DTLR - The Lifestyle

Behind The Design with June Sanders - New Balance 'Fast Lane'

2019-08-19T00:00:00-04:00

Interview with DTLR Sneaker Designer, June Sanders, on His Vision Behind the New Balance Fast Lane

What has your experience been working with New Balance?

My experience working with New Balance over the past several years has been nothing short of amazing. NB is a lifestyle brand that grasps the various stages, feelings, and needs of both passive and active participants of shoe culture. It is this aspect of NB that generates the most buy-in and connectivity for me. As a brand, they are always listening to the pulse of consumers and trusting designers like myself to pitch our concepts for not just the fashion of today but set the pace for the next wave of trends.

How was the 990V5 ‘Fast Lane’ created?

Simply, it was inspired by fun and family. The 990V5 ‘Fast Lane’ is the physical embodiment of a good time. The vibe of bowling is fun, competitive, silly, wholesome, high-stakes – it’s all around inclusive. Whether young or old, novice or professional, strangers or old friends, bowling brings you together. Nothing feels more at home than a bowling alley and my goal was to bring together these nostalgic opposites in a contemporary way. I gave the bowling shoe an elevated design of contrast colors and details so everyone can have a pair of the pastimes distinguishable shoe in their everyday life.

What are the most important things to you when designing a sneaker?

Before I physically start designing a shoe, I take time to think about the concept and develop a story to support that concept. I like to think of fashion as a silent film that needs to convey a message just by seeing it. This step takes the most time because there are so many avenues to choose and explore. The other component that I keep at the top of the list of design elements is the colorway. Colors create emotions and give the imaginary shoe on paper a life of its own where you can see it on someone’s foot with their favorite outfit and favorite people.

When it comes to a sneaker design idea, would you rather remix an older NB silhouette or jump in the fast lane and concept a new NB shoe? And why?

This is a really good question to ask a designer. I could really go either way with the answer to this. I would love to get my hands on my personal favorite NB silhouette, 992 to remix and put my own touches on. However, for the sake of challenging myself, my final answer is I would create a new concept shoe from scratch and see where my concepts, colors choices, and imagination takes me.

Behind the Lens | Photographer and Creative Nick Girlando

2018-08-03T00:00:00-04:00

New York's Finest

This week VILLA sat down with one of our favorite photographer's in the game right now, Nick Girlando. Not only is he an amazing creative, but he owns his own sales agency and has a pretty crazy sneaker collection. Nick is no stranger to the creative world, but his knowledge and professionalism of photography is pretty fresh to most standards. It's nice to see how far he's gotten in such a short amount of time. I guess it's true what they say, "Hard work pays off." Enjoy the quick interview.

Who is Nick Girlando?

Nick Girlando is a tried and true New Yorker. A Sales rep, Photographer, Skateboarder and Sneaker Savant since day 1.

How did you get into the streetwear / sneaker industry?

I got my love for sneakers from my older brother and my mom. He always had to have the newest Jordans or Nikes. And 9 times out of 10, my mom would make sure I had the "little brother" version of that shoe. My obsession with streetwear came from my love of sneakers, skateboarding and going to an inner city Junior High School. If I looked a certain way, no one would mess with me. I was taught my clothes had to match and look a certain way to be worn properly with the sneakers on my feet. Skateboarding often leads the charge in fashion and inspires new trend. That's where I got exposed to the deeper roots of streetwear culture.

In your work, we hardly see a lot of product photography. You shoot more landscape and cityscapes, according to your social feed. Will there be more product and portrait based photography in the future?

Yeah, I never wanted to go too deep into shooting products because I felt like those kind of product shots are for a niche audience. Not everyone can appreciate a shot of a Jordan 1 even though it may be an amazing photo. On the other side, landscape was always my way of freeing myself and where I found the most enjoyment shooting early on. Im leaning more towards shooting more product and people nowadays, though. I always have. I just never posted it. I also have a ton of the product people want to see, but I just have to get out and do it I guess. One things for certain, if it ever feels like work and I'm not enjoying shooting it, I'm most likely going to bail.

What creatives are you currently looking at for inspiration?

It'll always be guys like @13thwitness, @trashhand and @Stephenvanasco. But I've been super into @1st ,@wrongrob, @monris_ & anything by @aimeleondore. These accounts lead the charge for me in terms of inspiration in general and just give a feel I can't find elsewhere.

Top 3 artists in your current playlist.

Migos, Sza, and Dave Matthews Band.... thats right. I said it.

If you could travel to any place in the world to shoot any model or person, where and who would that be? Why?

