The Canberra Times: The frocks are made from pinstriped jackets and floral bed linen. There are trenchcoats patchworked out of safari suits, jackets from vintage corduroy and the panelled denim skirts are sewn from at least three pairs of jeans. These mixed-up designer clothes are known as "refashioned originals" - which is a polite way of saying they are made from landfill.

The rise of fashion with a conscience has led to designers hunting for solutions in organic and sustainable fabrics, but this trendy gear is cut from a different cloth - of the type found in charity bins. More than 60,000 jumpers and many more T-shirts, coats, windcheaters and old sheets were rescued to make the latest collection from Canada, where the label Preloved was established a decade ago by a retired catwalk model as a creative twist on op-shop hunting.

Julia Grieve's motivation was fashion first, but her unwitting success at emancipating landfill has made her a poster girl for green design across the United States, Britain and Japan.

The market is competitive, with the bigger charities given the first opportunity to buy clothes by the kilo. In the past, the remainder was sent to landfill. But enter the fashionistas, who pick over the last of the treasure, which they lug back to the workshop, cut into pieces, then assemble - navy stripes beside purple polka dots beside plaid - into a groovy new outfit.

Cut from a different cloth [The Canberra Times]

TrendCentral: Even though going sockless is usually protocol during summer, we've been noticing plenty of fashionistas keeping their feet covered up, pairing decorative anklets, knee highs, and thigh highs with flats, pumps, wedges, and heeled sandals. A fun execution of the trend, these Minisocks are available in a rainbow of lace-up styles that not only let the wearers' feet breathe but also add a feminine touch with Grecian or bow details.

Cool Socks [TrendCentral]

China View: Printing an old two yuan metro ticket, as well as ancient items such as an iconic iron vacuum flask or a taxi receipt, on T-shirts may seem strange to local people, but for a young Englishman living in Beijing, he has become fairly popular doing just that.

At his store selling original T-shirts called Plastered Eight among some non-descript, low-rise dwellings in South Luogu Lane, Dominic Johnson-Hill, whose Chinese name is Jiang Senhai, is self-proclaimed "creative dictator". In his view, the unique point of his T-shirts are that the images printed on them depict "Beijing from a foreigner's eyes".

Johnson-Hill is not serious about formal design theories. Neither is he restricted by traditional thoughts. He liked to catch those images that locals took for granted, relying on inspiration that flashes across his mind. "My T-shirts are Beijing-born street culture, and people here give me confidence and a self-identify," he said.

According to Johnson-Hill, "I was afraid of selling them then, because I put my heart on the T-shirts and worried that no one would accept them," he said. "But now, most of the customers are local young people. Although 80 yuan (10.89 U.S. dollars) for a T-shirt is still a little bit high for them, as long as they think the idea is good they will take it without caring about whether is an unknown brand."

Englishman fashions new ideas in Beijing street arts [China View]

The Vancouver Sun: The name may be a beautiful maelstrom of cultures, but the newly opened GumDrops store is all about the Rainy City.

For Australian Shanda Jerrett -- originally born in Victoria, although her family emigrated Down Under soon afterwards --the name is a combination of gumboots (their word for rubber boots) and rain drops (and you thought it was just a reference to the old-fashioned candy?).

It stands for a lighthearted approach to the weather, Jerrett explains: "Putting rainy-day frowns upside down."

Well, if anything helps to bring you up in this downpour, it's a store that evokes candy nostalgia through a kaleidoscope of vibrant colours and designs. Choose boots adorned with rock-inspired skulls, guitars and roses, for example, or plain smiling skulls, or daisies or cupcakes -- and that's just for the adults.

Children's footwear includes ones with cows, dogs, bears, frogs, and the rest of the store has everything else you need for wet weather (jackets, toy dog coats, bags and laptop cases -- and umbrellas, of course).

These boots were made for Splashing [The Vancouver Sun]

Think Geek: A few of us monkeys at ThinkGeek had this great shared dream a few months ago. In it, the whole world was 8-Bit, just like the video games we grew up on. We found ourselves having to leap from platform to platform, to search for pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom, and to fight scary mutated plants and animals. The music was awesome (and still stuck in our heads) but the coolest part was what we were wearing: a tie. But not just any tie, an 8-Bit tie!

