Many people, and we mean many, because we are Malaysians after all, have a tendency to NOT come early to events, festivals, even WEDDINGS! For some reason which we do not know, it is just the way it is. But take our advice on this one, it would be better to come early. Due to the road being a narrow one in front of the venue, finding proper parking would be difficult, so the later you come, the further you park. Secondly, first dips on the good stuff is a very good reason to come early too.
2. Bring CASH
There won’t be ATM Machines nearby and there won’t credit card machines. Cash will be king on the event day.
3. TALK
Coming to this kind of events, you are bound to meet a lot of people, so it is vital to chat and make friends and be the friendly Malaysians that we are. Also it is good to chat with the vendors and ask them about their own products, high chance that each product has a pretty good story behind it, if not, a good process on how they made it.
4. DRESS right
The organizers are expecting around 30,000 people or more a day to show up at the event, and it is an open air event. It is definitely going to be really hot with a chance of rain, so dress light and probably lug an umbrella along just in case. Also, to the ladies who are planning on wearing heels to the event, we definitely don’t mind you looking nice and fine, but it will definitely be a challenge to walk around the event grounds in them heels.
5. SPREAD the word
Ever heard of the term “The More The Merrier”? And also the term “Support Your Local Scene”? Well, this IS the local scene. Tell your friends, family, pets and your grandparents about the event and bring them along. Just a small action of bringing a friend who is totally clueless about our local scene can go a long way in improving the Eco-system of the scene. Also, when at the event, feel free to be a social media junkie. Fun “selfies” of yourselves at the event is very much encouraged to let all your friends who aren’t there know how much fun they are missing.
If all of the above steps are taken, we guarantee you that the ONLY thing that you would go home complaining about would be the hole in your wallet. With that, we leave you guys with a map to the venue just in case any of you are unsure on how to get there.
One of the few Kuantan based brands that has been getting some traction in the local streetwear scene is back with more goodies. This time round it is called the Crissie “33” tee. The inspiration of the release takes after an American football jersey look and feel. Two strips on the sleeves, Crissie wording on the front and the back to signify the team and player name coupled with the number ’33’ to finish of the look.
The t-shirt is printed on Gildan Ultra Cotton t-shirts and is going for RM55 a pop. Get in touch with them through their Facebook to get your hands on a piece.
The much-loved classic silhouette of the MT580 will be getting some remodeling works come October. Infusing it with the “Revlite” technology, the MRT580’s midsole will be fitted with a featherweight chunk of “Revlite” magic at the bottom to make it way more lighter pair of shoe compared to it’s predecessor. The people at New Balance has also done some upgrading to the in-sole which gives the wearer an extra comfort boost even after long walks.
The new technically reworked version will come in 3 colorways, Red, Blue and Grey which will be dropping at selected retailers nationwide today.
Delivery 2 for Mercury. Co‘s Summer 2013 Collection is finally here, and just in time for Tempatan Fest 3.0. The brands latest delivery features t-shirts, raglans, pocket tees, beanies, snapbacks and even a skate duffle bag. In this delivery, we see the brand making good use of the black and gold combination which adds a very nice touch of classy-ness to the collection.
For those looking to get a hold on this delivery, you can find it at Rare Distro or just show up at Tempatan Fest 3.0 on the 5th and 6th of October.
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On the 20th September 2013, Pestle and Mortar invited us to the opening of it’s Bangsar Flagship Store for it’s softlaunch. Friends, laughter, food and drinks, more friends, and of course the main dish for the night, a celebration of an achievement by the people at Pestle & Mortar and also a preview of what to expect from them in the near future. The store also sells a range of Nike and Vans shoes together with some accessories like Daniel Wellington Watches, Aark Collective, Crap Eyewear and many others.
If you’ve not visited the store yet, you should. But before you go, check out some images of the store to get a feel of the place.
Most of you’ll probably went for the event, and some of you are probably slappin’ yourself for not going. After all the dust have settled, and even though it has been a week since the event, many of you are still suffering from post-kicks-on-syndrome, which is caused mostly by a lack of contact with vast amount of sneakers.
MASSES had the pleasure of working together with the fine chaps of Think & Thing Creative Core, as the official online media partners for “Kicks On”. And as the official media partner, we felt that it should be our responsibility to share with you guys the brains behind the event. So for our latest edition of “The Borak-Borak Sessions” we had a chat with the three musketeers of Think & Thing Creative Core and what are some of the challenges faced by them when planning the event, and also share their thoughts on our sneaker culture and where they think it should be heading to.
