I’ve been buying into the college satchel revival. Here is a short review of the options I checked on before finding the ideal product .

Cambridge Satchel

+ : Best traditional look.

- : You have to use the shoulder strap, the hand strap doesn’t look solid enough to be used if you carry a laptop.

Sanqvist Satchel

+ : Best new classic

- : Over 150 euros.

The Messenger by Kris Van Assche

+ : Best modern look

- : It seems like the canvas fabric won’t like the rain too much

And the winner is:

Lafayette Homme Black Leather/Nylon Satchel. With its mixed Leather/Nylon material it looks classy while keeping the price low (75€). The elegant appeal of a regular business bag without it looking too depressing. And it won’t get out of trend easily, while the retro brown leather bag matching the Ivy/Heritage spirit certainly will soon enough.

Struggling to define what success is when it comes to fashion… well, if being featured by practically every fashion and lifestyle magazine in the country, on top of being selected one of the brands to represent Malaysia in Paris Fashion Week is anything to go by… then Ung Yiu Lin has all this covered!

The founder of local label Shoes, Shoes, Shoes (which is, naturally, a shoe brand), Klutched (handbags) and IdyLinn (resort wear) started her mini fashion empire in the early part of the millennium. But only after first getting a solid grounding– with an undergrad degree in Business and a master’s in Finance, followed by a 2-year stint in Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the world’s leading consulting boutique firms.

Yiu Lin is a force of nature, even when she’s not in “business” mode. Her energy is obvious. She’s always impeccably turned out, and she knows how to put together an outfit, not necessarily always designer wear, but always on trend.

The Shoes, Shoes, Shoes Website

The idea behind Shoes, Shoes, Shoes was to provide affordable yet quality footwear to the fashion-conscious working girl– a growing but at that time, underserved, market in Kuala Lumpur. Despite her lack of experience in the area, the media and her target market quickly latched on to the brand. This was due to a combination of the right sense of what kind of shoe styles women liked, along with a catchy brand (with a cute name and packaging) as well as a right sense of timing.

With her first business roaring, Yiu Lin quickly moved on to conquer her next goal. She then ventured into handbags as she was moving up the value chain. In a city where your bag can make or break your social status, Klutched bags are the perfect solution: unique self-designed bags with a signature look of exotic skins and leather.

From the Klutched by Marina M collection (photo courtesy of msn.com.my)

The Kuala Lumpur fashion scene is small but bustling, driven by word-of-mouth sales and who-knows-who. Yiu Lin’s ability to connect and build the relationships that matter are probably a big contributor of her labels’ success. A recent coup on her part was getting Marina Mahathir (daughter of Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, a well-known women’s and HIV awareness advocate in her own right) to team up with her for an exclusive Klutched collection. This was marketed as a charity drive, with sales proceeds going to a variety of causes, including Marina’s own pet beneficiary, Sisters in Islam.

Of course, Yiu Lin’s vision and the ability to see that through have played a big role in her journey as an entrepreneur. When asked if it was difficult giving up her plush consulting job to venture out on her own, she says, “Giving up the steady income that I had from my previous job was exciting because I am now doing what I really want and looking forward to future potential rewards.”

Photos courtesy of wearehq.com and msn.com.my

The project has 6 sets: a fashion collection created from donated clothes, a song chosen from vinyl’s donated to the Army and covered by a live musician, and a video inspired by the fusion of all these elements. During the show, music was played by dj Stuart, Leo García, Nacho Loizaga, Deborah De Corral and Maxi Trusso; and short artistic and fashion films were gorgeously produced by Primo, Rebolución, Cinco, Landia, Úrsula Cine and Nunchaku.

 ***

Sr. Amor es un proyecto increíble, insólito, pero alucinante de la agencia de publicidad JWT para el Ejército de Salvación: convocaron a un grupo de los mejores diseñadores argentinos  -Hermanos Estebecorena, Pablo Ramírez, Mariano Toledo, Tramando, 12-NA, Ay Not Dead, Laurencio Adot y Bandoleiro- para armar una colección interviniendo ropa donada.