We woke up screaming. An 8-Bit tie - what an awesome way for the drones of Cubeland to show their independence from Corporate America! So, we did what we knew you'd want - we had the ties made. Silk-like Microfiber construction, clip on* (for easy dressing and t-shirt wear if needed), and custom designed by us for you. You'll be the envy of the office or, at least, you'll get tons of attention.

The ThinkGeek 8-bit Tie [Think Geek]

YOKANG is a fashion label out of the beautiful island of Okinawa in southern Japan. Okinawa used to have the independent dynasty as the Kingdom of Ryuku, and people have different images for Okinawa from those of traditional Japanese culture. Its unique culture, developed from the interactions between Southeast Asian countries and Japan, as well as the subtropical climate and environment, is still distinctive in modern Japan.

The same applies to textiles: Okinawan textiles have different techniques and patterns different from those for traditional Japanese kimono, and the works of the textile designer Hiroshi and fashion designer Kannna who both modernize Okinawa’s unique style accent its characteristics that give dramatic elements to textiles. They use a traditional process of dyeing fabric called ingata. Their works are sought after at most cutting-edge design exhibitions in Tokyo, Paris, and are sold in various shops nationwide, including select shops in Tokyo. The sales are expected to start in Europe next year.

YOKANG is the New Japanese fashion that has dramas in its textiles

PRWeb: A quirky gift idea in the form of a wearable zipper pull and charm has just been introduced by CoolZips™, a company that has also launched a new fund raising program to benefit non-profits and other charitable organizations.

CoolZips™ are creative zipper pulls that hang from jackets, backpacks, duffle bags, or anywhere one has a zipper or wants a cool charm, say its creators. They can also hook onto many popular toys, including Webkinz pet collars.

“CoolZips are an ideal accessory for backpacks, fleece, jackets, etc. It would certainly be a winning combination for us to pair up with a company looking for a kid friendly item to market with their products. As proven with Jibbitz for Croc Shoes, kids love to creatively express themselves. CoolZips and summer camp and back to school gear are a great combination," says company founder Lauren Rick.

Introducing CoolZips™, A Zipper Pull and Charm to Put Cool In Your Zip, a Cool Gift Idea for Kids and Adults [PRWeb]

Gizmodiva: Here’s a superlative mini bag for all the Gizmodivas! Celicase, or Celi for short is a Turkish leather, compact purse that is designed to carry your most essentials. And when I mean most essentials, it can be a cell, PDA, ID, iPod, cash, passport, tickets, gum, lipgloss, cards..… you know a woman’s basic essential’s list is endless! I quite like the idea of carrying in four different carrying options. You can clip it, belt it, strap it, or simply clutch it. Just effortlessly carry it when traveling, clubbing, shopping, attending concerts or sporting events.

Celicase - a chic bag to carry all your essentials [Gizmodiva]

TrendHunter: Levi’s invented jeans and Diesel turned them into a fashion item. Now DENIM CODE is taking jeans into the interactive digital communication era. DENIM CODE, the new French brand of jeans, has come up with a revolutionary concept consisting of making it possible to access an audio/video recording free of charge from a pair of DENIM CODE jeans.”

Simple and glamorous:
- The consumer can choose not only their jeans but their universe: by snapshotting* the tag** with their mobile phone, they can watch video clips, listen to music, see films, watch programmes, listen to the news…..
- A collection of over 200 different models for men and women enabling you to access the worlds of music, sport, films, video games or people…
- Jeans are evolving in line with the times, thanks to the content of the denim code tag, which will be regularly updated.

Interactive Denim Jeans - Denim Code [TrendHunter]

SmashingDarling.com: We are an online community/marketplace for indie fashion designers and buyers. With a focus on helping independent fashion designers market their talents in new ways, SmashingDarling offers a unique experience for buyers, sellers, and anyone interested in fashion that thinks outside the mall. At SmashingDarling.com you sell it, we take payment for it, you ship it, and then we pay you. It's as simple as that.

