DEF CHOICE PARIS

Gerard Maione and Seth Weisser established New York's What Comes Around Goes Around in 1993 as one of the nation's premier vintage resources and suppliers. In addition to their flag ship boutique located in Soho, WCAGA expanded to a second 7,000 square foot retail space that includes an antique Textile library and showroom for their own line, The What Comes Around Goes Around Collection. According to their website, Gerard Maione describes the inspiration behind the Autumn collection as "the dandy meets rocker style of the early Rolling Stones, antique English tapestries embroidered with noble crests and images in the What Comes Around Goes Around Archive. When I design, I design for a lifestyle. These guys are wearing preppy shirts and blazers, but with most of the buttons undone. They’re mixing pinstripe pants with a leather motorcycle jacket - it’s English nobility gone rock star.” Shown here are images of the Autumn menswear collection, notably being modeled by New York rock group Young Lords. More info can be found at http://www.nyvintage.com/.

Apolis Activism is an independent brand that has been creating sustainable crafted garments since 2004. Started by three brothers, Raan, Shea, and Stenn Parton, Apolis Activism applies contemporary design with the use of premium fabrics into the construction of their garments. Beyond the collections, Apolis strives to spread awareness of humanitarian groups worldwide, inclusive of Invisible Children, Charity: Water, and Yuva Lok. In 2006, Apolis opened the Defend Tomorrow Fund to invest at least one percent of annual revenue into ‘hands on’, sourcing fibers and production resources from economies in need. Shown here is the Autumn/Winter '08 collection. More information on Apolis Activism can be found at their website, http://www.apolisactivism.com/.

Austin Sherbanenko, founder and designer of ODYN VOVK (pronounced oh-din va·fk), presents a strong, innovative menswear line driven and inspired by punk rock, skateboarding, gangbanging, mexican food, and the Showcase Theatre (where the Misfits, GBH, and Gorgoroth have all honored the stage). According to Austin, "My work reflects on my youth and being inspired by anything that sparks my curiosity. I went to design school for a little bit and it wasn't working out, so I stopped spending money on it and followed my dream, invested every dime in ODYN VOVK. There isn't a theme for this season either, I didn't want a theme or story for my first collection. I designed the collection without the structured direction that a hard lined story would offer. I had a much more spontaneous approach. Ideas would pop into my head and I’d follow the ones worth following." Austin Sherbanenko is of Ukrainian descent and was born and raised in Southern California, in a small town about 45 minutes outside of Los Angeles. More information on ODYN VOVK can be found at his website, www.odynvovk.com. Shown are pieces from his debut collection.

New York designer Stefan Miljanic presents Gilded Age Spring 2009 with the same detailed craftsmanship that made his Fall/Winter 08 collection so heavily regarded; a celebrated look at classic, rugged, industrial american dress. Stefan Miljanic has previously worked in the design departments of Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic and Calvin Klein, but now offers collections based on hand crafted garments, organic fabrics and dyes, smaller production and the use of antique machinery. Basing his Spring collection on historic New York artists, Gilded Age showcases pieces that are unique, lived in, smart, worn and well traveled. More information can be found at www.gildedage.net.

Fremont's Fall/Winter '08 collection exhibits a dark, brooding sensibility coupled with the feel of independence and intelligence that ties the duality of their men's and women's collection together. Both lines are born out of fictitious muses; the men's an eclectic essence of self-sufficiency and menacing mystique, whereas the female collection is based on a modern day version of The Fountainhead's Dominique Francon (exuding passion, self reliance and freedom). Devin Carlson, one half of the Fremont collective, describes the men's collection as an 'infectious aesthetic of dark colors, masculine shapes, and heavy substantial fabrics such as Italian Meltons and Cashmere blends.' He summarizes the concept of the Fremont girl as 'a standout with a defined presence anywhere she goes whether she realizes it or not. She does this by looking sharp and like Dominique, the clothes are chic, sophisticated, and bold. She is elegant, but isn't afraid of getting her hands dirty.' Devin Carlson and Fremont can be contacted directly at their website, www.fremontapparelco.com. Shown here is the Men's and Women's Fall '08 collection.

Maxime Buechi, the founder and creative force behind London based Sang Bleu, will be releasing the latest edition of his lifestyle journal this November with worldwide distribution. According to Maxime: "Sang Bleu is hardly a tattoo magazine at all. Fundamentally, it is a publication which tries to depict the way people deal with notions like identity, creativity and body nowadays. I don't call SB a magazine as it also tries to address the question of mediums. Aside from the Sang Bleu Journal, many other projects are currently being worked on in the scope of what you could call the "Sang Bleu Project", with regards to art shows, events and publications like monographic and exhibition catalogues." The dual release of Sang Bleu III/IV will not only contain a blend of tattoo work, contemporary art, fetish, underground culture and fashion content, but will also feature a distinctive typographical feel. Maxime can be found working in London, Paris and Lausanne (where he studied Graphic Design and Art Direction at ECAL) preparing projects such as openings for Silvermann Gallery in SF, collaborating with the group Minmetal in Zurich, publishing the catalogue for art collective CAN (Centre d'art Neuchâtel) in Switzerland in addition to an essay by artist Nicolas Party (Switzerland/Glasgow). Pictured above are Maxime himself and selected images from Sang Bleu Journals #0 and #2. More info can be found at their website: sangbleu.com.