Se trata de 6 sets compuestos por una colección de ropa creada a partir de prendas donadas, una canción elegida entre los vinilos donados al Ejército y reversionada por un músico en vivo y un video inspirado en la fusión de estos elementos. Con todo esto se hizo un desfile espléndido en La Rural: la música en vivo fue de Dj Stuart, Deborah De Corral, Nacho Loizaga, Leo García y Maxi Trusso; y los cortos que presentó cada marca fueron fashion films artísticos por Primo, Rebolución, Cinco, Landia, Úrsula Cine y Nunchaku.

Before you decide to stop reading and dismiss that name on account of how strange it sounds, know that it began as a joke. If it still doesn’t translate (read: it still sounds…strange [because you are a snark]), think of it the way you would consider calling a SoHo boutique “The Like, Literally Store”– a name you may not take too seriously, but you also have to admit has its charms because of how well it sticks.

“I didn’t think of a name, basically!” shares Seno, the owner and shopkeep of this little cabinet of wonder. “Everything I came up with wasn’t cool enough, and I was just joking around by calling it ‘As In…Shop’, until I figured I was onto something,” she says with a warm laugh.

The idea to open a store came while she was waiting for word on an upcoming film project. “I wasn’t doing anything at the time, and I had wanted to start a shop when I first came to the Philippines. I love to travel and find stuff wherever I go, and I figure that other people might like the stuff I like, so I figured I’d go out and find more,” says Seno.

Cheap flights around the region and some added funding from her mom have helped her add to her collection, which includes handcrafted jewelry from Laos and the Philippines, notebooks from Japan, and clothing from Thailand, turning As In Shop into a lucrative means to curate her experiences as a global citizen. Seno was raised in Japan by Filipino parents, who have since relocated to the United States. She attended an international school in Tokyo and studied Architecture first, and then film. This is what brought her back to the Philippines, where her fascination with both the visual and the visceral would eventually come full circle.

As for her aesthetic, this is something upon which Seno’s years of living in Japan have left their indelible mark. “I’m really picky about things. I like minimalist details, interesting materials, and things you don’t usually find.” Most of the pieces at As In illustrate this fastidious attention to detail, with labels like vintage deadstock and one-of-a-kind. This gives browsing around the store an ephemeral quality and a nagging sense that if you don’t buy something now, you may never see it again: a sense one usually gets while traveling.

“We already had this space, it was just matter of figuring out what to do with it.” So far, the shop has been making the most of its Teacher’s Village address and proximity to both the academic and creative community. It has been a venue for independent film screenings alongside the alternative merchandising scheme, with plans to host music shows in the not-so-distant future. “What sets this apart is the homey feel. It’s all me–I mean, it is my home.”

Visit As In Shop online

Sticks & Stones, started in 2009 by designer Stephan Alexander, jeweler Benjamin Posin, and digital media designer Marc Ishida. Their collections bring together the world’s finest and most unusual natural materials to create wearable art. Utilizing reclaimed exotic wood, fossils, prehistoric ivories, fine metals and gemstones, Sticks & Stones breaches the present age to tell stories of time, history and the experience of earth.

Flash forward to a month before 2012 and the boys that make up this unique and highly original jewelry line can call the trendy, upscale shopping neighborhood of NW 23rd home. That’s right, less than three years after they started, with writes up in Womens Wear Daily, goodies given away in the ESPY awards swag bag, and a Sticks & Stones smart car by Gen Art these guys are all brick and mortared out.

Tied Up And Tousled is a family affair, and when I say that I mean it in a “Daddy sang base Momma sang tenor” but with a modern take like, “sister, Annie, does web design, brother, Bobby handles the back end of the business, and other sister designs each band by hand”. But I digress. Tousled is new to Portland by way of Ohio but not without a road trip through the states first, in which they went on “tour”.