This article may not be a cure to your post-kicks-on-syndrome, but it should slow down the effects of the syndrome.
For starters, why don’t you guys just introduce yourselves and what each of you do in Think & Thing?
Bee Tong: I am the Art Director for the company, I do most of the designing here. I also do designing jobs on the side like designing album covers for artiste in labels like ManRoom which got an award for the ‘Best Album Cover’ for the ‘Malaysia PWH Music Awards‘ in 2012, some production jobs for movies and also corporate jobs.
William: I am the Creative Director for Think & Thing, and I basically plan out the creative direction of some of the campaigns we are doing, and I occasionally do some designing which I answer to Bee Tong for approval. Basically, sometimes I am Bee Tong’s “Kuli”. LOL! I also am a columnist at Mint Magazine which I have been writing for them for almost 3 years now.
Bee Man: I do the Marketing and Events for the company, in charge of planning the event, the programme flow for the event and all the other mambo-jumbo that comes with it. Basically, I am the biggest “Kuli” here. I am also part of a Chinese rap group called “Manhand“, I organize a monthly Chinese hip-hop event called “Ching It Out” and also co-own a brand called “Baseline” together with these 2 other idiots.
What would be your biggest problem faced and also biggest worry when planning the “Kicks On’ event?
W: I think it would be getting the tenants to participate, because this is the first time such an event is taking place and we are pretty much inexperienced in it, which would mean our connections aren’t that strong either. Because of that it was very hard to gauge how big our scene was and that’s why we needed outside help from people like Azuwan from KLKIX, you guys from MASSES and also help from Mr. Poh Chye, the owner of Hoops Station to hook us up with certain people.
BT: We were pretty worried about the turn out on the event day. I think that is the biggest worry of most event organizers. And since this the first time such an event of this scale is taking place in Malaysia, it is definitely something to worry about cause it is untested grounds.
B: One of our goals for the event would be to have more participants selling more sneakers than streetwear apparels, which is also another concern of ours. Whether or not we can find enough participants that would make the event a sneaker majority event since it is a sneaker convention.
If lets say you were riding on a jet ski out in the ocean, and you see Michael Jordan and Lebron James both drowning together, your jet ski can only fit one more person which you can help save, who would you pick?
W: I am a huge MJ fan, but in this case I would pick Lebron James. Because if I save him, he can still probably win a few more NBA championships, come up with a few more dope shoes. You can say that Lebron James is sorta like the future of the shoe game and where it would it eventually head to.
BT: I would park my jet ski, and drown with them. Saving just one of them would really break my heart, and meeting both of them at the same place is really a dream come true, so yeah, dying together with them would be a great honor.
B: I cannot live with myself if I let either MJ or Lebron die, so the best thing I would do would be to run away and let them both die together. LOL
From the event, in your opinion, what do you think about the sneaker scene here in Malaysia? and how does an event like “Kicks On” effect the sneaker scene?
BT: There are a lot new sneakers. Not many vintage collectors. We hope that the following “Kicks On” would attract more vintage shoe collectors to participate. Not just to show off their collection, but to also educate the younger generation on something different. Which I think is a crucial part of doing an event like this, which is to educate the younger generation, or someone who has just started out collecting sneakers, that it isn’t just about collecting them, it’s also about the knowledge about it. I think through this event, we have manage to set a trend in this region. If I’m not wrong, besides the Philippines, no other country in South East Asia has done a sneaker convention. So it would be good that we can encourage our neighboring countries to have more sneaker events.
W: It is very surprising to see that our sneaker culture here in Malaysia is a pretty big one. A good kinda surprise. We had 500 plus registrations for the event, but from our crews calculations, they counted more than 1500 people showed up for the event. Right now, we definitely can see that Air Jordans are the biggest trend right now. But through the event we hope that collecting sneakers or being in the sneaker culture is not something that is just trendy, we hope that it cultivates a way of life for the people who attend. Like what Bee Tong mentioned, educating the younger generation and also cultivating a knowledge based culture.
B: From what I can see during the event, our culture is a pretty healthy one. Healthy in the sense that everyone is united and very friendly. Which is a good thing for us Malaysians. Seeing everyone coming together for one sole purpose, which is the love of sneakers, makes all the long hours planning the event, sleepless nights worrying whether it will go smoothly and all the preparation all worth it. Another thing good that I think came out from the event is that it provided another platform for the music scene to flourish. I foresee the event being a major gathering for the hip-hop music scene in the near future. Who knows maybe for Rock music too.
We know all of you are big Jordan fans, so if you guys were to meet Michael Jordan in person, and ask him only one question, what would it be?