California's David Bonaventura of TSOVET recently debuted his new collection of Pilot watches at New York's Capsule at the end of July. These unique analog time pieces feature premium Swiss quartz movement, top grade Italian leathers, aeronautical grade 316L stainless steel, and metallurgic PVD treatments, all of which add to the impressive flair, durability and composition of the watches. TSOVET will begin shipping to premium retailers Blackbird, Blue Bee, Fred Segal, Atrium and Harlow at the end of the month. Pictured is the new collection from TSOVET.

New York's husband and wife design team Swaim and Christina Hutson recently debuted the Obedient Sons Spring/Summer 2009 line at Industria Studios in the West Village. Inspired by a 60's aesthetic set in communes, cults and psychedelic harmony, the collection showcases their take on subtle, washed out beach wear that easily transitions to the streets and beyond. Primarily, the line consists of stunning takes on linen suiting, knit sweaters, simple cardigans, jersey tees and silk lined overcoats. Although the acknowledgement and nod to hippie culture is apparent, the collection presents itself too smart to fall narrow in scope as the garments make an impactful presence even in their own hazy, muted tones. More information about Obedient Sons can be found at their website: http://www.obedientsons.com/.

If you're in the know on the Lower East Side, then you're already familiar with Chuck Guarino, one half of New York menswear design duo THECAST. Aside from creating carefully constructed garments in the form of tailored blazers, waistcoats, leather jackets and the finest collection of tees on the market, Chuck recently had the opportunity to showcase his artistic abilities at This Eclectic Explosion, showing at the Tribeca Grand in New York City. Working primarily with mixed media collages, he prefers his canvas on the underside of vintage early 1900's maps. Chuck says, "I've always been a big fan of black & white imagery. Even when I roll around town here in New York with a camera, I more than likely have B&W film in there. I've always liked the classic look of B&W, there's certain sort of romance that comes with it. I'm quite fascinated with all the dots a xerox machine produces so I always convert any of the imagery into more of a xerox finish when I make collages. Just really fucking cool shit." Shown here are two pieces he debuted at This Eclectic Explosion, respectively titled 'Big Flowers' and 'What's Your Problem'.

New York designer Patrik Rzepski has already collected quite a few accolades in his young career including NY Magazine's 'Famous by 2010', style.com's '15 To Know', a vast array of coverage in WWD, The NY Times, Elle, Surface, Nylon, and even a feature in Teen Vogue. Even more impressive is that he has garnered this much attention by beautifully crafting and constructing men's and women's collections inspired by some of the world's most notorious figures and tragedies. His list of influences ranges from Myra Hindley (widely acclaimed as 'Britain's most hated woman'), 70's German terrorist group the Baader-Meinhof gang, the Zodiac Killer and the Jon-Benet Ramsey murder. Despite these morbid influences, Rzepski has been able to maintain a positive presence in the press and even received a nod from Karl Lagerfeld in regard to the sophistication displayed in his collections. Shown here is his men's and women's line for Autumn/Winter 2008. More information can be found at his website: http://www.patrikrzepski.com/.

According to their website, founders and designers Cristopher Nying and Jockum Hallin describe their line Our Legacy as “defining the classic men´s wardrobe in a light and comfortable manner, a well dressed contemporary look made to appear thrown together in a perfectly natural and confident way”. The Fall/Winter collection entitled 'The Swing Of Pendulum' consists of classic, traditional men's garments in the forms of tailored jackets, coats, pants, and shirts accompanied by a full line of knits, tees, polos and additional men's furnishings. The inspired line revolves around fictitious character Sean de Germand, an intelligent and curious English student at Oxford escaping the conservative nature of private schooling to explore the romanticized allure of the decadent Parisian lifestyle encompassing art, literature, intellect and beyond. For more on Our Legacy, check their website at http://www.ourlegacy.se.

New York's Obesity and Speed continue turning out great tees and knits for this Fall/Winter with their collection 'Church Of No Return'. Continuing on with their appreciation of the 'darker' sides of punk, new wave, and goth, they proudly offer up this new collection complete with pentagrams, inverted crosses and a nod to the Misfits to be worn while kicking back in the city or organizing those Christian Death records you've been stowing away.

Derrick R. Cruz, the individual responsible for Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons and winner of the 2007 GEN ART Styles International Design Award recently created a new line of accessories to aid in a collaborative effort to save honey bees. Due to Colony Collapse Disorder, in which a hive deconstructs and adult bees subsequentially abandon their larvae, these productive insects are disappearing from our landscape at a rapid rate and will soon be a missing integral part of the ecological cycle. Pictured are some pieces available at the collective's website, http://www.anewhive.org/; donations are also encouraged. This is a great opportunity to own something unique by a talented artist while helping out a great environmental cause.