SmashingDarling.com

The Independent (Online Edition): It's just a bag. All right, so it's a tote bag designed by Anya Hindmarch, the queen of Bagland. A bag that retails for £5 but is now changing hands for up to £200 on eBay. A bag so hot that it was chosen as the official goodie-bag for guests at the 2007 Vanity Fair Oscar-night party. A bag that proclaims, on the cream canvas exterior between its grosgrain trim: "I'm Not a Plastic Bag." But a bag, nonetheless: something to carry groceries in. Not something, one might think, with the power to change the world.

Or is it? Hindmarch's creation is doing much more than making celebrities look good on the streets of New York, Paris and London. It is the must-have fashion accessory of the year - and the most successful endeavour yet by We Are What We Do, a non-profit British campaign group that has set out to change the world with baby steps. Suddenly, those baby steps are turning into a run.

We Are What We Do has published two books since its birth in 2004. The first, Change the World for a Fiver, has sold 750,000 copies. The second, Change the World 9 to 5, released in September, is also recording huge sales. They list "actions" to improve our environmental, community and personal behaviour, such as "Smile and smile back"; "Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth"; and "decline plastic bags wherever possible". And now comes the bag.

Could a bag really save the world? [The Independent]

TrendCentral: Using social networks to self-promote has become a well-recognized activity among those pursuing creative endeavors, with MySpace Music leading the way and newer niche networks such as STUART popping up. With the mass popularity of Project Runway, we’re surprised MySpace U.S. still hasn’t created a Fashion category (MySpace France recently launched MySpace Boudoir), but finally there now is a social network, called IQONS, devoted specifically to the fashion industry.

Currently in the soft launch phase with plans to launch more formally later this month, IQONS serves as a platform not only for indie designers to show off their wares, but also as a style ecosystem where everyone from retailers, makeup artists and photographers to editors, publicists and financiers can display their work and connect. In addition to offering professional showcases, IQON profile pages also distinguish themselves by having spaces specifically inviting members to list their favorite designers and brands.

New social network for the fashion industry [TrendCentral]

Everything Alabama: Many women covet a $6,000 Hermes Birkin bag. But for Amanda Miller, who carries one to work, the appeal lies not in the exclusive bag but what's on it. Hanging from her Birkin are unusual charms, including a skull from Prada and a plastic bunny in a space suit that she bought from a vending machine in Tokyo.

The doodads convey "not only do I have style and a perspective on history, but that I have a real sense of whimsy," says Miller, a 28-year-old travel-industry publicist in New York.

An odd but growing product niche in the luxury-goods business these days: Accessories for accessories. The items, first popularized in Japan, appeal to an increasing appetite among consumers - and often younger consumers - for personalizing the way they look. With luxury-goods companies now making handbag charms, they also provide consumers with a lower-price entry point to the world of Coach, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Prada.

Other accessories are getting accessories too. For Christmas, Bottega Veneta introduced a shoe with a change purse attached to it. La Loop, which sells $85 to $500 necklaces to hold sunglasses at Bergdorf Goodman, will unveil a lower-price line at J.C. Penney early next year. And Kodak recently started selling jeweled wristbands and necklaces to hold its cameras, along with camera clutches in pink and green.

Doodad couture the latest trend for accessorizing the accessories [Everything Alabama]

The Hamilton Spectator: LVMH, the luxury conglomerate with Vuitton and Dior in its stable, will build a contemporary art museum in Paris. MAC cosmetics serves up burlesque glamour girl Dita von Teese at a swank dinner at Art Basel Miami. And suddenly, dead artists are at the centre of a major holiday campaign and a luxury designer product launch.

The mutual admiration between art and fashion is turning into a full-on love fest.

For the holidays, Barneys New York launched the ultimate art meets fashion marketing blitz working with the Warhol Foundation on Pop Art windows, shopping bags, a special pair of Levi's, even actual cans of Campbell Soup at $12 each.

Portraits of the artist by schoolchildren are being exhibited and sold in stores to benefit local arts programs.

"Everyone has been talking Warhol -- two documentaries, skyrocketing auction prices, the imminent Edie Sedgwick movie. It was the perfect year for us to have a Happy Warhol-iday," said Simon Doonan, the store's creative director.

