Tarik Jeans Taps Volkswagen To Save The Malayan Tapir

Posted by & filed under Fashion.

In A Collaboration Dubbed ‘Modern Nostalgia.’

In a unique event that manages to unite 2 brands from different industries together, Volkswagen Malaysia has partnered up with Tarik Jeans in a bid to raise funds and awareness to the Malayan Tapir, an endangered species by way of an exclusively designed capsule collection named “Modern Nostalgia.”

Key elements from both brands are incorporated, merging the elements of modern Volkswagen models to a medley of local classic and vintage design elements. T-shirts, caps, bandanas, tote bags, key chains, and clothing patches make up the collection.

“A key pillar for Volkswagen is sustainability, and the group is investing heavily in this cause with over 500 sustainability projects worldwide. We are pleased to play our part in this meaningful project, and we will certainly not stop here as we will continue to explore ways to contribute to making a difference,” says Erik Winter, Managing Director of Volkswagen Malaysia.

 

“The Malayan Tapir is an endangered species here, together with the Malayan tigers, Borneo elephants or orangutans. As ‘gardeners of the rainforest’, the tapir plays a crucial role in maintaining the biological diversity of their habitat as they help disperse and fertilize seeds much needed for the reproduction of trees,” he adds.

The Tapir too has been an integral part of Tarik Jean’s design language, as expressed by Afiq Iskandar, the founder and CEO of Tarik Jeans,”The Malayan Tapir has always been part of the Tarik design aesthetics so much so that it was added as the brand’s logo (in addition to the main
logo of the mamak ‘teh tarik’) – both created along the lines of our brand philosophy. In commemorating Tarik’s 10 th year anniversary, we are honoured to partner with an innovative global automotive brand such as Volkswagen. ‘Modern Nostalgia’ as a capsule collection speaks a lot about the archetypal Volkswagen models and Tarik’s penchant for the retro-futurism Malaysian design scheme”.

The “Modern Nostalgia” collection is available to purchase now on Volkswagen’s and Tarik Jeans’ website, as well as Shopee, Zalora, and at all Volkswagen authorised dealers nationwide. 50% of the proceeds go to the Kenaboi Forest Reserve in Negeri Sembilan on World Tapir Day on 27th of April, with hopes that the survival of such a graceful animal will continue on to roam the forests of Malaysia, as deforestation, game hunting, and illegal animal trafficking have decreased their population significantly, with a rough estimate of only 3,000 left in the wild.

 

8 Facts You May Not Know About One Of The Rarest New Balance On Earth | WDHANFTSY

Posted by & filed under Sneakers, TV.

As rare as a unicorn, and as understated as the next pair of New Balance sneakers. The New Balance 1300 JP3 is the pinnacle of New Balance craftsmanship, combining the finest materials and handiwork to make the perfect sneaker. And if Ralph Lauren himself calls it the Rolls-Royce of sneakers, you know you have something good in your hands.

idle/idō Taps ORBITgear To Create A Techwear Inspired Collection

Posted by & filed under Fashion.

Dubbed Osmosis

Written by Ardi

Two of SEA fashion brands, ORBITgear & idle/idō, have come together to create a new capsule collection named “OSMOSIS”. The collection is produced at ORBITgear’s Jakarta studio and focuses on utilitarian wear and functionality.

The windproof jacket has multiple pockets and a detachable hood which gives the piece a very cool and strong vibe and the fabric is durable, it’s great choice if you are riding a motorcycle around town in tropical cities with a lot of rain! It has a great fit for active tasks, not too loose to get in the way and not too fitted to restrict your movements.

The 2-Way pack has a shape similar to an Onigiri & a Noragi which is visually appealing and can be styled and worn for different looks. It has reflective trimming on it which makes it more unique compared to a basic backpack.

The pants have big pockets with multiple components and zip detailing which makes the whole piece edgy yet very wearable.

The boots and gloves give a very powerful look. Combined with a T-shirt within this collection with subtle prints which are printed using the silkscreen method.

You can still get items at ORBITGear’s website now.

 

UNIQLO launches NEO-MIYAGE in celebration of prominent contemporary Japanese Artists

Posted by & filed under Fashion.

Artists include Keiichi Tanaami, Hajime Sorayama, and Yoshirotten

Written by Aqil Nasri

UNIQLO has announced that they will be launching the first of two NEO-MIYAGE UT (UNIQLO T-shirt) collections on the 24th of February. The collection is set to offer a wide array of authentic pop culture and art graphics from around the world that expresses the individuality of their wearers. This collaboration celebrates the work of 13 contemporary Japanese artists whose work is exhibited at the Nanzuka art gallery in Shibuya, Tokyo.

