Beauty Kills Two...?

Fashion Powerhouse’s Chanel and LVMH Forced to Make Cuts

via Times Online

Chanel, one of the grandest French fashion names, is to lay off 200 Paris staff in an unmistakable sign that even the world’s top luxury brands are feeling the pinch in the global recession.

Until recently, France’s marques de grand luxe were claiming immunity from the slump. Demand for the high end was holding up, driven by the luxury appetites of the nouveaux riches of Russia, China and other emerging powers, they said.

The denial has faded over the past month as Russians and Asians have been noticeably absent over Christmas from the boutiques in the Paris golden triangle off the Champs Élysées and their equivalents in London and New York. Business in Japan has slumped.

A week ago Chanel, privately owned and secretive about its affairs, called off a glitzy art show as it was about to arrive in London from New York. Over the weekend trade unions reported that the fashion house was to lay off all of its 200 Paris staff who are on fixed-term or temporary contracts.

Sixteen of the employees work in the firm’s historic home in the Rue Cambon where the late Coco Chanel dreamt up her little black dresses and No 5 perfume in the 1920s.

The company employs 16,000 people worldwide. “In the little world of luxury goods, the news has had the impact of a bombshell,” said Le Parisien newspaper. By coincidence, French television was showing the first part of an Italian-American mini-series on the life of Coco Chanel last night.

In addition, two new biopics about the pioneering Paris couturière - one starring Audrey Tatou - are to reach cinemas in the coming months. The trouble at Chanel is mirrored across a French-dominated luxury goods industry, which enjoyed an historic boom with sales growth of about 10 per cent a year since 2003.

In another sign of hard times, LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury conglomerate, has cancelled a plan for a Louis Vuitton megastore in the Ginza district of Tokyo. Profits in the €170 billion (£165 billion) global luxury market are still expected to be substantial this year, but LVMH has lost 44 per cent of its share value in 2008. Richemont, a Swiss company that owns Cartier and Montblanc, has suffered a similar share fall. Experts are predicting a 4 per cent decline in sales in 2009.

Not everyone is suffering to the same degree. Swiss watchmakers have been hardest hit but Hermès, the Paris leather goods and silk-square company, has seen its share price rise by nearly 16 per cent this year and expects its sales to grow by about 10 per cent.

Some in the trade believe they are facing a harsh future after a decade in which greed and easy money led to hubris. Alain Nemarq, the chairman of Mauboussin, the prestige jewellery firm, said that the world of luxury had gone wild in pursuit of the idea that nothing could be too expensive and no profit margin too exorbitant. “The pursuit of exclusive trophies … is finished,” he wrote in Le Figaro last week. “We will now return to reason, decency and discretion.”

Sus Bwoys....

Word Up.

Hustler Watch: Kid Cudi from Eighty81 on Vimeo.

Kobe, Yeezys, DJ AM, Mike Epps.....Cant Go Wrong

Nike Zoom Kobe IV iD - Mike Epps + DJ AM from Freshnessmag.com on Vimeo.

These are Pretty Damn Cool.

He Is Hilarous.

This Makes Things Interesting..

BATMAN Shocker! EDDIE MURPHY To Play The Riddler!!

via The Sun

FUNNYMAN EDDIE MURPHY will play The Riddler in the next Batman movie, The Sun can reveal.
The Beverly Hills Cop star, 47, has been signed up by British director CHRISTOPHER NOLAN to reprise the role played by JIM CARREY in 1995’s Batman Forever.

The surprise move follows speculation linking Pirates of the Caribbean star JOHNNY DEPP to the part.

The film, set for a 2010 release, is being developed under the working title Gotham.

Execs have also signed up rising Transformers star SHIA LABEOUF, 22, to play Robin.

CHRISTIAN BALE will return as Bruce Wayne, while MICHAEL CAINE will again play Bruce’s assistant Alfred.

Meanwhile, Brit RACHEL WEISZ is said to be up for the Catwoman role.

Insiders also revealed to The Sun the flick will end on a cliffhanger over whether Batman survives a blast at Wayne Towers.

Nolan had been tight-lipped about the future of the Batman films after being rocked by the January death of HEATH LEDGER - tipped to receive a posthumous Oscar for his role as The Joker in Batman Returns.

A film insider said: “Chris wasn’t sure if he wanted to do another movie but as soon as he decided to, he got the wheels in motion.

“Eddie’s a fantastic addition. Everyone’s excited to see what he does as the Riddler.”

......Ha.....Fashion...SMH.

