Artrocker’s Fly53 Blog #1 - by Marc

Welcome to Artrocker’s debut blog for Fly53, our partners in crime for a third year running as we marry together the worlds of fashion and music.

However, it’s been a bit more of a sporting theme in these parts this last week as I took myself off to LA after the early British summer left almost as quickly as it came. I found myself pitch side at the LA Galaxy with just a strip of grass separating me from the footballing legend, David Beckham – check out the number 23 just over my left shoulder. The Galaxy lost but the Irish Goal Machine (although not whilst he was playing for West Ham, I’m sad to say!) Robbie Keane bagged a goal and it was a very different experience from going to Upton Park on a wet and windy Tuesday night.

And my sporting week continued with a trip to the LA Clippers vs LA Lakers at the Staples Center. Games don’t come much bigger than this in LA, but Arsenal vs Tottenham it was not, as we were treated to a Cirque du Soleil half-time performance, countless competitions, and cheerleading displays, plus images of Billy Crystal sitting courtside beamed onto the big screen every 10 minutes – the Clippers don’t have quite the same amount of celebrity fans as the Lakers! I did see some music though as LA natives The Airborne Toxic Event took to the centre court to perform the national anthem – why don’t you get Chas & Dave doing ‘God Save the Queen’ before kick-off at White Hart Lane?

Coincidentally, I got myself into the LA spirit even before jetting off as the new Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes album landed in the Artrocker office just last week. With its low-fi, West Coast merry tunes it would make even the greyest skies shine. We shall all be wearing flowers in our hair by the end of the summer if Alex Ebert and his motley crew of musical vagabonds have their way… although I’m told the more chilled out ‘Here’ will be quickly followed by a more rocking album. I can’t wait.

Its Coachella time and there’s lots of bands playing intimate LA shows over the next week so I hope to catch The Horrors, Kasabian and Arctic Monkeys by the time I talk to you next.

I’m off for some tacos now before returning to fish ‘n’ chip suppers next week.

Produced using more than 5500 toy soldiers. The portrait is of a Chinese soldier boy taken by photographer Robert Capa. The image was used on the front cover of LIFE magazine, January 1938 to cover the Sino Japanese War. The toy soldiers are manufactured in China, hence the title “Made in China”.

FLY53 WANT YOU TO JOIN THE RESISTANCE AND SCORE YOUR STYLE ON A BLANK CANVAS ON THE 1ST OF MAY IN HULL.

We are…

Born in 1994 as a limited series T-Shirt collection, FLY53 quickly developed into one of the first UK brands creating intelligent street wear. FLY53’s strong and honest music heritage is still at the forefront of their influences and everyday involvement. Based in rural England and fiercely independent, FLY53 is now one of the premier street wear brands in the UK. FLY53’s philosophy is to create striking and intelligent clothing that is
well designed; they are the ‘Outfitters For The Resistance’.

Want in?…

Having just opened a new menswear concession in Hull, House of Fraser, Fly53 want to take their message out to the street. What better way to do this than through a live window installation? We want one lucky winner to score their style on a blank canvas in the main store window on Saturday the 1st of May 2010. You will have 2 hours to create your work as on-lookers watch.

“FLY53 IN HULL” is to be the title of the piece…You have till the 26th April 2010 to send over your proposed design.

The FLY53 design team will select their favorite and this lucky winner will take to the stage in Hull’s House Of Fraser window and work LIVE for all to see! We’ll even kit you out with a new outfit for the show!

Whilst you create your masterpiece we will be inviting people to come in and enter a draw to win your finished piece of work! We will announce the winner at the end of the day!

5 lucky runners up will receive a FLY53 Street Uniform worth £150 each, not too shabby either!

Send your entries to Matt.Wurmli@fly53.com no later than 6pm on the 26th April 2010.

The winner will be notified on the 29th April 2010. You will need to be in Hull for 10.30am on the morning of the event. The event will last 2 hours from 11.30am – 1.30pm. The finished piece of artwork will be used for as a prize by FLY53. If the winner is not available for the timings required they will forfeit their prize and FLY53 will choose a new winner. There is no cash alternative. FLY53 will feature all of the entries on our Facebook Page after the event on the 1st May.

Im sure most of us as younglings all had a lego set. Wether it was an Aztec Adventure World, Pirate Kingdom or the plain old blocks…those multicoloured blocks of joy were a factor for all children pre Nintendo DS. I doubt however that your still playing with those blocks, no matter how retro you have become. Its lucky for us then that some people are…because over time, American artist Nathan Sawayahas built,(since the years 2000) a series of gigantic sculptures in Lego starting from tens of thousands of parts. True works of art in small bricks standards designed for museums or the pleasure. These are simply amazing…the amount of time put into to create something so simple but amazing, from Lego is epic….the more you look at the more impressive these works of art become. Check out the full selection at Fubiz

With the constant chance of showers over the next few months (don’t let the sunshine fool you..it’s only Feb!) why not look at some of our lightweight jackets, shower proof but not sweat inducing just incase that pesky sun does put his hat on..