In an age of over-active media, people have become rather passive and immune to news that may have once registered as shocking. While we’ve been made to think that we can’t effect the well-being of the world, Social Atelier serves as a much-needed wake-up call. Social Atelier is a free-spirited and socially active fashion collective with a manifesto for change. Formed by chief activists Andrei Najjar and Yael Afriat in Los Angeles, every piece is designed with the greater good in mind, and made from 100% certified organic cotton. The label’s bold tees and tanks are printed with inspiring messages and staggering global statistics that draw attention to issues such as global warming, poverty, war and basic human rights.

This season the designers teamed up with Jewish World Watch in support of The Solar Cooker Project, which provides fuel to families within Darfur refugee camps, alleviating the need to venture into more dangerous territory. A significant portion of the proceeds from Social Atelier’s “Space Age Hippie” Spring/Summer ‘08 collection will be donated to this important cause, among others. Most recently, Social Atelier has also worked with the Rock The Vote Campaign to release a line of limited-edition tees under their new “Society” brand, available exclusively at L.A. boutique, Kitson. Social Atelier’s other pieces are currently available at American Rag, Fred Segal Man and Milk – and will be introduced soon at Henri Bendel, Concrete London, Intermix and Atrium.

If you happen to be stuck in a style rut and need inspiration from something other than the constant barrage of fashion advertisements plastered on billboards and magazine pages, look no further than Streetpeeper.com. The website offers fresh and creative incite from savvy dressers in urban meccas around the globe. From Copenhagen to New York, Sydney, Paris, Berlin and beyond, photos are snapped and uploaded daily highlighting young individuals who standout on the street - most of them harboring that certain admirable “Je ne sais quoi” quality. Although I must admit, it wouldn’t be as fun without the outrageous faux-pas sprinkled among them: vivid green spandex pants on a long-haired male hipster, anyone?

Street Peeper may not be as scathing as Superfuture’s cut-throat “What are you wearing today” forum or Vice’s outspoken “Do’s and Don’ts”, but unlike Vice, SP takes that extra effort to uncover exactly “who” and “what” the kids are wearing - be it vintage one-of-a-kind pieces, upscale fashion labels or low-end yet chic threads offered at H&M. Always armed with their cameras, the globetrotting SP photographers also find time to hit up numerous events, including art gallery openings, posh parties, boutiques and fashion shows, most recently nutty Jeremy Scott’s “Men At Work” Spring ‘08 line in Paris.

Visit Street Peeper’s site to sift through the open-ended supply of photos, or sign up for their “Looks of the week” newsletter. If you’ve got bold personal style (and happen to be in the right place at the right time) maybe you’ll get lucky and find your own look featured on the blog’s front page.

Photo Credits: Rob Meyers. Keenan Motto.

Ukrainians, like everybody else, are concerned with being fashionable. They are big fans of designer labels, but that’s just the thing—the labels. My male students wear pointy, fake-leather, elf shoes that say “Dolce and Gabbana” and “Prada”. The young women carry purses and wear polyester sweaters that say “Fendi” and “Gucci” in sequin letters. In some ways this represents a certain self-empowerment. They are taking the clothing that they like and can afford and making it fashionable by putting fashionable words on it. This Ukrainian Couture is a big post-Soviet middle finger to the fashion industry. However, the other result is that Ukrainians have their own ideas about what is fashionable. My twill chinos get looks of disapproval next to the polyester pinstripes that are favored by men my age. My students think I am strange for wearing loafers, but see-thru sheer blouses that show off animal print bras are perfectly acceptable.

A few weeks ago, I was walking around a huge clothing market in Kharkiv looking for things to add to a Halloween costume. I wandered into a section with a sign saying “Секонд Хенд” (sekond hend). Suddenly I noticed strangely familiar clothing: L.L. Bean sweaters, Levis, even a vintage Puma warm-up jacket. A shirt caught my eye; it was blue with a big square pattern, and only slightly worn. The old woman running the stall let me try it on right then and there, and it was a perfect fit. She told me about how she couldn’t sell shirts like the one I was wearing because young people want something shiny with a big designer label on it. She asked for 15 hrivna ($3) and I walked away wearing an almost new, real Etro dress shirt that probably originally sold for at least $250. Moral of the story: Eastern Europe’s trash can sometimes be Broke American’s treasure.

