Clothing Archive - The Fox Is Black

Jon Contino Makes Handmade Nautical Look Good

I really respect and enjoy the work of Jon Contino for a few reasons. The first is that he’s able to draw an anchor, put it on a t-shirt and actually make it look good. I’m definitely in the camp of people who think anchors are overused, but when Jon draws them he gives them some spirit that makes it work. Second, he does most of his work by hand, which definitely comes across really clearly. It all feels charmingly off, like something your grandfather might have tattooed on his body from “the war.” Both of these points might sound like half-compliments, but I guess what I’m really saying is that he defies these normal conventions and captures the inherent beauty of things.

My third point is the fact that he runs a really nice personal blog. He puts up little personal pieces, news about his clothing brand CXXVI, and best of all, he answers people’s questions and gives advice. People ask him how he gets the look and feeling of his drawings, business questions, tips about textures, all kinds of stuff. And the fact that he takes the time to answer these questions make him a pretty rad guy, in my book.

Bobby

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Bobby Solomon

May 31, 2011 - See more posts by Bobby

Stussy x Marvel

I’m a little late on this but recently the Californian based clothing brand Stussy joined forces with both Marvel Comics and a group of artists to create a series of special edition t-shirts. This is the second series in their Stussy x Marvel range and this one is particularly great because of the talent that they’ve been able to attract. Above you can see some good examples of the kind of thing to expect from the series, with each superhero being re-imagined in the artist’s signature style. Above, you caught David Shrigley’s Incredible Hulk, Ren and Stimpy creator John K’s take on Crystal and Johnny Storm, and Todd James’s She-Hulk. They’re pretty crazy but I think they’re really great.

The talent doesn’t end just there either, check out their site and you’ll see people like the LA tattoo artist Mr. Cartoon, the American animator Bill Plympton and British illustrator Will Sweeney have all contributed designs for the project. I think my personal favorite might be James Jarvis’ take on The Thing which just has so much character. If you’re interested in finding out more about the project I’ve included a little video below the cut which was made by the guys at HBTV. It’s fairly typical marketing schtick but it’s worth the watch to see plenty of the artists speaking about the influences that Marvel has brought upon them and you’ll also catch Mr. Cartoon do a sweet little rendition of the Spiderman theme!

Philip
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Philip Kennedy

May 25, 2011 - See more posts by Philip

Sooyeon Lee: Grand Slam, Brought to You By Nowness

Table tennis is one of the hardest sports to me. You have a tiny ball and a tiny paddle and you have to hit it across a tiny net: it’s super hard! It’s a pastime for both royalty and bar patrons and, much to my chagrin, will not go out of style because it is iconic and because people will never stop buying ping pong tables to put in their basements.

In any event, Nowness has brought us a new take on table tennis in collaboration with filmmaker/photographer Matthew Donaldson and Korean tennis champ/model/actress/multi-hyphenate Sooyeon Lee. The two, along with stylist Kate Shillingford, have created a fun, quick video that imagines table tennis as an outlet for expressing style. We see Lee in Jil Sander and Versace and Mark Fast, jumping around, playing tennis with what appears to be herself. Fringe and tassels fly through the air, seemingly not distracting her from an intense game.

It’s a cool video that makes you want to dress up in your most ridiculous clothes and play a game of table tennis..even if you are awful and really don’t like the game, like myself.

KYLE

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KYLE FITZPATRICK

May 12, 2011 - See more posts by KYLE

United Nude’s Classic Fold Heels

Typically, when I think of something that involves a “fold,” I always think of the Scottish Fold. But, this past week, while thumbing through the latest issue of New York Magazine, I was reminded of another fold: United Nude’s Fold heels.

I had stumbled upon these shoes years ago and was entranced: elegant and modern, weird and architectural, the United Nude Fold is exactly the futuristic heel that I had envisioned 2K11 to have. The shoes are very versatile and simplistic, designed ingeniously: the shoe is composed of “the fluent movement of a single strip,” which “folds around the foot front-to-back-to-front like a scarf.” The sophisticated round toe and steep incline of the heel lend themselves to being dressed up and dressed down–but, always will make a statement. Coming in fifteen out of control colors and patterns, the heels can be matched with a short skit or cropped pants or a slim boot cut trousers for your day at the office, night on the town, or opening at an art gallery.

Coming in a Hi and Mid sized heels, the shoe would definitely be in my closet if I wore heels. And, since the men’s version look like awkward European athletic shoes (a la, Pumas on crack), I think I will hold my breath until I have a brief stint in drag to wrap them around my feet.

KYLE

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KYLE FITZPATRICK

April 6, 2011 - See more posts by KYLE

Custom Nike Destroyer Jacket

Nike Destroyer Jacket

While I was in Dallas last year for a Nike event at the Cowboy’s Stadium I had the chance to customize my very own Nike Destroyer Jacket. A few months later and I finally got it, customized just slightly with the phrase “The Fox Stands Alone” on the back.

I’ve been wearing it around all day long and I have to say I love it. It’s extremely well made with a neon yellow, zip chest pocket (a color which I haven’t seen on other models before), two side pockets for your hands and an interior pocket on the left breast for stowing your phone. I’ve been really impressed with everything that Nike Sportswear does, and getting a beautiful jacket like this makes me appreciate what Nike Sportswear does, especially from a design perspective. A huge thanks for my friends over at Nike for hooking me up.

Bobby

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Bobby Solomon

March 4, 2011 - See more posts by Bobby