"Everybody wants to be cool and groovy and there is this nagging feeling that nobody was more
cool and groovy than Andy."

Art and fashion hold a 'Happy Warholiday' [The Hamilton Spectator]

TrendCentral: While fashion has always been used as a form of self expression, we’re seeing an increase in the number of clothing labels that go beyond aesthetics to make a statement. COTAM (Clothing of the American Mind) was one of the first labels to jump on this trend, by using quirky graphics and text to convey strong political and social beliefs. Now we’re seeing even more brands use text and images to lend deeper meaning to their threads.

Swedish subscription-based t-shirt label T-post’s “94% News, 6% Cotton” tees feature unique, descriptive graphics, complete with a printed text explanation on the inside of the shirt. Each design is based on a current news item, keeping people informed and fashionable at the same time. LA-based Acrylick aims to make fashion “with a positive message”, featuring t-shirts with designs that are accompanied by an explanation of the meaning behind the design.

Brands with something more to say [TrendCentral]

Popgadget: Voltage iGlow is a sulf illuminating hair gel. By mixing fluorophors with an appropriate catalyst a chemical reaction occurs that produces the byproduct of light. No bulbs or batteries are necessary to create the glow, and the illumination shampoos right out. Essentially, wearing Voltage gel is the same as cracking open a raver glow stick and pouring the contents over your locks.

Directions are to open the container, add the powder (catalyst) to the gel (fluorophor suspension), run through hair, and dance! If you really want to maximize your potential glow for a short outing then heat up the gel with a hairdryer after application. The heat will make the gel burn much brighter, but it won't last nearly as long. A 2 oz tube is $11, and should be enough for a couple of people to use for highlights.

Voltage Chemoluminescent Hair Gel [Popgadget]

TrendHunter: Be a designer for a day and create a unique handbag, tote or diaper bag just for you! B’s is a Sassy & Chic Purse Boutique offering super-stylish and trendy custom purses and accessories for women.

B’s has been featured in Us Weekly, In Touch and other magazines. Here’s your chance to have your very own B’s Purse and walk in style this season!

Design Your Own Purse Online - B's Purses [TrendHunter]

TrendCentral: There are more fits, cuts, and styles out there than the average shopper can keep track of, especially since sizes vary dramatically from one brand to the other. In an effort to aid consumers, websites have been created to analyze personal fit information to identify the “best fitting” brand and item for their particular body shape.

Zafu analyzes multiple pieces of fit information (no measuring involved) from the user to identify the “best fitting” brand and style of jeans from a bank of over 200 styles and 70 brands. No jeans are sold on the site, but users can click through to purchase from other online stores.

The Perfect Fit [TrendCentral]

Ladies/Girls' Accessories are now available for sale on a LJ site! All kinds of items to suit everyone from FRUiTS fans and decora girls to the classy and hip ladies who want a bit of spice. All at extremely reasonable prices! The items numbers continue from the last item listed in the previous entry.

Japanese Entertainment merchandise are also up for grabs. Please check the previous entry by scrolling down.

Visit Jam Sells! to your girly picks.

Mainichi Interactive: Loincloths are being marketed by the Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo's Ginza district as a feature product for the summer months ahead, it has emerged.

A boom in the sale of loincloths has been seen since last spring, and in just half a year the department store has sold about 5,000 loincloths -- roughly 25 times the normal number it sells.

"They're unconstrained and have got good ventilation, and they're suited for Japan's humid summers," a department store official said.

The store predicts that that a full-scale loincloth boom is eminent. It has prepared an abundant range of products for customers, from sleek designs featuring dots, goldfish, and fireworks, to loincloths that come with matching T-shirts.

With the hot summer months ahead, the loincloths may add a new twist to the "Cool-biz" trend of dressing down to cool off.

Loincloths emerging as cool product for summer in Japan [Mainichi Interactive]

thestar: Featuring beautiful pewter works, modern and clean designs that fit seamlessly into contemporary lifestyle, this new collection is suitable not only as wonderfully functional pieces for home use, but also as gifts, fashion accessories and delightful keepsakes.

