The world’s “coolest” trade show on earth settles in New York on the 22nd and 23rd of January. UNITED Trade Show once again brings you the world’s top designers, boutiques, artists, DJ’s and blogs, jam packed into two days. The show was created out of necessity, to highlight progressive street wear and its evolution throughout the world. Founded by apparel trade show veteran Ryan Walker in hopes of showcasing the most important and influential apparel, footwear & accessories today, UNITED is dedicated to only a few dozen carefully chosen exhibitors. It focuses on trade show fundamentals, but in a new and creative way adding other values such as music, art and education. Some of this year’s exhibitors include 10DEEP, Live Mechanics, Free Gold Watch, FDL, People Cartel, Uzi, Dirty Jax, Homeroom, Akomplice amongst others. Check out the UNITED event’s schedule to make sure you don’t miss out on the slickest gear and most happening shindigs. Word.

Get all the info here.

Rarely can a global traveler buy a single ticket, and make it from the Dominican Republic, to the Sahara Desert in one night, hitting Budapest, Marseilles, Milan, Seoul, and several other musical hot spots along the way. That’s just what festival-goers will experience when they go to the fifth annual globalFEST on Sunday, January 13, 2008, starting at 7 pm on all three stages at Webster Hall. The festival has become a leading showcase of global music, demonstrating the multiplicity of sounds, and performance contexts that fall under the ‘world music’ label. A third of this year’s performers are playing in the US for the first time, so globalFEST will undoubtedly introduce you to artists that may have slipped under your radar. This year, performances include artists from Korea, Senegal, France, Hungary, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and the United States. The festival has been internationally reviewed, and represents one of the best opportunities to catch up with the finest upcoming world musicians. Get a taste of this kaleidoscopic event, you surely won’t regret it!

Def Jam records is known for its rappers, but most people know little about the artists behind the spotlight. Ohio native, Alex Haldi, is not a tough MC, he’s just the creative coordinator for Island Def Jam Records. You may already be familiar with his work that’s graced the covers of many a Hip Hop record. Alex is undoubtedly a multi-talented artist as he explores different mediums like graphic design, illustration, fine art and photography. Although he hates the art world’s persistent need for classification, Alex categorizes himself as an Urban/Folk artist. He tries ‘to recreate substances in urban settings and surroundings and evoke an organic feeling in their visual characterizations’. He’s inspired by his own personal struggles, vices and guilt, which transform his art into some kind of disturbing beauty. Alex’s first solo show recently went down in New York’s East Village bar Plan B. If you missed your chance, you can check out Alex Haldi’s work on his website, but we’re sure it’s only a matter of time before it hits the walls of New York’s hippest galleries.

Swedish brand H&M is once again partnering with a fashion icon, but this time the brand is taking a stand and supporting the fight against AIDS by the creation of a line called “Fashion Against Aids”. This collaborative venture was initially taken on by Designers Against Aids, a non profit organization that hopes to change public opinions through collaboration with artists. Launching in February, the collection hopes to raise awareness of the disease amongst teens in particular. The line will sport slogans like “Believe” and “Stop and Think,” on either t-shirts, tank tops or hoodies. Prices are expected to range from $12 to $34, with 25% of the sales from the collection going to HIV/AIDS-prevention projects around the world. The fabulous Tracer and singer Rihanna will be the face of the campaign: “Supporting YouthAIDS through the Fashion Against AIDS campaign was a great way to encourage my fans to join me in the fight against AIDS. I love that H&M is providing a fashionable and easy way for young people all over the world to get involved in this worthy cause.” The charity clothing line will also include guest stars such as Timbaland, Good Charlotte, Ziggy Marley and many others. So spend a little, and help a lot.

Parisian contemporary art design museum Palais de Tokyo is hosting the most uncommon project of the year, a hotel room right on its roof. Designed and built by two young Swiss artists, Sabina Lang and Daniel Baumann, the Everland Hotel, as it was named, was first installed in Switzerland and Germany before it reached the city of lights last November. The duo is known for their installations that invite the viewer to actively participate, an element which is integral in their newest project. Visitors will find themselves seemingly suspended on the edge of the sky, as the room hangs over 30 meters above the river Seine. The artists don’t expect much adulation for their project, as they’re just trying “to provide a night to think about the impact of contemporary art in our system of thought”. The room, or rather sculpture, faces the Eiffel Tower, and if you’re lucky enough to sleep in it your night will be an even more magical experience. New Year’s Eve night was sold on eBay for the modest price of 3810 euros (breakfast was included!), but don’t worry! You can have a romantic night is this retro-futurist art spot for a more reasonable price: 333 euros for weekdays, and 444 euros on weekends. Just make sure you’re one of the 365 people that get the chance to spend a night in Everland, as only one night bookings are available. Make your reservation here.

With the recent explosion of bands like Justice, Digitalism and labels like Kitsune and Ed Banger, dance floors can’t seem to get enough of the French electro nouvelle vague - and no one’s complaining! Get ready for the newest sensation ready to rock America’s dance floors: Teenage Bad Girl. The duo’s two brains, Guillaume Manbell and Greg Kazubski, grew up in Paris with Daft Punk in their ears as the French touch started its worldwide invasion. “Daft Punk was definitely a big shift in my way of seeing music, and that’s when I started doing electronic music, wanting to make people dance,” Guillaume recalls. Since then the two never stopped producing music in their respective bedrooms, until as luck would have it they happened to meet online. At that point, they decided to team up and Teenage Bad Girl was born.

