Nike x Fragment All Court high: That's more like it

Moving on from yesterday's rant, here is an example of what Fragment Design can do when Hiroshi Fujiwara is left to his own devices. A subtle interpretation of the All Court in that ideal shade of navy and only the merest hint of a Fragment logo.

A bit more like it.

Supreme x Fragment Nike Air Zoom All Court: off target

Am I missing something here or is this one of the worst trainer designs I've ever come across? In fact if you went to a counterfeiter and said "I want a fake pair of Nike x Fragment x Supreme kicks" I can more or less guarantee they would come up with something like this.

No subtlety, no thought, no imagination.

But maybe I am missing something. Maybe they are supposed to look like something that's come out of a stinky little factory in Huangdong Province staffed by five-year-olds. Maybe they even did.

I'm sure these will be difficult to track down, but when you do find some, you're welcome to them.

Via Slamxhype

Stussy x Fragment One World One Heart tee: help save a nation

I've been sitting here watching the tsunami and following events unfold in Japan in awestruck disbelief. How could such a catastrophic series of events happen? And what can we do to help?

It's nice to know I can help, in the only way I really know how - by purchasing a t-shirt. Proceeds from the sales of these tees will go to the Japanese Red Cross Society to directly help with the rescue and relief effort.

It just so happens that the Stussy x Fragment Design One World One Heart tee is actually a very decent looking garment anyway. So you get to wear your support with a bit of panache.

Stussy is taking pre-order sales on its online store. Tees will begin to ship Wednesday, March 23rd 

New arrivals part 2: Fragment Design iPhone case

I'll admit from the off that I really have no idea if this is the real deal, or some snide bit of black plastic from Hong Kong. Because that is where it was shipped from, even though the seller was registered in Sunderland. Not that Sunderland is an outpost of authentic Fragment gear either.

But snide or not, this would appear to be a very decent quality iPhone case, especially compated to that ALKR piece of crap I managed to snap just trying to fit on my iPhone.

It's been protecting my little piece of Apple wonder for a good couple of weeks now and there is remarkably little in the way of scratching and the like.

So either they're knocking out some remarkably resilient fakes these days or I managed to get the real deal at a very reasonable price.

Kangol x Fragment Design Mau Cap: Subtlety rules

 Subtlety is something Hiroshi Fujiwara knows a thing or two about. His Fragment Design label is less about designing clothes than adding his own flash of individuality to those that are already out there.

Sometimes this bit of design is so subtle that you sometimes wonder why he bothered.

Take the latest Kangol Mau cap release. The Fragment touch is there in the form of a little flash next to the kangaroo logo and printed on the interior piping. If you don't look hard you'll miss it. To be honest if you haven't bought one by now you've missed it anyway because only 90 were made worldwide.

But that's exactly what makes Fragment so covetable. Previous Kangol colabs (the Galaxy cap and the Tropical flat cap) haven't featured obvious branding either, and if you're into this stuff you're not the sort of person who wants a logo screaming out from the top of your head anyway.

It's all about the detail, the fabric and the colourways.

As it happens I have a spare one of these available thanks to the fact the M was a little tight for my massive spam. It is the one in the picture above Tried on only.

Look for it on Ebay soon.

Uniform Experiment Alpha MA1: A light touch

It always amazes me how Fujiwara can add the subtlest detail to a garment and all of a sudden it looks marvelous. Sometimes all it takes is that Fragment Design logo, or a splash of colour. Other times it's the monotone nature that makes something striking. A kind of less is more approach.

Take the Alpha MA1 flight jacket. A pretty mundane affair most of the time. Then along he trots and sticks a new panel on the arm and adds some stars and insignia and bingo, you're looking at a different gravy.

This latest Uniform Experiment release is in conjunction with Alpha, which provides a heavy dollop of added authenticity.

Nice.

Via slamxhype

Fragment Design Rolex: How to ruin a perfectly good watch

On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most difficult, I reckon the chances of tracking down one of these customised Fragment Design Rolex Air Kings has to be about 50.

Hiroshi Fujiwara is widely regarded as the man with the midas touch when it comes to Japanese design. This man could print his trademark Fragment Design lightning bolt logo on an empty crisp packet and someone would probably pay a tenner for it.

Fujiwara's touch is subtle to say the least. His philosophy seems to be to take a product, colour it black, white or grey double the price and within seconds of release it will become an instant collector's item. The ludicous thing is that this actually works. Stuff looks good with those lightning bolts on it, and you can't really go wrong with monotone. Even the most recent release, a black Winnie the Pooh toy (yes you read that correctly) is oddly covetable.

The Rolex is a slightly different story. For one thing there is the addition of pink, of all the girly colours to put on a Rolex. If he had stuck to the black powder coating and white details I think this wouldn't look quite like the trashy piece of Taiwanese counterfeitism that it does. But that's being picky. And besides, it's not like you'll ever be able to find one.

Via This is not new