Among the highlights of the collection are the Pallasio and Plasma ranges of photo frames, a new children’s gift range called The Ark (designed by British designer Nick Munro) as well as a whole new line of pendants called Mojo which features eight designs of traditional good luck symbols from various cultures, all given a modern twist.

SHELF LIFE [thestar]

vnunet.com: Levi Strauss is to introduce a new range of 'iPod jeans' featuring built-in headphones, joystick and docking cradle. The RedWire DLX range is designed for men and women, and has a special side pocket with a white leather patch to store an iPod. A four-way joystick on the watch pocket allows the user to play/pause, track forward/back and adjust the volume without removing the player. Retractable headphones have been built in, as has a docking cradle that allows users to look at their iPod screen and control it via the jeans.

Levi's to launch iPod jeans [vnunet.com]

TrendHunter Magazine: Designed with the fun, colour and passion that life offers in mind, omondieu!’s saucy line of floral jewelry has been making waves with the style set since its inception in 2004. Worn by such celebrities as Lenny Kravitz, Nicole Ritchie, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck of The View, omondieu! has generated major buzz from Hollywood to Berlin - and everywhere in between.

“There is a hint of romantic, a touch of being free, and yes, bold and daring femininity in our lines,” says founder and lead designer Angela Gwinner. “We are designers, but foremost women who believe in making statements. It’s a reflection of the self and, more so, a reflection of lifestyle.”

As a Canadian currently residing in Germany, Angela is inspired by secret gardens the world over with all omondieu! rings handmade in Europe. Bringing with her a Canadian sense of natural beauty and relaxed style, Angela’s jewelry translates into chic and unique creations - from elegant silk poppies in pink and red affixed to rings to wild dahlia brooches.

Flowers for the Fingers [TrendHunter Magazine]

Yenra: Traditional elegant white bridal dress for mother-to-be makes pregnant bride feel beautiful on her special day.

Women today are living their lives on their own terms. A Pea in the Pod, Mimi Maternity and Motherhood Maternity celebrate mothers-to-be at every stage, offering stunning wedding gowns for pregnant brides.

Maternity Wedding Gown [Yenra]

DailyCandy: The big, bad world can be a very scary place. And sometimes we feel defenseless against things like war, disease, and people who wear socks with sandals.

Horrific images, all.

Thankfully, there are coping mechanisms: little blue pills, champagne cocktails, and Rebecca Turbow’s Safe clothes. Turbow’s playful collection of durable dresses, shorts, skirts, and tops are designed to protect wearers both physically and emotionally. Eschewing all colors but teal and white, Turbow uses the same soothing hues favored for hospital scrubs. Each piece is made with soft fabrics and round pads to provide cushioning around vital organs like the stomach and heart. There are also purses, shoulder bags, and wallets to help soothe anxiety, and guys can turn to her monochromatic tees for a little extra security. And now it’s all available online.

Safety First [DailyCandy]

canyoncourier.com: Whether you’re a child of the West, or the West Coast, you’ll feel right at home at Rock’n U Ranch, a new boutique in downtown Evergreen offering distinctive apparel to suit tastes from Manitou Springs to Malibu.

"It’s L.A. style," says owner Lisa O’Farrell. "Fun and funky." It’s a lot more than that, though. Located on Main Street’s north end next to Qwest, Rock’n U Ranch also features a marvelous selection of hand-crafted leather garments and trendy casual fashions, plus lots of jewelry and other accessories to match both.

New downtown boutique perfect for surf or saddle [canyoncourier.com]

Strategiy.com: This Season, shoppers in Dubai will be able to see and buy Shahmina shawls from stores of Pride Of Kashmir across Dubai. Shahmina is a variety of the finest Pashmina, with a very fine, 350- micron fiber. This new range is intended to replace the shahtoush; the finer than fine wool, which is banned because the goat that produces the hair is on the verge of extinction.

