Futurstate has released a whole slew of new pieces including the amazing Garrison styled Gaze-Cap. This military inspired hat is a perfect accessory for the male or female fashionista who wants to add a militant touch to an outfit. Check out Futurstate’s blog at futurstate.blogspot.com for their newest editorials featuring the Gaze-Cap and other new designs.
Diesel’s Black Gold fall 2011 collection shown at NY fashion week, was nice and dark and gritty. Layers, leather, textures, and laced-up. There are some hints at a steampunk aesthetic here. But I’d rather see it as vagabond troubled artist strolling the streets of a dirty crumbling city or militaristic survivalist cowboy making it in a post-apocalyptic scared world. At first I wasn’t sure on all the lacing, but once I saw the asymmetrical laced-up leather vest I was sold. I’m loving the color pallet of black, navy, slate blue, brown, mauve, olive, and ivory. Maybe it’s because I just rewatched the Matrix after a few years, but I had forgotten the nice styling details in that movie, and this collection is right in tune with that (yet nicely updated), right down to the men’s flapping leather trench coat and the women’s tight long black leather ensemble.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you combined Watership Down and Modern Warfare, then animated it in CG? Me neither, but I wish I had. That’s exactly what you get with Cat Shit One, IDA Movie’s new animated series, directed by Kazuya Sasahara and based on Motofumi Kobayashi’s manga, and it is awesome. The name’s sure to throw a few people off (when the manga was released in the states, it was retitled as the sickeningly punny Apocalypse Meow), not only because of its comically profane “engrish”, but also because there aren’t any cats (or shit, for that matter) to speak of in the series. The protagonists are anthropomorphic rabbits (another pun, as the Japanese word for bunny is “usagi”, thus “USA G.I.”) cast as American soldiers in a Blackwater-type merc outfit stationed in the Middle East. The 23-minute short (supposedly the first of many episodes) primarily concerns cowardly Botasky (voiced by Tom Flynn) and all-around badass Sgt. Packy (Will Prescott) staging a rescue op that quickly goes from bad to worse. The animation, while not up to Pixar caliber, is quite impressive for a production of this size. The bunnies and camels (as the Middle Eastern antagonists are somewhat-offensively portrayed) are beautifully rendered as they gun each other down in ever-so-graphic detail. The gritty and realistic violence (throat-slitting, headshots, and grenade explosions are all on display here) makes for an interesting contrast with the ultra-cutesy character designs. The only thing that serves to disappoint is the sub-par English dub cast, although as Japanese Animation dubs go, it could have gone much worse. If you’re an anime fan, gamer, military enthusiast, or just a general lover of bizarre shit, do yourself a favor and check out Cat Shit One, which is available to watch for free on IDA Movie’s YouTube channel until February 19th (it’s also available on DVD and Blu-ray, but I can’t in good conscience recommend shelling out the cash, considering the short runtime).
I guess you get two music videos today! A new video from Lady Gaga just went live and it’s filled with more imagery I love. Perhaps you could argue that Lady Gaga isn’t doing anything artists before her haven’t done, but the fact that she is mainstream, gets played on easy listening/variety radio, and the masses are eating it up with all the controversial material included is a feat in its self. Anything that may sway trends in the direction of aesthetics I enjoy is fine by me!