Taken from their blog back on October 12th: Tied Up and Tousled is on tour from the east to the west coast. Here is the line up…
Cleveland, Ohio
Nashville, Tennessee
St Louis, Missouri
Kansas City, Kansas
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Telluride, Colorado
Reno, Nevada
Tahoe, California
Bend, Oregon
Portland, Oregon

Now settled in our fair (read:rainy) city they’re doing what they’ve always done, (they’ve been shooting look-books since Fall 2010) just with Northwestern flair. Check out their blog for daily inspiration, like em’ on Facebook or start shopping!

I emailed Kate the other day and here’s what she told me about her family affair.

Most (headbands) are one-of-a-kind. I love anything old. I’m inspired by the past. All the pieces incorporate vintage and natural elements (ivory, shell, gemstones, feather, arrowhead, leather, suede, etc). I studied Fashion Design and graduated with a B.F.A. in Textile Arts. I’ve been a hair stylist for almost 10 years.

Fashion store Awesome Rags has just opened its latest venture. 1850 square metres, over two floors on the corner of Hamngatan and Regeringsgatan in the center of Stockholm.

Their other stores can also be found in the city at PUB, Sturegallerian, Fridhemsgatan and they also have one in the suburbs at Nacka Forum. Awesome Rags sells pretty commercial Scandinavian fashion, brands such as Whyred, Acne, Tiger, Filippa K, Resteröds & Dagmar. On the second floor of the new Awesome Rags they have a huge denim area with NEUW, Edwin, Levis Made & Crafted, Denim Demon and Carhartt. A centrally located and rather fresh new store to try out some of the best denim in town.

Denim brand Denim Demon has opened its first store on Södermalm at Åsogatan 174. The store shares the same venue as Mr Mudd and Mr Gold, which I have mentioned in the past as being a great store.

The new store sees the complete Denim Demon collection displayed alongside well-respected brands such as Buzz Ricksons, Lavenham, Lewis Leathers, Pendleton and The Real McCoy’s. The design of the space is by architect Daniel Franzen. I really love this side of Söder, just down the road you have the best new sushi place in town Blue Light Yokohama and round the corner Artes Restaurant and not too far away Galleri Steinsland Berliner.

Swedish chef Niklas Ekstedt has just opened his new restaurant ‘Ekstedt’ which follows 1900 his previous restaurant in Stockholm.

The concept of Ekstedt’s is to cook everything over open fire, either over a fire pit or wood burning oven. Niklas is serving langoustines from the west coast along with Spanish suckling lamb and baked apples, which sounds tasty and rustic, bringing something a little bit different to the Swedish dining scene.

Niklas is well known on  Swedish national TV as program leader on ‘Niklas Mat’ and has also  published three cook books in Sweden. For the launch of the restaurant bag, accessories brand Sandqvist and the shop C-Store he made some limited edition aprons and a knife roll. Ekstedts can be found at Humlegårdsgatan 17 in Stockholm and I’ll be trying it out soon.

I didn’t quite understand what Lacoste was trying to do with its “L !ve” line until I saw this making-of of their latest video campaign and somehow it all fell into place.

Dance music and youngsters going to Berlin (while keeping a connection to sports and winter sports as it is), now I get it!

Puma rebuilt its brand image with its convincing ad Here’s to the after hours athlete  which was played in the movie theatres for a while.

Lacoste L!ve takes the same challenge of connecting sportswear and the nightclubbing experience, while keeping the preppy/colour block touch which is the core of its mother brand DNA.

Somehow Lacoste, because it mixes an image of luxury, French popular culture and an appropriation by rebel youth, works today for hipsters and teenagers as if it was a French version of the Mods fashion. Lacoste clothes are serious, a bit conservative, but restless at the same time - like a French version of new-wave aesthetics.

While addressing the same marketing targets as their competitors, with this new Live! line, Lacoste succeeded in producing a more stylish and fresher design. And this design couldn’t be anyone else’s.