The classical, traditional themes still retain their prided of place with exquisite hand-embroidered borders. Hand embroidery finds itself at its breathtaking best in the peerless jamawar work that graces the most exclusive and expensive products in the range. At the same time, there is something for those who prefer their fabric simple too, in the form of unadorned, plain shawls that hark back to the most ancient of traditional simplicity.

With a range that runs the entire gamut from earthy pastel tones to brilliant primary colors and goes on to includes all shades of dark and bright, Shahmina shawls from Pride of Kashmir are destined to find a place on the wish list of everyone from the savvy fashionista to the conservative traditionalist.

Pride Of Kashmir unveils new shawl collection [Strategiy.com]

Yenra: Consumers spend hundreds of dollars for custom jeans that shape the body to show off their best features.

"Ten years ago premium denim was anything over a hundred dollars a pair, today it starts at anywhere from a hundred fifty to an excess of five hundred a pair and in some cases even a thousand dollars," advises Kenneth Wengrod, a leading apparel industry financier.

"People want to express their individual personality and designer jeans allows them to do just that because their distribution is limited and is sold primarily in specialty boutiques and luxury specialty stores," said Wengrod.

"Using the highest quality of denim is critical in order for the fiber to withstand the extensive washes and the enormous amount of handwork in the finishing process, which entails sanding, creating holes, embroidery and hand stitching," added Wengrod.

Custom Denim Jeans [Yenra]

YOGURT ACTIVECULTURE: What started as a nickname for our yoga practice—Yogurt— has now become a symbol of our vision. For us, yoga is a practice that is colourful, varied and deep. And while it’s helped us get in touch with our ‘inner’ selves, we feel that the typical yoga ‘look’ doesn’t do much to reflect that expression as far as our ‘outer’ selves are concerned. The pastel, conservative activewear out there is well, ummm...boring.

So, we decided to change it up—and there’s no better way to do that than to start a revolution (albeit a calm, quiet one). We started by wearing our old black rock t-shirts, with slogans like ‘I’m Bored’ and ‘Poser’ to practice which, at first, provoked plenty of giggles and winks in the studio, but later, sparked interesting debate about what yoga really meant to us. Sometimes we ARE bored. Sometimes we DO act like phonies… and embracing these experiences is part of the process of self-discovery and awareness that we commit to when we practice, and in our lives in general. And so the seed was planted…

What has since grown out of that initial thought bubble is Yogurt Activeculture – a clothing and accessories line designed not only for function and style, but for a higher purpose. Every design communicates an idea that we’d like more people to think about. $1 from every item sold goes to charity. In this way, we hope to develop an Activeculture that’s NOT just about yoga, but that broadly promotes truth and beauty, encourages playfulness, cultivates individual style and wellbeing, and most importantly, inspires us to make positive changes in our lives and in the lives of others.

YOGURT ACTIVECULTURE

Straight.com Vancouver: Think of it as giving your girlfriend her own personal thong song: new locally made Smart Ass underwear flashes a saying at its back T-bar every time she bends over in her low-cut jeans. The duded-up dental floss, in pink or black seamless polyamide-spandex ($2.95 at www.getsmartass.com), sports mottos like Desperate Housewife, Yummy Mummy, Drama Queen, and, for Christmas, Naughty or Nice?, and Ho!ho!ho! (shown below). Hey, it beats plumber’s crack…

Style Watch Hot gifts for the cool season... [Straight.com Vancouver]

calgarysun.com: Someone let out Calgary’s little secret — that Stampede garb can look urban and sexy.

Two important fashion shows in Milan this past week featured cowboy hats, wide Western belts, glistening silver and jade accents and acres of denim. Later, twins Dean and Dan Caten rounded up their Dsquared2 spring/summer 2006 collection.

With a set straight out of Gunsmoke, the brothers — who often use themes from their Canadian homeland, which they left in 1991 — focused their women’s line on laid-back Western.

Cowboy Cool [calgarysun.com]

Popgadget: UK-based designer Diana Irani is working on the Re_Medi fashion label that not only makes you look good on the outside, but also makes you feel even better on the inside. The clothes will be made from specially developed fabrics that release a controlled dose of a complementary or homeopathic medicine into your bloodstream through your skin while you wear it.