Right to the point with this title. And why not? High end Japanese jewelry maker, Jam Home Made, must have been especially pissed off at some point to kick out these one finger knit gloves. Consider it a proactive fashion move. Have that one finger ready to flip up when necessary. We’re hoping for the two finger British version soon. (from selectism)

My Favorite Huh?.....I never liked the Z4 before..

One of the many interesting things occur when you bring together something that’s known for elegance and speed, and a form of expression that holds no boundaries. BMW uses their new 2010 Z4 as a brush on a canvas the size of a football field. Bringing in modern artist Robin Rhone along with a group of technicians, taking the Z4 and customizing it with adjustments that spray paint from the wheels. Presenting the world with “An Expression of Joy”. (via hypebeast)

Individual Thirst....Silver Batmobile Edition.

Mercedes-Benz will officially unveil what will surely be one of the most attention-grabbing cars in Cobo Hall, the 2009 McLaren SLR Stirling Moss. The boldly styled Merc will be the last vehicle built under the partnership with McLaren, and even at a cost of €750,000 Mercedes should have no trouble finding buyers for the 75-car allotment. Each will feature full carbon fiber bodywork wrapped over the standard version, a 650-hp supercharged 5.5-liter V8 and the five-speed automatic transplanted from the SLR 722. Despite lacking any sort of roof or proper windscreen, the Stirling Moss can still achieve a top speed of 217 mph and can reach 100 km/h in just 3.5 seconds.

This is Cool

WTF Is This.....Vol.287298292

Sounds Mad 80's-esque

From ComplexBlog : Kanye's First Day As An Intern

Pause

No Homo from FWMJ on Vimeo.

He's A Rookie....A Good One, But A Rookie Nonetheless

WTF

A Real Kufi Slap Off

Old, But Cool As Hell

KANYE SAVES THE WORLD. from Bobby Hundreds on Vimeo.

Coming Soon to Everywhere Near You

I Don't Care Who Designed It......This Is Horrible.

Commes Des Garcons Christmas Special.......one of the worst designs I have seen from them. Too much Pink and too much Argyle at once.

This is Fly.

Long heralded as one of the top art schools in the nation, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena has produced countless heavyweights in the industry for a long time. Product Design student, Nancy Wu, looks to be headed into that very direction with her masterful approach to cut and sew sneaker design. Taking elements from three separate pairs of footwear, Wu constructs various new models featuring a look reminiscent of those old school Roman sandals with a new age approach. Although the complete reconstruction customs have been done before, her designs are taken to another level with the creation of a completely original silhouette. (from hypebeast.com)

B.o.b- Autotune

Baltimore....SMH

Beliefs.....SMH.

OD

She Goes Hard.

Show Love....

Everyone's favorite DJ KI has a couple online Radio Shows, so of course I have to show some love you guys should too:

Facebook group link: http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/group.php?gid=49372524111
SHOW LOVE!!

Random Pics from Rhode Island/ New York

upon our arrival back to the crib we found marcus' brothers stuff

MARCY SON WHAT!!!

i didn't know i could do this

this was cool

a Bentley

Baltimore needs to take notes

i plan on reading this one day.....maybe

city sports

pretty cool shoe store

flyer post in rhode island

One of the Best Shows Ever

Unaired skit:

Individual Thirst.

Similar to the direction Yohji Yamamoto takes with adidas Y-3, Mihara Yasuhiro fuses the fashion world with a sportswear aesthetic. Previews from his upcoming PUMA 2009 spring/summer lineup give us a look into one of his shoe models featuring a some what hybrid unconventional designer approach.

Source: Dazed Digital

Not The Official Video....But Still Illery

Jay-Z on iLike - Get updates inside iTunes

Late, But Just Check The Stage Set Up

Ive Watched This Like 3904094840 Times (ask Jazz)