BT: How long is your d*ck, nigga? LOL
W: When are you coming to Malaysia?
B: Have you ever read the manga “Slam Dunk”?
What would be your best advice to any budding sneakerhead? or even to the sneaker scene in general?
B: My advice would be to don’t just chase the trend and the hype. Don’t just wear something or a shoe just because Edison Chen wears it, or don’t just dress a certain way just because G-Dragon (or anyone) dresses that way. It’s good to want to be trendy, but at the same time it is also good to immerse yourself with it’s culture, the attitude and to know the roots and background of the culture. Don’t just jump from one trend to another, or chase the hype. Everyone has their own taste and style, so if you like the hip-hop scene you will dress like that, if you like the skateboarding scene you will dress like that, if you like the K-Pop scene you will dress like that. My point is, if you really fall in love a certain culture and scene, you won’t change how you feel about it so fast.
W: Yeah, I think I have to agree with Beeman. For example, if you really like AJs, don’t just buy it because everyone else is buying it. Like something because you really like it. Don’t succumb to peer pressure. Like what he (Beeman) said earlier, know your stuff! For example, simple things like knowing the name of the shoe is very important. Everyone has their own style, so buy shoes that are comfortable with your style. Also another thing is that a price of a shoe doesn’t determine how nice it looks. A cheap shoe doesn’t necessarily means that it is ugly and vice-versa. Also another thing to add, don’t buy fakes. NEVER buy FAKES!
BT: My advice is pretty simple, spread the love and hate less. Don’t hate on other people’s game, because it is their game, not yours. If you like a certain pair of shoe, lets say the Air Max series, study it, be passionate about it, love it, and ignore other people’s bullshit. Oh, and to all the resellers, its okay to resell, just don’t sell at rape prices. Be reasonable. At the end of the day, to both the seller and the buyer, they are just shoes that you are selling or buying. Don’t get too into it and fight over a pair of shoe. That’s just stupid.
Any last words before we wrap it up?
W: I think I speak on behalf of the team when I say that we need more female sneakerheads in the scene. Currently our scene is too much of a sausage fest! We promise that we will try our very best to include more vendors that has GS (Girls Size) in the next “Kicks On” event. So if you are a female and you are reading this, the Malaysian sneaker scene is calling!
Usually whenever the good people at The Swagger Salon release their new collection, regardless whether you hate or love the brand, everyone usually looks forward to their lookbooks. Simply because it looks like a photoshoot done for FHM Magazine. Sizzling hot and saucy. Unfortunately, they will not be releasing any lookbook to accompany their new Q4 collection, because they think that lookbooks are getting too “common and overrated”.
So this time round the good people at The Swagger Salon will be changing things up a little. With every purchase of their new Q4 collection, they will be giving you a piece of the Q4 Collection’s lookbook through a piece of Fuji Instax. Luckily for you guys reading this, we got a MASSES exclusive look at the lookbook and we are kind enough to upload it here with the blessing of The Swagger Salon. Oh yeah, and this are just a few pieces out of the hundreds of pictures.
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Fresh off their latest Bangsar store opening, the people at Pestle & Mortar are showing no signs of slowing down. Their Fall 2013 Collection pays homage to a few Malaysian legends while also portraying the fun side of the Malaysian lifestyle. Pestle & Mortar also brought back some popular evergreen designs like the ‘Mechanic’ and ‘Atheletic’ tees while also introducing some new pieces to be added to their cut & sew series.
The Fall 2013 collection is now available at all Pestle & Mortar stores and if you want to check out the full lookbook, head on over to their Facebook page to have a look.
Tomorrow will be the launch of the much anticipated collaboration dubbed the “ILL Collaboration” between the two streetwear giants Stussy and A Bathing Ape. For the release in the Stussy Kuala Lumpur Chapter store they will be splitting the releases into 2 deliveries. For the upcoming delivery it will feature the Cut and Sew section and also the accessories from the collection. Check out the pics below a good look of what to expect.
Delivery 1 of the collection drops tomorrow 28th of Sept. at the Stussy Kuala Lumpur Chapter Store.
With the launch of their latest footwear collection that took place last month, Principle Footwear follows up on that with the release of their lookbook for the collection. Shot by Noor Haizan, the lookbook features skaters Aliff K, Hariz Mansor, Gjoy Azizul, Ahmad Fahmi and Porock Luis, all of whom are friends and family of the brand.
The lookbook also outlines the different distinct looks of the 3 models available which is Alpha, Wise and Class. The collection is already available at the Hellbent Concept Store in Sg. Besi and at selected skate shops nationwide.