The advantage of "wearing your own remedy" means you don’t have to think about taking it in the first place.

"By taking alternative remedies through your skin, the ingredients don’t get filtered through the digestive system," the designer explains. "And unlike taking your medicine, you’re not going to forget to put on your own clothes!"

My favourite bit of the project is this one: "My first priority is that Re_medi should be a beautiful product. I don’t want to sell anything just because it’s ‘good for you’. You have to fall in love with the product first."

Feelgood fashion [Popgadget]

Iconoculture: Shiny, colorful, and, oh yeah, bugged out. Still, Weevil Bangles boast a certain creature charm. The Lucite bracelets feature real bugs as design elements. Maxilla and Mandible specializes in gruesome “museum specimen” delights, like skull beads, candy crickets, and curious rocks and fossils (Frommer's New York Guide 2005). But its Weevil Bangles are attracting fashion lab rats (Lucky 9.05). Black, pink, yellow, green, or clear-backed Lucite surrounds four iridescent weevils or metallic Thai shield bugs. If bugs creep you out, here's a fashion heads-up: 25-year-old Pratt grad Hiroshi Kure's Neolithic-terrific resin skulls are already the ring thing in Japan and are starting to break big stateside (Jane 9.05).

Bug bracelets? Skull rings? Think of it as the avenging return of punky Victorian Goth or just a thrilling splash of "dark." For fashionable consumers, wearing the unexpected is more than a cause for conversation. It's a fun walk on the Dark Side.

Fashion Bugs [Iconoculture]

Yenra: The new iBra from Wacoal is a completely stitchless, seamless, and tagless contour bra. Sleek, sexy, and sophisticated, the iBra is designed with the most technologically-advanced fabrics and manufacturing techniques so nothing ever gets in the way of comfort.

The innovative design of the iBra approaches comfort from the inside out, focusing on every point-of-contact that a bra makes with the body. By eliminating stitches and seams, the iBra leaves only a smooth fabric surface against the body.

Designer trends this fall indicate a mood that is creative and feminine, and the iBra will enhance the season's looks with confidence. The all-day comfort and smooth, sleek lines of the iBra will also make it a good everyday bra.

ibra [Yenra]

The Spoof!: The latest invention from down under has just rolled off the production line! Car shoes, yes you read right.
And Car Shoes are proving to be more than just a ‘fad’. The shoes developed by Australian inventor Ima Tinkerer has suddenly become big business. According to Ima the shoes can get up to sixty kilometres per litre on unleaded fuel and reach an astounding 300k.p.h in 12 seconds.

Ima says he was inspired by a 70’s television show called ‘The Roller game’ where the participants went round and round a velodrome type track and belted the crap out of each other. Ima hopes his version will revive the game.

A female version has been released in high heels with diamante headlights in a range of colours. This is the sporty V4 engine with double overhead cams and all models are fuel injected.

Note: The story as represented above is written as a satire or parody. It is fictitious. It is just an idea that can possibly be adopted.

Car Shoes take Australia by Storm [The Spoof!]

We Make Money Not Art: Ben Pell’s Walldrobe Wearpaper is a series of thin leather panels that you hang on your wall as you would artwork. When you’re ready to get dressed, you take down your chosen pieces, affix a set of nickel-finished wire snaps to them, and you're dressed! The system can produce a blouse, a shirt, a skirt, and a pair of shorts. Holes are punched into the leather to make it lighter and more comfortable, except where opacity is necessary for privacy.

"I was interested in looking at ways in which digital fabrication technologies--like the laser cutter or the mill--could be used to flesh out ideas about surface, graphics, and ornament," says Pell.

Each Walldrobe kit comes with a CD-ROM containing AutoCAD files that direct your laser cutter to etch patterns for garments onto each of the 12 leather panels provided. Aside from the CD and deerskin leather panels, the kit includes snaps and a tool with which to punch holes in the leather.

The kits may be ordered from Pell through his company, PellOverton. A prototype of Walldrobe Wearpaper is also included in "Technology, Performance, Ornament," an exhibit on view at New York City’s Urban Center Gallery until September 20.

Walldrobe Wearpaper [We Make Money Not Art]