There’s a lot of appeal in spontaneity, and that’s part of what makes this dance video so appealing. Koolworkz shot it recently on a rainy day in Las Pinas with Ghetto Style Killaz dance crew. It’s a mix of off the dome, individual freestyle moves and choreographed group dance. The opportunity to shoot the video presented itself when most of the team was together judging a competition along with Kurt Reyes, otherwise known as Koolworkz, who was filming the event. After about an hour figuring out some quick choreography and rehearsing a bit, they went looking for a nearby location, but as luck would have it, the sky opened up and the rain presented a new hurdle. So they settled on a skyway overpass and rearranged their choreo to fit.
Read MoreDBTK’s New Lookbook is Like a Trip Back to Grandma’s Crib
Any kind of drop relating to toys or cartoons begs for nostalgia, and the video lookbook for DBTK‘s new collab with Sanrio is dripping with a yearning for the days of childhood. Directed by Chino Villagracia from The Visual Club, the video is shot in 16mm style, with a rainbow of bleeding pastel colors. Grainy textures and flickering effects drive the feel of times gone past, which is furthered by the old furniture, courtesy of someone’s grandparents. “We shot it at our production designer’s grandfather’s old house,” laughs Villagracia. “I based the whole thing off childhood memories, like watching Sanrio on my grandmother’s old TV and playing the video games on our family computer.” (The Visual Club did the magazine lookbook, too.)
Read MoreNike Air x Fear Of God Moccasins Unboxing – OPENING ACT
Today we unpackage the Nike Air Fear Of God moccasins in a particle beige colorway for our weekly installment of “Opening Act.” Honeycomb bossman Kayo Cosio gravitates towards these as a universal pair of sneakers that are comfortable to wear in most situations and easy to match with any outfit. They were also pretty easy to cop since there are a lot of haters out there: Failing to win the raffle at Commonwealth on release day, he stopped by their shop the following morning to see if anyone failed to pick up their pair, and indeed two colorways in his size were up for grabs. “A lot of people call them basura,” he laughs. But the lightweight feel and understated design appeal to him.
Read MoreRaise Hell Shreds with Daily Grind
Streetwear is supposed to be about community, so what better way to strengthen those bonds than collaborating with local artists killing it just down the street? A great example of this is Daily Grind‘s new collab with Raise Hell, which drops today. The line of fanny packs, bucket hats, and five-panel caps feature Hell’s Sailor Jerry-type illustrations in all-over patterns.
Raise Hell, also known as Raizel Go, is no stranger to the skateboarding world. She’s been painting on decks from Calle Skate Shop for a while now. She’s also designed boards for both Calle and Daily Grind. And you can find Raizel herself rolling around the streets of Manila on a longboard or a fixie. She’s even got her own fixed gear clothing brand called BRKLXX.
Read MoreThe Psychedelic Boyz New Video is Blowing Up
It can be difficult to tell what’s going to blow up these days, but anyone who’s been paying attention to Filipino rap knew it was only a matter of time for Psychedelic Boyz. Their latest video “Rawstarr Til I Die” dropped back in April but just started to go viral this month. Earlier this week it broke a million views, according to director J. Estacio, and it’s already nearing two million. “I get tagged in a lot of videos from fans posting this song online, hanging out with their friends doing wild shit. Even babies and young kids be bumping to it. And there’s a parody video now too!”
Read MoreFreedom Print Lab: A Filipino Streetwear Foundation
Sometimes, you need to take fate into your own hands and cut out the middlemen. That’s the case with Freedom Print Lab, which is run by a few Filipino streetwear heads who were finished waiting for other people to get anything done. “We got tired of relying on outside printing suppliers and their schedules,” says co-owner Zei Tacasa. “So we were basically just like, fuck this, and started our own thing.” Now they run a busy silkscreen shop supplying a host of local brands.
Read MoreArchie Oclos and the Tallest Mural in the Philippines
Twenty-two stories tall. Eighty gallons of house paint. One hundred cans of spray paint. One artist, no assistants. Twenty-four days. That’s quite a feat alone, but throw in an earthquake and now you’ve really got yourself a story. “Every day felt like a near death experience,” Archie Oclos laughs, recalling his time painting the country’s tallest mural last month. “But when the earthquake hit, I was on the scaffolding 12 stories up. The gondola was swinging and banging me against the wall. But once it was over I just kept painting, I had to finish it!”
Read More‘NYC To Paris,’ Jordan Brand x Nike SB – OPENING ACT
Air Jordan 1s. The OGs! Today head honcho Kayo Cosio unboxes a pristine pair for our inaugural ‘Opening Act’ series. The ‘NYC to Paris’ Jordan Brand and Nike SB collabo bring together basketball and skateboarding culture in an ode to their shared histories. These scrape-off, high-top sneakers feature a thin outer layer of smooth paint designed to wear away, revealing another colorway beneath.
Read MoreA Surreal Binondo Stars in Bawal Clan’s New Video
As high-speed internet gallops across the world, the moving image is changing the way we consume media, including music. In the Philippines, the popularity of rap has skyrocketed along with the rise of Youtube, like so many other regions. Viewers are drawn not only to fire lyrics and hard beats but also waves of fashion and intense visuals. Bawal Clan has been earning their place as a crew within the scene here for over a year now and their videos have been central to their climb. Miguel Aragon is the man behind many of them, including the “4 Door Honda” visuals, their first single off the new album Nightmare On 66.
Read MoreDezio Brings Bold Strokes to Life
When looking at photos of Dezio’s work closely cropped, they resemble small paintings on canvas with thick brushstrokes layered on top of each other. Wide, colorful ones in the background and skinny ones on top, their textures gleaming. But really, they’re large murals painted with spray paint on walls. It’s an explicit goal of his, taking the fluid motions of raw strokes and scaling them up in what are normally very flat works that miss texture. “In my graffiti, I started to do a lot more brush strokes you can tell like those big brush strokes and like trying to in a way put back the creation and the movement,” the Shanghai-based artist says while in Hong Kong as part of the HKWalls street art festival.
Read More