival this past weekend in Tokyo. I did note a few favorites – one of them featured a suede upper in a gorgeous camel color. Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to track down the maker’s name, but I did come close to a grand alternative from Dry Bones. Their “2tone desert boot” looks great with a dark brown upper. While I’m at it, I’ll say that the grey two-tone works just as well with both sitting atop crepe soles. Something different from Dry Bones which should make landfall in the USA very shortly.

More looks at the Dry Bones Two Tone Desert Boots after the click.