Decks The Halls
Virgil Abloh is in the mood to gift more skateboards.
The Off-White founder and Louis Vuitton men’s artistic director partnered with DGK founder Stevie Williams and the Chill Foundation to provide skateboards, skill and safety lessons and protective gear to members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago.
They are providing 25 custom DGK skateboards and 25 sets of protective gear for the youth to use for free at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Club and the Louis L. Valentine Club. In addition, the Chill Foundation will provide free outdoor courses for small groups of members ages 10 through
18. The program will launch on Nov. 12.
Abloh and Williams first teamed on a limited run of skateboards, with proceeds being donated to Saved by Skateboarding. Williams started DGK in 2002 in tribute to skaters who come from less advantaged backgrounds, and he’s an alum of the BGCC, which has served families in Chicago since 1902.
Chill Foundation also helps families in 16 global cities through boardsports, which is used to inspire the youth to overcome challenges.
This year, Abloh launched or took part in different charity initiatives, including his I Support Young Black Businesses quarterly fund and partnership with “Englewood Barbie”
Aleta Clarke for her nonprofit HugsNoSlugs. Together, they raffled the Off-White x Air Jordan IV “Sail” sneakers at Chicago shop Notre to raise money for the nonprofit. — OBI ANYANWU age 25 and under. Up for grabs is a mentorship from Jeff
Staple, whose NYC Pigeon
Dunks from 2005 are still the stuff of streetwear legend, and internships at leading brands.
It’s also a chance for young people to have their sneaker proposal evaluated by a judging panel stacked with deities from the streetwear and sneaker scene, including Staple, Sean Wotherspoon, Steven Smith and Sarah Andelman, cofounder of Colette. Among the other judges are Ruba Abu-Nimah, Shane Gonzales and Emily Oberg, whom Ssense.com recently anointed the Martha Stewart of streetwear.
The contest is the brainchild of Alexandre Daillance, cofounder of Paris-based fashion label Nasaseasons, and his own creative studio. Daillance recently established Prospect 100, which he’s calling an “empowerment youth company,” with his English friends Adam Flanagan and
Harry Beard.
“We created this initiative in response to COVID-19, where we felt kids were in need of opportunities in the fields of music, innovation, tech and design. Our goal is to offer lifechanging prizes to the winners to ensure they can turn their passion into a career,” he said.
Many top fashion prizes offer mentoring and internships alongside cash, but few are dedicated to the streetwear category.
Applications are open at Prospect100.com until Nov. 6, with the overall winner crowned on Nov. 14. — MILES SOCHA overt tie to the sport of rowing and Dogfish Head with our location in coastal Delaware, an aspect of our business that inspires everything we do (from our beers and the ingredients within them to our choice of partners and collaborators) — developed this collaborative clothing and merchandise collection to showcase our authentic synergies in a creative way.”
On the day of the launch, Calagione and Jack Carlson, founder of Rowing Blazers, will host a discussion at the Rowing Blazers store in New York City to discuss the collaboration, answer viewers’ questions and speak to Arshay Cooper, a rower, author and activist.
The line will retail from $5 for the koozie and $9 for the glass to $35 for the long-sleeve T-shirt and $98 for the polo.
Dogfish has collaborated with other fashion brands in the past including Merrell in 2019 and Woolrich in 2016. Rowing Blazers had partnered with everyone from Fila and Lands’ End to
Sperry and United Arrows.
— JEAN E. PALMIERI blend ethics and aesthetics,” said Glaviano.
To this end, “In the Picture: Shifting Perspectives in
Fashion Photography” is an exhibition curated by four female and “socially conscious” photographers, as Glaviano put it. Alexandra Von Fuerst, Camila Falquez, Nadine Ijewere and Ruth Ossa, all coming from different corners of the world, trained their camera on women from different backgrounds, aiming to capture the female condition today.
“In such a difficult time, we as women are at a point where we are freer than ever before and we can express beauty the exact way we perceive it,” commented Falquez, who lives between New York and Barcelona, Spain. “We have this responsibility to fight the oppression we were born into.”
“In a moment when we are all revising our ideals, opening up borders through the power of technology is fundamental,” added Italy- born Von Fuerst.
“As part of my work I want to share the beauty I see in the world and how this helps everybody to discover again equality and respect.”
Further highlighting the collective caliber of this year’s edition, the “All in This Together” showcase gathers works from 30 international photographers centered on such themes as solidarity, empathy and hope.
All the photographers involved — Miloushka Bokma; Kennedi Carter; Imraan Christian; Jasmine Clarke; Aki-Pekka Sinikoski;
Cécile Smetana Baudier; Leonard Suryajaya, and Nick Van Tiem, among them — were selected by a jury through the Photo
Vogue talent search program, which since its debut in 2011 has amassed around 230,000 creatives.
Although most parts of the festival will be held digitally, including a range of talks and panel discussions, a sample from both photographic exhibits will be showcased outdoors at the gates of the “Indro Montanelli Public Gardens” in central Milan from Oct. 30 through Nov. 22.
“We strongly regret not being able to meet with our audience IRL, but culture — which is much more than just entertainment — deserved a space also this year,” noted Glaviano. — MARTINO CARRERA