Damn that's tough. Japan is on my radar, but I've been dying to get to Greece. Something about those colors out there looks so unreal. If I could pick any model, I'd bring @monicaalvarez03. She's 1 of a kind.....

If you could have any sneaker in the world, what would it be and why?

Any sneaker in the world? I'd have to go back to my Nike SB days and get a pair of Flops. Futura is my favorite artist and that's one of the rarest shoes in the world. After that it would be Fukijama Air forces from Entourage with the custom box from the movie, Eminem 4s or Undefeated 4s. Although, I hear those are coming back out again. So if that happens, I won't be needing the OG's.

Follow Nick on Instagram at: @nickgirlando.

Creator of STAPLE Pigeon Shares How He Started His Clothing Brand

2018-06-09T00:00:00-04:00

King Flexxa chops it up with Jeff Staple about how he started his successful clothing line, his inspiration from the NYC pigeon and his hustling ambition.

In 1997, jeffstaple walked into a boutique in New York City wearing a shirt he printed in his silkscreen class at Parsons School of Design. He had no intention of even wanting to start a brand. He walked out of that store with an order of 12 shirts. Staple was officially open for business. What started as a small t-Shirt line handmade by jeffstaple, grew organically and began to gain visibility in NYC. In the process of building this burgeoning brand, Nike asked Staple in 2005 to create a special commemorative sneaker that would represent New York. The Staple Pigeon Dunk SB was conceived and lead to much fanfare upon its release and exposed Staple—as well as sneaker culture—to the masses. It was an honor to talk with a true mogul of the streetwear culture. Staple has some exciting collaborations with PUMA for their 50th Classic Suede. Next year, they have something cooking with the swoosh...(shhh!) You're not going to want to miss this interview. Follow @StaplePigeon.

Shop Staple apparel at dtlrvilla.com now!

Inside the Closet of a Jersey Collector

2018-02-28T00:00:00-05:00

"All fashion is like a revolving door, eventually something that went out is going to come back around." - Bobby

Photographer @gangsta_toast | Senior Editor @youdontknow_jak

Having a great collection, of anything, means obtaining a great passion for something and having extreme care in quality, history and over-all appeal. For our first edition of VILLA Collectors, we caught up with a professional in this department. With an extensive knowledge of sneaker culture and a wardrobe to match, it's no surprise that Bobby would also be a serious collector of sports jerseys. Read the interview below and get to know Bobby and all of his 139 best buddies.

What got you into collecting jerseys/How did it all start?

I’ve always worn jerseys of my favorite teams or players when watching them play. I remember being 9 years old going to a Philadelphia 76ers game wearing a sixers warm over. When the lights went out for them to do the introductions, I took off my warm up to show off my Iverson jersey and sixers shorts like I was about to jump in the game. My parents had no idea I had that stuff on, they were cracking up but I was dead serious. I really got heavy into jerseys back in like 2003 when everyone was wearing throwbacks that were 4 sizes too big in every music video. That was the wave then but once it died, all my jerseys ended up in a box in my parents attic. I found them all in 2012 and pulled them back out and started rocking them again just to switch up my style. Luckily they all still fit because they were way too big when I was a kid.

How many jerseys do you have?

I currently have 139 jerseys from all different sports.

Give us a snippet of what your collection consists of.

My collection is mostly NBA jerseys just because growing up that was the sport I watched the most and got attached to more players but I was have a good mix of football and baseball with just a couple hockey and soccer. My pride and joy will always be my variety of Tracy McGrady jerseys, right now I have about 17 different ones. T Mac is my favorite player of all time so one of my goals is to get every jersey he’s worn, I have every team right now it’s just finding the home or away version. Ken Griffey Jr is my idol so I have a bunch of his as well but baseball jerseys are tougher to find. I just have 2 rules for my collection: I will not buy a player I don’t like and I won’t buy any fakes.

How do you keep your jerseys in good condition?

The key is to get them dry cleaned. Jerseys will get all loose and faded if you wash and dry them normally. It’s tough because some cleaners aren’t used to working with jerseys so just ask them if they’ve done it before prior to dropping them off.

What was the first item you ever collected?

Tough question because just like my sneaker “collection”, I’ve been wearing them my whole life so they’ve kind of just became part of my wardrobe. But if I had to pick one, I’d say the Iverson jersey I got autographed back in 1998. I was wearing it when I met him so he literally signed it on my back, a couple days later I saw my mom pull it out of the laundry and there was no more autograph. She forgot it was signed and washed it right off. But I know I had a Jerry Rice 49ers jersey, a Michael Jordan Bulls jersey and a Taz Space Jam jersey before that (all which I still have).

Do you have any vintage jerseys? If so, what are they?