Lyrics of Today

First off is the song Blueprint 2 by Jay-Z, very underrated track in my opinion and is greatly overshadowed by Nas' Ether in the heat of the battle. Jay-Z basically used his lyrical ability grabbed Nas by the shoulders and ripped this guy apart, nobody can listen to this verse and tell me otherwise...peep:
[Jay-Z]
Can't y'all, see that he's fake, the rap version of TD jakes
Prophesizing on your CDs and tapes
Won't break you a crumb of the little bit that he makes
And this is with whom you want to place your faith?
I put dollars on mine, ask Columbine
When the Twin Towers dropped, I was the first in line
Donating proceeds off every ticket sold
When I was out on the road, that's how you judge Hov, no?
Ain't I supposed to be absorbed myself?
Every time there's a tragedy, I'm the first one to help
They call me this misogynist, but they don't call me the dude
To take his dollars to give gifts at the projects
These dudes is all politics, depositing checks
they put in they pocket, all you get in return is a lot of lip
And y'all buy the shit, caught up in the hype
Cause the nigga wear a coofie, it don't mean that he bright
Cause you don't understand him, it don't mean that he nice
It just means you don't understand all the bullshit that he write
Is it "Oochie Wally Wally" or is it "One Mic"?
Is it "Black Girl Lost" or shorty owe you for ice?
I've been real all my life, they confuse it with deceit
Since I will not lose, they try to help him cheat
But I will not lose, for even in defeat
There's a valuable lesson learned, so it evens it up for me
When the grass is cut, the snakes will show
I gotta thank the little homie Nas for that though
Saving me the hassle of speaking to half of these assholes
And I'ma let karma catch up to Jaz-O, whoa
I'm back before you had a chance to miss me
My mama can't save you this time, niggas is history
Who you know flow vicious as me?
Yet so religiously, that's why they call me Hov
I get the spoils cause the victor is me (me, nigga)
You're an actor, you're not who you're depicted to be
The street dreamin, all y'all niggas living through me
I gave you life when niggas was forgetting you emcee
I'm a legend, you should take a picture with me
You should be happy to be in my presence, I should charge you a fee
I'm Big Dog, Glenn Rob, listen God you a flea
And the little homey Jungle is a garden to me
What's the problem B? You not as hard as me
Nigga hard as we, nigga R O C, nigga
That's why they follow me, they feel my pain and my agony, nigga
I won't rest till you on one knee
You want war then it's war's gonna be, nigga
Until you on one knee, you want war then it's war's gonna be, nigga

Next up is Andre 3000's verse on Elevators which speaks for itself

[Andre]
Got stopped at the mall the other day
Heard a call from the other way
that I just came from, some nigga was sayin somethin
talkin bout "Hey man, you remember me from school?" smoke some
Naw not really but he kept smilin like a clown
facial expression lookin silly
And he kept askin me, what kind of car you drive, I know you paid
I know y'all got buku of hoes from all them songs that y'all done made
And I replied that I had been goin through tha same thing that he had
True I got more fans than the average man but not enough loot to last me
to the end of the week, I live by the beat like you live check to check
If you don't move yo' feet then I don't eat, so we like neck to neck
Yes we done come a long way like them Slim ass cigarettes
from Virginia, this ain't gon stop so we just gonna continue

Thug Life.

This is ill...T-pain Art

Kanye Interview for Angie Mar

Niketalk is a Cruel Place...

Kid gets robbed and peep some of the comments made, heres the story written by "Gully Gabe"of the Niketalk Gabes:

Went back to my old high school( high point) last night for their homecoming game. So after the game I go to McDonalds to meet up with my friends to go to a party at UMD. We see a fight about to happen between a group of guys and we stay to watch at our cars. These guys start throwing chairs outside and the other group of guys run away. So we get ready to get in our cars and leave to go to the party. Then they walk up to us and as us if we are a part of 212(the gangs they were about to fight). Me and my friends are like naw. Mean while im texting this girl and dude come to me and asks to see my phone. I put the phone behind my back and keep telling him no. My friends start to approach him and grab him away from me. Then he calls his boys and someone yells out they're strapped. So i give up my phone and tell my friends to get in the car. While going to my door they start grabbing at my pockets and ask for my wallet. I pull out my wallet and threw the ten buck i had at them( making sure they didn't see into my wallet and see my bank card and credit cards). Got in my car and drove away. Talked to some other people later and they also got robbed. I went to this school for 4 years and never had anything like this happen to me. I come back and this **! happens.

carlosdapaperboy wrote:

you MUST carry the cal on you next time sir.

rwfanatic wrote:So you've been out of school and are and adult but you got robbed by some lil dudes?

geminifly wrote:
There wasn't nothing too gully about your actions fam, what happened?

DoubleJs07 wrote: @ "long read" consisting of 8 lines of text.....your whole %@$@ was cliff notes.

Sorry u took the L....next time order more food at Mickey D's until the coast is clear.

NikeAir45 wrote:CLIFFNOTES: Got robbed for 10 dollars..

Mickey Factz is a MONSTER pt.2

Miss Jamaica

Elephant Man Teaches You How to Dance.

