A DOSE OF CAPSULE: APRIL77
In anticipation of the Paris Capsule Show (June 26-28th), we’ll be publishing profiles of each participating brand. First up is APRIL77, which will premiere both the S/S 09 collection of its self-titled fashion label, and a new music and clothing label, APRIL77RECORDS. The original label’s collection begs the question, “Did we really get on the moon?” with a theme of “Apollo Program Was a Hoax” – indicative of APRIL77’s strong, characteristic attitude. APRIL77RECORDS is a continuation of the original, yet its rock-and-roll inspired silhouettes with be accompanied by a monthly 7'’ vinyl record featuring a different band. (Featured groups include The Red Hearts, Neils Children, The Willowz, and Pets.) Pics after the jump highlight APRIL77’s F/W 08 collection. ---KB
The field of men’s wear designers nominated for the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Fashion Awards this year is a testament to the fresh blood coursing through the industry’s reinvigorated veins. Of all six nominees, Thom Browne’s label has been around the longest—a mere eight seasons. Tom Ford’s giant profile dwarfs the competition’s, but his business is the newest, having launched just last year. They’re both up for Menswear Designer of the Year against Michael Bastian, who graduated into that senior award category from the emerging-designer group, perhaps by dint of his creative directorship at Bill Blass. Among the nominees for the Swarovski Award for Menswear, Tim Hamilton is the sole returnee. He faces the former fashion editor Patrik Ervell and Band of Outsiders’ Scott Sternberg, a former Hollywood agent and the only West Coaster in the bunch. Here we present a cross section of all these fresh perspectives. Read about each of the nominees in 
The NYT reports that fast fashion for men is what's up. "With no relief in sight at the gas pump, there is plenty of bad news in fashion these days. In this month’s results from a continuing consumer attitude study by the NPD Group, a market research firm, 51 percent of consumers said they plan to spend less on apparel, up from an already bleak 45 percent in April. A May survey by the Yankelovich polling group found that the percentage of American consumers reporting “severe anxiety” about their personal finances more than doubled, to 30 percent from 14 percent. 
We’re always on the lookout for new young talent, and today we met with a rising star- 
Idex Media has cancelled the upcoming August edition of To Be Confirmed in order to concentrate on relaunching the show in a new location in February 2009. The show will move to Old Billingsgate Market in East London, which offers four times more space than its current Truman Brewery location. Buzz Carter of Idex Media said: "We've listened carefully to the constructive feedback from both brands and buyers, and it's clear what the industry wants next - a consistent home from where TBC can develop into a stunning and atmospheric event for international buyers." He added: "In Billingsgate we have the perfect venue and we will be unveiling further exciting show plans over the coming weeks." (wgsn)
For the past 211 years, Johnstons has operated from the Scottish Highland town of Elgin. The factory has gone from dabbling in tobacco, oatmeal, linen and flax to pioneering cashmere weaving in Scotland in 1851, to making fabrics for luxury brands such as Kiton, Hermès, and Burberry. In fact, Johnstons is the UK's last remaining vertical woollen mill and the only one still to carry out all processes from raw material to finished garments. How do they do it all? Read 
Analysts like to make bold predictions about the growth of mobile advertising. Most have overshot reality.But at least one slice of the business appears to be catching on, according to marketers: ads sent via text message. A growing number of companies are using cellphone text messages to lend more interactivity to their ads. For instance, Coors Brewing's Coors Light beer recently added a text-message component to its traditional sponsorship of the NFL Draft. Football fans opted to receive draft alerts, and each message contained a squib about Coors Light. Read the full story on 
The mounting human sufferings are almost unimaginable as the tasks of recovering continue after the double natural disasters this month in Myanmar (aka Burma) and China. We urge you to make a donation to help those who have been suffering for the past few weeks in China and Myanmar. On May 2nd 2008, tens of thousands of lives were lost and hundreds of thousands of homes damaged when Cyclone Nargis unleashed high winds, heavy rain, and floodwater in southwestern Myanmar. On Monday, May 12th, 2008, a major earthquake, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, jolted southwestern China’s Sichuan Province. Several lower-scale earthquakes and aftershocks followed in the same area. The quake destroyed many buildings in the area, as well as infrastructure like communication towers. According to the latest reports, more than 12,000 people have died and many more have been injured or are missing. Many schools were destroyed, including one that had at least 900 students in it. As authorities reach more remote areas, these numbers are expected to rise. 
