REVERIE Clothing has punk rock in their veins– case in point: their partnership with musicians, promoters, and venues that allows them to work with others to satiate the apparent love affair between music and fashion; not to mention their website’s temporary front page is a link to the Smartpunk Warped Tour voting initiative (the point of which is to let the fans decide who takes the stage this summer). Identity aside, REVERIE has some great t-shirts. Take these for example: from left to right, the Rock Hair T (pick a look and go with it), the Mike Walker T (father and son robotic mics), and the Mixtape T (high school nostalgia). With high thread count fabric, fresh designs, and pleasing pools of color, REVERIE (despite its name) has gained my attention.

Launching an accessory line in an already saturated market must be a fairly daunting experience– but the guys over at COTO seem to be doing it the right way: a small, functional collection made from sustainable, reclaimed organic sources. A collaboration between an ex-Burton Snowboards marketer and an investment-banker-turned artist, COTO is an exquisite array of ties, hats, suspenders, and tote bags made from organic cotton and hemp blends, trimmed with vegetable dyed leathers and fallen rack antlers. As classic as it is is stylish, COTO promises to an elegant balance between preppy and sporty. Their site isn’t quite live yet (the line won’t be available till the fall), but we have included an exclusive sneak peek after the jump.

This summer, the guys will also present the Green Rover Project, a gallery exhibition and documentary in New York and Los Angeles, about their travels in a vegetable oil-powered vintage Land Rover Series II. Obviously, they’ve heard being environmentally responsible is in style these days.
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I’ve been wanting to try out one of these digital photo frames for a while now– partly because I hate to see the photos I take get shoved into the archives of my hard drive, never to be seen again; and partly because I like the idea of having an ever-rotating place to display photos. I’ve been counseled by many that these frames just aren’t that special given the price you pay for them. After trying out this 9 inch Philips frame, I’d have to mostly agree. The frame itself looks great, with a silver, brushed metal exterior, the display quality impressed me, and it’s packed with features like a photo management system, custom slideshow abilities, and photo editing tools. But I just have a hard time understanding who has the time or energy to use an ancillary gadget like this to it’s fullest potential. It seems as though these should be made for one purpose only: to display as cleanly and efficiently as many of your photos as possible. And in that area, I have some trouble with the fact that this frame only has enough internal memory for about 110-150 photos (although you can access way more through several different types of memory card slots), and that although it has a rechargeable battery, it will only last about an hour before you have to plug it back in via its cumbersome eye sore of a power cord. Don’t get me wrong– I think it would make a great gift for the right photo-loving person, but just make sure you have $200 to spend and that the giftee is someone with a clever place to put it so that the power cord doesn’t annoy the hell of out of them. It comes with a wall hanging kit– but to make it look good on the wall you’d have to feed the cord through a hole in your drywall. It will be nice when these frames employ some super efficient battery technology, but in the meantime, this will have to do.

Kelly D. Williams hails from a small town in the mountains, but it’s safe to say he’s cut his artistic teeth at this point with the help of some widely-drawn inspiration. At the core, Kelly gets his drive from skateboarding, music, and his Teton Mountain upbringing, and is well-loved for his trademark text (random sayings or individual words that somehow make perfect sense), a feathery design style, frustrated lines, burdened faces, and his feted signature. KD W has been featured in magazines all over the world, and his designs have popped up on skateboard decks, snowboards, and album covers. I especially like the piece above– according to Kelly, “it’s best viewed left to right whilst listening to RJD2’s 1976. No, really, try it.” He has a ton of stuff available for sale, and will actually be auctioning off some of his original artwork for charity on ebay on May 6th– proceeds go to Design for Humanity.

Those of us used to navigating the concrete jungle in our cities know we’ve gotta be equipped with the right carry-all to get us through an entire day- sometimes, a backpack just isn’t going to cut it when you’ve got a ton of portables to keep separated and readily accessible. Sao Paulo-based Matramba, which I discovered at a fair for underground and alternative clothes and accessories, puts fashion as high as form, function and quality in the designs of their waist and shoulder packs (and in one case, one pack that you wear on your leg). Inspired by the pouches carried by comic book superheroes and cowboys of the Wild West, Matramba’s packs vary in style (two sides, one side, all-around), material (neoprene, cotton), and number and kind of pockets — meaning you can find one to fit your needs. My problem is that I can’t decide which one I want, ’cause they’re all useful. Most of the packs with more creative prints, like German newsprint and zebra stripes, are sold out. Currently you can only find their products in Europe and Brazil, but try writing to them to see if they deliver internationally.

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Feel like playing a bit of a prank this afternoon? Spin New Media created this interactive viral video for Lee Jeans Australia that allows you to upload an image of anyone – a friend, your boss, your mother – and after entering their little “secret” generates a YouTube-esque video diary. Come Clean then sends out an email, forward-style, to the people who you feel deserve to know the truth. Available in versions for both guys and girls (my friend Kate’s immediate response was, “Woah, that dude is HOT,”) it’s sure to freak out anyone with a moderately guilty conscience.

On May 11th, it’s going to be hopping at the FD Lofts in Detroit for Launch Volume 1: The Rise of the Creative Class. The Sarahs behind Motor City Sewing are bringing in a slew of regional designers like Wrath Arcane, Lara Miller, Juma, and Michel Delon to accompany them for their Spring 2007 Wound menswear launch. This group of fashionistas is leading the way toward the emergence of an exciting and viable fashion scene in the Midwest– there is a lot of creative potential in the region, and it’s just a matter of bringing together positive energy and bright minds– that’s what this event aims to do. There will be copious amounts of music, drink, and food (from 20 of Detroit’s ‘essential’ restaurants to be exact), and the ticket proceeds are going to the Children’s Hospital. You can buy tickets beforehand here, or if you want to risk it day of, they’ll also be available at the door for $25. A full flyer for the shindig awaits, after the jump…

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Cubadust is the portfolio of insanely talented Swedish freelance graphic designer Jonas Strandberg-Ringh. It was recently updated with some of his incredible work in both motion and print for the likes of MTV Europe, Discovery Channel, Unicef, Nike and many more. Cubadust was also the host of the “Versus Project“– a unique online event where 40 different designers came together and made magic on a 30,000 pixel wide canvas, all together and at once. When you’re not admiring Jonas’ portfolio, check out the images from the Versus Project, it’s quite inspiring.

My pals at Artefacture are at it again– and the summer lineup of shirts is nothing less than perfection. My favorite is definitely the ‘Creative Juggernaut‘ t-shirt, it looks great alongside the now cult classics ‘I will pay for good design‘ and ‘Design will save the world‘ designs.