Mr. Cudi's Performance At Glow in the Dark..

Kid Cudi: "Day N Nite" Glow In the Dark Tour UK from ibn jasper on Vimeo.

Kanye's Performance at AMA's

Since I Didnt Get The First Ones.....I need these.

Within the adidas Originals Craftsmanship Pack this season, adidas has featured a series of iconic and traditional materials to become the backdrop of a number of shoes. First up we see an O-Store exclusive ZX 700 Boat Shoe. Just coming off a great success with the adidas aZX project and Japanese brand Neighborhood’s own careful design, the two styles are seen in both houndstooth and tartan patterns. The boat shoe references are evident along the collar in addition to a moc-style toebox. Available starting November 22nd at adidas Originals stores in Hong Kong. (via hypebeast)

Kanye's Album Cover

On The Rise..

Click and Read

First Weekly Address From Mr. Obama

People Need to Stop TRIPPING (abc news)

Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before. The Secret Service would not comment or provide the number of cases they are investigating. But since the Nov. 4 election, law enforcement officials have seen more potentially threatening writings, Internet postings and other activity directed at Obama than has been seen with any past president-elect, said officials aware of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue of a president’s security is so sensitive.

Earlier this week, the Secret Service looked into the case of a sign posted on a tree in Vay, Idaho, with Obama’s name and the offer of a “free public hanging.” In North Carolina, civil rights officials complained of threatening racist graffiti targeting Obama found in a tunnel near the North Carolina State University campus.

And in a Maine convenience store, an Associated Press reporter saw a sign inviting customers to join a betting pool on when Obama might fall victim to an assassin. The sign solicited $1 entries into “The Osama Obama Shotgun Pool,” saying the money would go to the person picking the date closest to when Obama was attacked. “Let’s hope we have a winner,” said the sign, since taken down.

In the security world, anything “new” can trigger hostility, said Joseph Funk, a former Secret Service agent-turned security consultant who oversaw a private protection detail for Obama before the Secret Service began guarding the candidate in early 2007.

Obama, of course, will be the country’s first black president, and Funk said that new element, not just race itself, is probably responsible for a spike in anti-Obama postings and activity. “Anytime you’re going to have something that’s new, you’re going to have increased chatter,” he said.

The Secret Service also has cautioned the public not to assume that any threats against Obama are due to racism.

The service investigates threats in a wide range. There are “stated threats” and equally dangerous or lesser incidents considered of “unusual interest” — such as people motivated by obsessions or infatuations or lower-level gestures such as effigies of a candidate or an elected president. The service has said it does not have the luxury of discounting anything until agents have investigated the potential danger.

Racially tinged graffiti — not necessarily directed at Obama — also has emerged in numerous reports across the nation since Election Day, prompting at least one news conference by a local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Georgia.

A law enforcement official who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly said that during the campaign there was a spike in anti-Obama rhetoric on the Internet — “a lot of ranting and raving with no capability, credibility or specificity to it.”

There were two threatening cases with racial overtones:

— In Denver, a group of men with guns and bulletproof vests made racist threats against Obama and sparked fears of an assassination plot during the Democratic National Convention in August.

— Just before the election, two skinheads in Tennessee were charged with plotting to behead blacks across the country and assassinate Obama while wearing white top hats and tuxedos.

In both cases, authorities determined the men were not capable of carrying out their plots.

In Milwaukee, police officials found a poster of Obama with a bullet going toward his head — discovered on a table in a police station.

Chatter among white supremacists on the Internet has increased throughout the campaign and since Election Day.

One of the most popular white supremacist Web sites got more than 2,000 new members the day after the election, compared with 91 new members on Election Day, according to an AP count. The site, stormfront.org, was temporarily off-line Nov. 5 because of the overwhelming amount of activity it received after Election Day. On Saturday, one Stormfront poster, identified as Dalderian Germanicus, of North Las Vegas, said, “I want the SOB laid out in a box to see how ‘messiahs’ come to rest. God has abandoned us, this country is doomed.”

It is not surprising that a black president would galvanize the white supremacist movement, said Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who studies the white supremacy movement.

“The overwhelming flavor of the white supremacist world is a mix of desperation, confusion and hoping that this will somehow turn into a good thing for them,” Potok said. He said hate groups have been on the rise in the past seven years because of a common concern about immigration.

Interesting Read About Micheal Vick. (yahoo)

Michael Vick lives in a prison in Kansas, making 12 cents an hour while plotting his return to the NFL. His houses and farms will soon be gone, the two yachts are history, and he’s down to his last couple of Range Rovers.