The UTs showcases a unique perspective on Japanese motifs, with one of the highlights being an avant-garde apprentice geisha from pop art icon Keiichi Tanaami. Another highlight is a metallic rendering of Hachiko, designed by Hajime Sorayama.

The first collection out of the two will consist of eight men’s UTs, while the second collection will have six men’s UTs and will be launched this March.

The unit price in Malaysia is set at RM59.90, with all the items being available at UNIQLO’s Fahrenheit 88 store and on uniqlo.com/my.

REVIEW: Richard Jewell

Posted by & filed under Movies.

4/10

Clint Eastwood has a thing for American nationalism, and it’s honestly no surprise considering he’s wet his hands into the murky waters of American politics for as long as before the turn of the decade. American Sniper, Sully: Miracle From The Hudson, were all a far cry from his other directorial like Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, and The Mule, and his latest entry, Richard Jewell falls into former category, which unfortunately is very much unrelatable to a Malaysian audience.

The story sets itself during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, whereby Richard (played by Paul Walter Hauser), who works as a security guard finds a bomb near the control tower of the festival grounds, reports it, and misdirects the explosion enough to avoid injuring the vast majority of attendees at the event.

While initially hailed as a hero, A writer by the name of Kathy Scruggs from the Atlanta Journal (played by Olivia Wilde) proceeds to butcher this image and perpetrates that he was the one who planted the bomb with leaked information from the FBI.

It’s already an incredibly difficult premise to create an interesting enough bait to watch, saved only by stellar performances of his lawyer, Watson Bryant (played by Sam Rockwell), and the regrettable actions of Kathy as she calculated the math herself that Richard could not have possibly placed the bomb then sprinted to make the phone call to inform 911 of his actions. A begrudgingly annoying portrayal that stirs up the anger of the audience means that Paul delivers his character in a very promising manner, though it’s hard not to be pissed at Jewell for constantly screwing up and stacking his case against the FBI investigation when all you want at the end is a cathartic release of the frustration faced by Jewell, his lawyer, and his mother.

And that’s the movie’s only saving grace. After building up the tension, the stress, the inherent frustrations of Bryant towards his client, Kathy’s subsequent realisation, the movie finally ends on a positive note, as the authorities capture the actual perpetrator (by the name of Eric Rudolph) six years after the events that took place.

The movie serves enough as a one time showing as a half-correct biopic if you were too lazy to read, but the devices serve to ramp up the drama and suspense on an otherwise boring, and often frustrating conduct of the law enforcement, but I suppose, that’s the whole point of the movie.

K-Pop Group KARD And ASICS Join Forces To Launch The GEL-1090

Posted by & filed under Sneakers.

The GEL-1090 is making a comeback

Written by Aqil Nasri

After a 15 years absence, the GEL-1090 is back in business. One of ASICS boldest early millennial sneakers, the GEL-1090 is built with its classic 2000s look, technical construction, and clean design. It is a timeless and classic silhouette that’s built to excite and thrill fans. The GEL-1090 was first released back in 2004 originally as a running shoe, and it quickly became fan favourites thanks to its superior comfort, sleek design, and affordability.

However, the distinct sneakers aren’t returning on its own, as ASICS has partnered with Korean co-ed pop group KARD as their new ambassadors.

With its iconic red-to-yellow fading ASICS stripes, the GEL-1090 will be released with three new colours this February, and three more in March.

In-store retail and online promotions will be conducted from February onwards for the GEL-1090, and with every purchase of the sneaker at participating retailers, Fans will stand a chance to see KARD in Manila, Philippines later this year for the GEL-1090 launch party.

Also, ASICS SPORTSTYLE will run a hide-and-seek social media game (Instagram: @find_kard) until the 28th of February. The game is called #FINDKARD, an interactive game that encourages fans to participate by solving puzzles and min-games to locate where KARD is. The winner will get to see KARD at the launch party in Manila, Philippines. There are also other prizes up for grabs, such as ASICS shopping vouchers and GEL-1090 sneakers.

A special limited-edition KARD apparel will also be launched in March as part of the GEL-1090 campaign.

For more info, visit the ASICS GEL-1090 website.

Events Will Soon Be Segregated By Gender According To A Terengganu exco

Posted by & filed under Events.

Picture Credits: Discover KL

In an odd, but not entirely surprising move, Terengganu has made it law whereby women entertainers are not allowed to perform before male audiences once their new gender segregation guidelines are imposed on event organisers.

Ariffin Deraman, the committee chairman of the Terengganu Tourism, Culture, and Information Technology said that the 11-point guideline would be enforced soon after the legal terms are ironed out.