We hear from our spies at the Details editorial offices that there's a bit of a shakedown over there, and a great addition to the team. Saks Fifth Avenue's men's fashion director and head of publicity Michael Macko is joining Details in the newly created position of Fashion Director. It sounds like an amazing opportunity for both the publication and Macko, who is known as one of the nicest, and most influential men in the menswear industry. 
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Talk about traditional British footwear and the name Church’s always comes up. The English shoe brand established in 1873, is
In case you missed NY Design Week, design blog Core 77 has wrapped it all up in a neat series of posts. Click 
EVEN if you spend a lot of time around fashion and the endearing nut jobs who create it, this question comes up every so often: Who is that person? By that person, one is referring to an imaginary consumer, a man who designers have decided should wear skintight flood pants and a Pee-wee Herman jacket barely grazing his behind. Who exactly is the boy/man fashion is crazy about lately, the guy wearing tennis shorts or onesies or the sort of jacket an Etonian whom I know claims was called a bum-freezer when he was at school? 
Online fashion retailer 
Because fashion is nothing if not an allegory, new men's line Conference of Birds takes its name from a 15th-century Persian poem about a group of feathered creatures—a peacock, crane, parrot, nightingale—in search of enlightenment. We can totally see the comparison: blazers, trenches, sweaters, jeans. Designer and stylist Andrew Holden calls it nostalgically modern, a moody blend of British tailoring and American work wear. We get it...
Our friends over at Skeleton Legs have been doing a great job uncovering young Japanese menswear collections and today they tipped us off to 
We hear that one of our favorite designers, the teddy bear-like 
Paris-based Marithé & François Girbaud has acquired a majority stake in I.C. Isaacs & Co., the U.S. firm that markets the brand here under license. The move will inject fresh capital into financially troubled I.C. Isaacs as it strives to improve its business here, and creates a closer working relationship between the French brand owner and the U.S. licensee. “We are thrilled to make this investment in our U.S. business,” said François Girbaud, who cofounded the company with his partner of more than 40 years, Marithé. “We continue to believe that our brand has major growth potential in select segments and know, now more than ever, that we have a strong strategy and team to take advantage of this potential.” 
"Green" fashion has been getting lots of press lately, but what about "ethical" fashion? We all talk about how fun it is to find great style at a price, but we rarely consider what it takes to make the disposable fashion we all buy. The BBC sent 6 fashionistas to India to experience working in the rag trade. These poor kids have to pick cotton, work and sleep in a factory, and witness all the aspects of making High Street fashion. Their experiences are shocking. Watch the series, called Blood, Sweat & T-Shirts here. It's quite eye opening.
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Has it been ten years already? 
Good news for American designers. Slate magazine has a feature called "High Style For Low Times, How fashion and luxury firms will ride out a recession," which projects how us retailers will be weathering the looming recession. The article expects US designers to benefit at home from a weak dollar. “The disastrous state of the dollar abroad has made the importation of European collections prohibitively expensive in America, causing buyers to cut back on purchases from design houses overseas,” according to the piece. Read the full story 
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Last night 
Uh oh-- Bruce Pask, style setter and men's fashion director for the NY Times, is finding his pared down basic chic look a little boring. Now he's feeling like rolling up his jeans, a la My Three Sons! 
NY Times “Consumed” columnist, and Murketing blogger Rob Walker has a new book coming out, called Buying In. In the book Walker argues that while we’ve been hearing that brands are dead, and advertising no longer works, this accepted wisdom misses a much more important and lasting cultural shift. As technology has created avenues for advertising anywhere and everywhere, people are embracing brands more than ever before–creating brands of their own and participating in marketing campaigns for their favorite brands in unprecedented ways. Increasingly, motivated consumers are pitching in to spread the gospel virally, whether by creating Internet video ads for Converse All Stars or becoming word-of-mouth “agents” touting products to friends and family on behalf of huge corporations. In the process, they–we–have begun to funnel cultural, political, and community activities through connections with brands. “Buying In’ won’t be available until June 3, but you can pre-order a copy