A race horse he bought for $60,000 died of colic, the Atlanta Falcons are still trying to hit him up for millions they paid him, and the IRS and the state of Georgia want nearly $1 million in back taxes.

In 2006 he made nearly $15 million. Recently he reported total income of $12.89 for an entire month.

That’s $12.89 as in 12 dollars and 89 cents. This from someone who, before things went terribly bad, categorized a $1,000 check to his mother as “chump change.”

The numbers are cold, but they have to warm the heart of any animal lover sickened by what once went on at Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels. To many, seeing Vick stripped of the material things he and his fellow millionaire athletes like to enjoy is almost as good as watching him go to prison in the first place.

Best of all, the dogs who survived the terror of Vick’s dogfighting ring are having the last laugh.

They’re the stars of a recent National Geographic Channel television special. They live in comfort in a Utah ranch, thanks to $928,000 Vick agreed to contribute to finance their care.

And now they have their own wine.

Yes, there’s Meryl, looking anything but ferocious on a bottle of Syrah. And there’s Lewis, peeking out from the front of another Vicktory Dog bottle.

Maybe Vick can pick up a $40 bottle when he gets out of prison next July, assuming things go as planned. If he’s careful about not spending his prison earnings in the commissary, he could be paroled with enough to buy a couple of them.

He shouldn’t drink too much, though. Because he’s still got some football to play.

Buried in the hundreds of pages of paper detailing Vick’s financial woes the other day in federal bankruptcy court was the declaration that not only does Vick expect to be reinstated in the NFL upon his release but also believes he will “be able to earn a substantial living” playing quarterback once again.

Good luck with that.

Just what team he believes will employ him to do so wasn’t mentioned, but the Falcons are surely out. They severed their ties with the quarterback they once were sure would lead them to a Super Bowl and are now being led by a quarterback who has been so good in his rookie season that he just might.

Vick is supposed to be released July 20, so he could be out just in time for the opening of preseason camps. But how many teams are so desperate for a quarterback that they would risk the ire of PETA-types and other animal activists to sign an ex-con who admitted to doing some heinous things?

The other question is how much would they risk for a quarterback who has a career passing rating of 75.7, fumbles the ball once every 10 times he carries it, and hasn’t played a down in two years. Quarterbacks who could run were once the rage in the NFL, but most teams today look for the traditional pocket passer.

If a team did take a chance on Vick, it would likely be for little or no guaranteed money with incentives kicking in only if he produces—something that can never be certain in the NFL, where injuries and age can quickly take their toll. Even then, Vick won’t keep all his salary because under his bankruptcy plan he must pay part of any future earnings to creditors.

Indeed, Vick’s financial mess is as much a cautionary tale to his fellow athletes as his criminal woes are.

He has assets of $16 million but owes creditors $20.3 million. His attorneys had to hire forensic accountants to find out where the money went, $18 million of it over the last two years alone as Vick bounced from one business deal to another and seemed to hire financial advisers he met standing in line at the supermarket.

Flush with bonus money from the Falcons, Vick bought houses by the handful, invested in a rental car franchise in Atlanta and poured money into a liquor store and restaurant. He hired friends, gave away money and cars, and could never say no to his mother, who got $700 for an Easter Egg hunt one year and $317,000 for a new church building the next.

Now he sits in a prison in Kansas after a staggering and quick fall from the top. Once a favorite of fans who couldn’t buy enough of his No. 7 jerseys he’s now vilified and hated by millions who will never forgive the despicable things he and his buddies did to their dogs.

A comeback is still possible, but my guess is that this story will not end well. Upon his release from prison, the odds are Vick will spend more time dodging creditors than defensive linemen.

The dogs are a different story. Those that survived will live in comfort the rest of their lives.

And for that, we should all raise a glass of Lewis red in celebration

These Are Horrible....GTFO

Ato Matsumoto....smh.

Crackest Shoes On The Planet.

Mickey Factz is a MONSTER

More Kanye Material..

Peformance in London

Talks about being lonely

CEO John Rogers Beats Micheal Jordan to 3

An Album Commercial.

Something we havent seen in a while.

Charles Hamilton Interview

James Bond from Undefeated.

James Bond of Undefeated from Arkitip, Inc. on Vimeo.

Random Pics.

He won.
I never match socks.

Im nice with the salad game doggy.
Best biscuits ever eaten.
Nobody at my crib likes to do dishes.
the life. Learning to sew.


I was bored.