Even today, the band still works on their tracks seperately, both adding their sound progressively, “the good thing about working on our own side is that we are more objective about what the other one does since we’re not here at the moment of creation and that let’s us produce quickly and well.” It didn’t take long for them to get noticed, and well established French act Vitalic contacted them and signed them to their independent label Citizen Records. Since the release of their first album, Cocotte, in March of last year, Teenage Bad Girl has been hitting the best clubs and festivals from Europe to Japan. They were also nominated for the Qwartz International Electronic Music Awards which will take place in Paris this coming April. “This year has been amazing, we have been touring so much! We are proud to be a part of this new French positive energy, but what remains most important to us is making people dance as much as possible either at our live gigs or DJ sets.” Until their imminent North American promotional tour, which should start in New York, you can order the newest pressing of Cocotte that features 8 exclusive remixes by the likes of European sensation Boyz Noise and the Scissor Sisters.

A new electro pop punk band called Terry Poison is letting the world know that Israel is not only about war, it’s also about partying. Terry Poison was born four years ago in the newest incarnation of club culture in Tel Aviv. Their universe is not based on politically engaging songs, instead it’s an ode to the joy of living and partying. They wanna show the world a different side of their country, the unknown one, the one that the BBC and CNN don’t talk about.

The band is Petite, Louise and Gilli, three sexy, provocative, and mysterious girls that describe Terry Poison as the “sex and rock’n'roll girl they would have liked to be”. Terry Poison is everything they aren’t - it doesn’t come from a bourgeoisie home, it never goes to sleep and it never gets old. As the Israeli governement doesn’t support these kinds of musical artists, the band built its reputation by self-promotion through its MySpace page. An agent found them and contacted them, booking the girls in Paris’s hottest clubs, and helping them take Europe by storm.

They currently have an EP available on their record label Ekleroshock, but their first album won’t be out until next June. But don’t fret, the girls are already getting worldwide reviews and being supported by two of Tel Aviv’s most renowned stylists. No doubt Terry Poison is some of the best news coming out of Israel!

Jonathan Levine’s love of underground art is obvious. His Chelsea gallery has boasted, time and time again, fantastic urban art scenes highlighting some of the most unconventional artists. Beginning last February with a survey of Sao Paolo’s art scene, the gallery continues its series on international street art this time exploring the streets of Europe. By inviting  Europe’s most significant street artists, the gallery aims to create a visual dialogue within the global community, through an exchange of creative ideas that transcend geographical borders and cultural differences. The exhibition features 6 artists: French stencil graffiti artist Blek le Rat, and retro inspired artist Space Invader; Italian wall painter Blu, digital animation artist BO130, and microbiology and surrealism inspired Microbo, and last but not least English artist D*face known for his subversive dysfunctional characters.

Come and check out how Paris, Milan and London’s streets contribute to urban landscapes and the worldwide freedom of expression. The exhibit runs until December 29th, so all you street lovers now know what to hit during the holiday season. More info here.

Puma is once again teaming up with model and heiress Lydia Hearst for a bag collection. The collaboration between the sports brand and the 23-year-old starlet started back in April 2007, when she starred in the company’s global launch event in Monaco for French 77, a sports lifestyle collection for men and women. The new bag named the “Lydia Holiday Bag” will undoubtedly be the perfect Christmas present for fashionistas wordwide. Like Lydia’s successful first bag edition, this new addition is modeled after PUMA’s French 77 Racket Bag, complemented by unique features. The design is simple, but it’s playful and fun accessories including a silver metal carabiner to hold keys reflects Lydia’s luxurious style. The bag is available in asphalt gray with chrome silver detailing, or black with dazzling blue detailing. It’s no surprise to learn that the bag is a limited edition, so make sure to hit up Puma concept stores worldwide on December 3rd to snag yours.

Autumn 2005: the death of two teenagers leads to France’s worse civil unrest in more than 40 years. We all remember the images of torched cars, riots and warlike scenes that were not only shot in Parisian suburbs, but throughout the country during that three week period. It seems that France will not have to wait another 40 years for its urban youth to show its anger once again, as riots started once again last Sunday night after yet again another accident that led to the death of two young men. This sadly reveals that relations between the police and young people haven’t improved since the 2005 riots. Young people feel like outcasts, and again on the edge of society. But it seems that mainstream media outlets want us to think that violence is the only vehicle they’ve found to express their rage.

Urban culture has a more creative way to show emotion. The film collective Kourtrajme (French slang word for court-metrage or short film, pronounced the other way around) is showing us that there’s more to anger than violence. The 135 member clique includes directors, actors, rappers, musicians, dancers and graffiti artists. Starting with VHS quality short movies in 1995, their films are provocative, no budget productions dealing with underground suburban culture. No authorization, no intervention needed, as Kourtrajme’s real territory is the Internet. Spreading their films through online networks, the collective is now running film festivals, shooting video clips for respected artists, and has acquired the movie industry’s respect. So when it comes to uprisings, the collective feels concerned and in touch with the real issues.

Ladj Ly, 26, an actor, director and Kourtrajme member, comes from the troubled suburb Clichy Montfermeil. For several years, he has organized and filmed many different cultural events in his neighborhood until worldwide media outlets started showing interest in his neighborhood after the 2005 riots. Ladj Ly did not stop filming during the upheaval, and he now boasts a 90 minute documentary with exclusive images that take you into the heart of the riots. ‘365 Jours a Clichy Montfermeil’ (365 days at Clichy Montfermeil) is an overwhelming testimony of the bitter reality facing the kids of the ‘hood, and it points out the government’s unwillingness to answer issues concerning immigration in France. This documentary will give you a genuine sense of what goes down in the French suburbs; a completely different picture from the sensationalistic images the media tends to provide. Learn more here.