Not since A Clockwork Orange, perhaps, has a pair of shoes been at once so sinister – and so iconic. But Kubric’s bovver-boots have been eclipsed by an altogether more feminine affair; the result of a collaboration between two of the darkest imaginations in contemporary culture. Christian Louboutin and David Lynch became friends when the latter asked Louboutin to design a pair of shoes for his recent retrospective at Paris’ Cartier Foundation, and they’ve joined forces again for Fetish. The exhibition at the Gallerie du Passage is made up of a series of five images, shot by Lynch, of Louboutin’s wildest creations yet. Lynch’s Sapphic grime-glamour provides the ideal setting for the designer’s 26cm heels and ‘siamese’ shoes (consisting of two shoes fused at the heel); proving that red lipstick and red soles really are a marriage made in heaven. “I tried to keep an element of my drawings, to be faithful to the drawings, with no practicality, just pleasure”, says Louboutin of the project. “Usually when you go to the third dimension you lose something”. No risk of compromises here: one would be tempted to say that this is fetish at its most pure – if it wern’t so gloriously sinful. Look for a portfolio of images from the exhibit in TRACE’s “True Beauty” issue (Dec/Jan).

Brian Wood is a young, Pratt-educated menswear designer with a keen eye for color and shape. Wood has been steadily making a name for himself, as he seeks to create modern pieces for those who appreciate his firm attention to detail. Several years spent under the wing of some seasoned fashion industry labels – including Anna Sui, Andrew Marc and Vintage Red – gave Wood the clout to make his solo entrée into the game. Wood debuted a line of showy pop-art inspired tees in 2003, before venturing into deeper fashion waters with his cut-and-sew collection for Spring 2005.

Wood’s cutting-edge garments have previously leaped across the pages of TRACE, so we’d like to call attention to his most recent eye-catching collection, for Spring/Summer 2008. Wood’s Spring picks were precipitated by the global movement of awareness, focused on bringing relief to Africa. Drawing inspiration from the country’s past in addition to modern-day American and European pop culture, Wood’s “African Warlord” collection “creates an exciting integration between the traditional and historically significant styling of West Africa with the fresh, bold iconic imagery of the Western world.”

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Everything that you think is cool now, Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne learned in public school. This seems to be the mantra espoused by the young high-end menswear designers who recently unveiled their debut collection, Public School, on the catwalks at NYC’s September fashion week. Dao-Yi and Osborne both have legitimate histories within the fashion industry: Dao-Yi previously honed his design skills as Creative Director at Sean Jean, while Osborne ran Sean Jean’s wovens division. In addition, Dao-Yi currently co-owns Arrive, a hip street-wear boutique based in Miami.

Dao-Yi and Osborne’s sharp European-meets-Japanese Spring/Summer ‘08 line is inspired by many things – including music, world travels and the rebellious spirit of New York City’s youth. “We are both teachers and students who continue to critique the culture we help create, resulting in a new vision of constructed garments that focus on fabric, fit and energy,” Dao-Yi has commented of his line’s vision. “[It’s] the same energy that’s found at the start of every movement.” The theme of Public School’s SS08 line embraces this rebellious energy and fires it against the status quo.


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Two important questions will once again be raised next week: Why is there an absence of black beauty in today’s fashion world? And what can be done to re-emphasize the important contributions of black style? “Out of Fashion: The Absence of Color” is an ongoing symposium with the goal of addressing these crucial questions.

On Monday, October 15^th, The New York Public Library will be open its doors to welcome international model and agency owner-come-television producer Bethann Hardison, who will be leading the discussion. Hardison will be accompanied by creative consultant Lori Goldstein, designer Tracy Reece, casting agent James Scully and most importantly, TRACE’s own Claude Grunitzky – so the TRACE staff is super excited about this event.

To attend the discussion and provide your own voice during the succeeding open forum, click here for tickets (and be sure to and arrive by 6:45 pm to guarantee your entry). For more information, visit The New York Public Library’s website.

With savvy marketing skills and creative minds, New Zealand designers Marc Moore and Luke Harwood have positioned their youthful clothing label, Stolen Girlfriends Club, to reach levels of cult success in the U.S. and Down Under. Moore and Harwood each acquired a stellar eye for design after five years spent working in the commercial surf industry for big name surfboard-slinging companies, Insight and Rusty, respectively.

In 2005, the designing duo put their inventive minds together to develop the concept of Stolen Girlfriends Club. Described by Moore and Harwood as more than just a clothing line, Stolen Girlfriends Club is a hip, punk-inspired approach to fashion classics. Unable to find the desired garments in New Zealand, the two men set out on a mission to construct cool clothing suitable for their more laid-back lifestyle.

Admittedly inspired by their Aussie pals at Ksubi, Stolen Girlfriends Club has a similar funky rock ‘n’ roll attitude to boot – but with their own twist of course. “We’re similar to them in spirit,” Harwood has remarked of Ksubi, “we don’t take ourselves too seriously.” Moore and Harwood are not the slightest bit intimidated by their high-end fashion brand peers, opting instead to play the parts of the irreverent loose cannons. SGC’s less than serious demeanor may be the key to their success– and it’s certainly attractive to those sick of working with cooler-than-thou labels.

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