Speaking to The star, Ariffin adds, “We were supposed to impose it in January but had to put it on hold temporarily.”

To this end of segregation, the exposing of aurat is also strictly forbidden. Only children are allowed to participate in “mixed gender” performances on stage. While only now that this news has come to light, the “syariah-compliant” guidelines have been drafted since 2018. Ariffin also denies claims that this will cause adverse effects to the promotion of tourism with Visit Malaysia 2020.

4 Best Smartphones To Get Under RM1000

Posted by & filed under TECHNOLOGY.

Written by Aqil Nasri

Nowadays, a smartphone has become an essential part in anyone’s daily carry ons, but not many can justify, or can afford to massively splurge on one, especially when phone prices now can breach the prices more commonly associated with a high end PC.

So, if you’re itching to buy one that’s solid and reliable without splurging all your hard-earned money, then you’ve come to the right place. Here are some choices to seriously consider.

OPPO A5 2020 (RM799.00)

Okay so while it does say 2020, this smartphone by OPPO was actually released last year. Packing a large 6.5-inch display with 5000 mAh battery, users can expect comfortably long single-sitting use with this phone. Also, while it only has 3GBs of RAM and a 64GB storage, the Snapdragon 665 processor easily allows the phone to stand on its own, as it can easily play games such as PUBG Mobile and COD Mobile without much stuttering or framerate drops. This is essential, especially for those wanting to game on their new smartphones.

Also, don’t sleep on them speakers, as the dual stereo speakers support Dolby Atmos, which is insanely good already.

HONOR 20 Lite (RM799.00)

This was a smartphone released back in May last year, and while it may be reaching its one-year-old stage, the hardware still holds up to this date.

Camera lovers, this one’s for you. Coming in with a 32MP selfie camera and a 24MP triple rear camera, you can expect photos to look sharp and as clear as ever. Even if you’re an amateur, you don’t need to worry much if you’ve got this phone. With a mid-range Kirin 710 chipset, this processor is more than enough for casual gamers or people wanting to game on their phones, especially coupled with the fact that the phone comes with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage (upgradeable to 512GB) which will ensure you that running out of storage is not an option.

Samsung Galaxy A30s (899.00)

The Galaxy A30s is a powerful mid-range smartphone released by Samsung. The 6.4-inch Super AMOLED screen paired with an in-display fingerprint sensor helps ease usability among users. Also, the 16MP selfie camera is high enough that a typical selfie will look as good as you wanted it to look like. Talking about battery life, the Galaxy A30S comes with a 4000mAh battery that supports 15W fast charging, so you don’t need to be leaving your phone all day for a full charge. Not forgetting the advanced Octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage that the phone delivers, essentially allowing for a smooth and efficient performance all across the board. If that’s still not enough, you can add more with a microSD card slots that support up to 512GB of storage.

Realme 5 Pro (RM999.00)

While still being the new kid on the block in terms of smartphone brands, realme has been bringing in the big guns ever since making their mark on the scene. The realme 5 Pro, while not being as powerful as the realme X2 Pro, which was touted as the “flagship killer”, it still packs a lot of punch.

With 8GBs of Ram and having the Snapdragon 712 AIE processor, this thing is a beast for its price range. 16MP front camera and 48MP AI Quad back camera allows ultra-clear pictures to be taken, with extra abilities such as super clear nightscapes view, wide-angle lens, and ultra-macro lens. Also, with a 4035mAh battery size, you can expect long usage before needing to charge again and again.

With this phone, you can expect a sturdy and reliable smartphone that can handle most, if not all, the tasks that you need from it.

4 Bong Joon-Ho Directed Movies You Should Watch Besides Parasite

Posted by & filed under Movies.

Check out some of the other brilliant movies directed by the Oscar-winning director

Written by Aqil Nasri

By now, you might have heard about a not-so-little movie called Parasite, which, to put it bluntly, has smashed people’s expectations about it. The movie has won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes Award, and recently, it won four Oscars over at the 92nd Academy Awards, swooping the award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Original Screenplay. To top it all off, director Bong Joon-ho became only the second person behind Walt Disney to scoop four awards in a single night. Talk about overkilling it at the awards.

Bong Joon-ho has transcended into a certified international directorial superstar with Parasite, with people from every corner of the world finally giving him his rightful recognition.

But, did you know that he has other brilliantly directed movies as well? Ones that have already cemented his place a top-notch director. These movies were all well received and garnered wide recognition when they first released, mind you, but to everyone who’s new to Bong’s work, seeing these four movies directed by him might increase your respect for him.

Note that some of these movies might require you to read, ahem, subtitles if you don’t speak Korean.

Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)

Bong Joon-ho’s directorial debut came as a dark comedy-drama film, in which its original Korean title is a satirical take on A Dog of Flanders, a European pet story that’s popular in parts of East Asia. Although the film’s title might take some nods of inspiration from others, the film in itself is entirely originally written by Bong Joon-ho.

The main protagonist is an unemployed academic (Lee Sung-Jae) who becomes fixated in silencing a barking dog that keeps on barking at his apartment complex. Meanwhile, Bae Doona, who also acts in one of Bong’s other movies, such as The Host, becomes the person trying to save the animals. Fans can clearly see the same thematic tales that Bong Joon-ho has applied to his current projects, such as poking fun at the elite and exposing the circle of unlawful actions that public officials do when people aren’t looking.

Memories of Murder (2003)

Probably one of my favourite movies directed by Bong Joon-ho, this is an absolute thrill from start to finish. Based on a spine-chillingly true story of Korea’s first serial murders in history in which the murder cases still have not been solved by officials to this day, the crime drama shares spiritual similarities to the 2007 movie Zodiac, directed by David Fincher.

Memories of Murder is a story about the search for a serial killer, and as time goes on, it seems to focus more on the mental states of the men in charge as the investigation goes on longer then they thought and on how they’re supposed to cope with dwindling resources. The detective pair – starring Bong’s swansong actor Song Kang-ho as Detective Park and Kim Sang-Kyung as Detective Seo, seems to be from opposite worlds at the start but manages to become really close by the end of the movie.

The gruesome tragedy that happens in the film begins as a story of a crime and slowly evolves into a tragedy that envelopes both the murderer’s victims and the detectives searching for the killer themselves.

The Host (2006)

Considered as Bong Joon-ho’s breakout movie and the highest-grossing film in South Korea in 2006, this monster movie by him is anything like your typical monster movie. The movie was inspired by an incident that happened in the city in the year 2000 when US Forces civilian employee Albert McFarland had ordered 70 litres of formaldehyde to be dumped in the Han River. The movie puts on a slight twist to the incident by having an enormous sea monster spew out of the wastage that was thrown out into the river.

A scary yet funny movie, the film also raises issues about Korean society, corruption, as well as being a political commentary on the relationship that South Korea has with the United States. In fact, this is one of the first movies to be considered as Anti-American in South Korea.

Mother (2009)

This suspense thriller is considered to be one of Bong’s most personal films, and I would say one of his best as well. Starring Kim Hye-Ja as Mother, who is known for playing mother figures in South Korea for quite a while before her appearance in this film.

Playing a single mother living with her mentally challenged 27-year-old son, she manages to eke out a living by selling herbal medicine and becoming an unlicensed acupuncturist for the womenfolk of the town. After her son was accused of killing a local high school girl, she would do anything to prove his innocence, taking drastic measures in the name of justice.

This movie plays less on humour than Bong’s usual outing, instead, focusing on the bond between mother and son, and how sometimes the truth may be blurred based on the love that you have for that person. The ending of this film is spectacular, one that would leave you wondering for days on end. Give it watch and I’d guarantee that you would hop straight on Reddit in search of more explanation and clues.

adidas Introduces Its Fastest Running Shoe Ever, The Adizero Pro

Posted by & filed under Sneakers.

Written by Aqil Nasri

Continuing on the legendary adizero franchise that has held ten years of worth of world record between 2008 and 2018, the new adizero Pro is a breakthrough in technology for the company. The new running shoe has been specifically tested and designed to allow runners to break their personal best, including the marathon world record holder Mary Keitany holding trial tests for it.

Engineers and designers from Adidas have partnered up with Japanese master shoe creator and 20-year Adidas collaborator Mr. Omori. His ‘inside out’ approach to shoe crafting allows the shape and the complex curves of the shoe to be perfected thoroughly.

The adizero Pro features certain new technologies and innovation, including a multidirectional Carbitex carbon plate that helps provide flexibility at touchdown and a snappy toe-off for maximum propulsion. New and improved Lightstrike and Boost midsole help provide super-light cushioning while having temperature-independent comfort and maximum energy return in all climates.

Plus, the single-layer Celarmesh is Adidas’ thinnest mesh yet, helping lock down the foot for a fast feeling with no distractions. Finally, the Quickstrike DSP provides flexibility and durability on road and on track while and the Continental Rubber transition provides a superior grip in all weather and ground conditions.

The new adidas adizero Pro is set to be priced at RM850, with the new shoe being available online at adidas.com.my and select retailers at Sunway Pyramid, KLCC, Pavilion, and Gardens in mid-April 2020.