75% of my jerseys are vintage actually, I love champion jerseys, authentic and screen printed, I even have some Starter and Puma. I guess you can even consider Nikes first go around with NBA jerseys as vintage and that was the era that I really got into it. I try to only buy jerseys from the time that that person was actually wearing it so unless it’s my favorite teams current players or a Mitchell & Ness throwback, it’s gotta be vintage.

What’s the holy grail of jerseys you are hoping to get someday?

One of my bucket list items is to collect one teams jersey from all 4 major sports but I definitely have some in mind that are priority. Just a few at the top of my list are the Wild Wings Mighty Ducks, a Fred McGriff Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and to finish off all of Tracy McGradys extensive list including his Sugarland Skeeters Minor league baseball team.

Is there any sport team jersey you will never collect?

The only team I won’t rock is Villanova since I went to Saint Joseph’s and thats our rival. I hate to see them actually winning recently but yea I will never rock any Nova gear. Other than that, I might not like a team but at some point I liked a player on that team so I’d grab their jersey just for collection purposes.

How have jerseys shaped our culture in terms of style and streetwear? Describe its evolution from on the court to the everyday consumer.

All fashion is like a revolving door, eventually something that went out is going to come back around. Like I mentioned earlier, I bought lot of my jerseys 15 years ago and I can wear them again and people think they’re the coolest things ever. So I really believe it’s my generation bringing back that nostalgic feel of the early 2000s fashion. You can even see it with baggy pants and Air Force 1s being the wave. Nike has also done a great job of showing that you can wear this stuff for fashion, all of their ads show it as streetwear not just on-court functionality, which I love to see. But yea I think jerseys just allow people to feel young again, take them back to the days when life was easier. Sports bring all types of people together so in this day in age, we need something that will place all hate on the back burner.

How does one go about collecting jerseys without having a whole lot of money?

Thrift!!! Not just thrift stores but eBay, Craigslist and yard sales also, jerseys have always been around but some people just don’t wear them anymore especially when they get older and times change. You can always find someone who has a bunch just sitting around and doesn’t really care about them. It’s harder now because thrifting is a movement currently but you can still luck up if you try hard enough. You can check out more of Bobby's style at @bdubbjr.

Unboxed | Episode 5: We Go Behind The Lens With @215shooter

2018-01-29T00:00:00-05:00

Without a doubt, photography is one of the most coveted forms of expression in the fashion industry. And that includes the sneaker culture. So, for this special episode of UNBOXED: In The Field, we went behind the lens of one of Philly's most creative photographers, Jerome Whitfield (@215shooter). The creative 32-year-old has been collecting sneakers since the early 2000s. He then turned his hobby into the ultimate hustle when he decided to become a freelance photographer and creative for sneaker brands we all know and love. "Sneaker photography offers an open creative platform for photographers," Jerome tells us as we follow his nighttime journey of art and style through the streets of Downtown Philadelphia. Here, the budding artist talks more about his love for sneaker culture, photography and his upcoming project, Philly Meet: a photo walk that is shedding light on unknown local photographers. Watch the video above. For more UNBOXED episodes, go to our YouTube channel!

Desus & Mero Rock The DTLR VILLA Air Jordan 9 Boots on Jimmy Fallon

2018-01-11T00:00:00-05:00

The Bodega Boys aka Desus & Mero made another special appearance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon-- this time sporting the highly favored Air Jordan Retro 9 "Beef & Broccoli" Boots.

Along with a guest appearance from Mike D and Ad-Rock from the Beasty Boys, Desus Nice and Kid Mero showed up and showed out with the hilarious personalities and in New York fashion from head to toe. The comedic duo are the stars of the hit Viceland Show "Desus & Mero" and host their own Podcast called "The Bodega Boys." This wasn't their first appearance with Jimmy Fallon. In fact, the pair have a long history on his show as well as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Myers and MTV's Joking Off. Desus & Mero have become famous sneakerheads in the media, so we were beyond thrilled when our exclusive AJ9 Boot design made a cameo last night. Take a look at the clip below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXB2nkCKg0E

Meet Creative Ambassador for the New Balance 247 'The Collective' : Ron English

2017-10-18T00:00:00-04:00

We connected with contemporary artist Ron English to serve as a creative ambassador to influence the launch of The New Balance 247 “The Collective.” Ron English is one of the most prolific artists of our time. Coined with the term POPaganda, his work is described as a mash-up of high and low cultural touchstones and has been seen in museums, movies, television and all around the streets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sov810iXBDM&t=1s

Rapper Nas Talks His New Clothing Brand HSTRY in This Exclusive Interview

2017-03-30T00:00:00-04:00

The legendary rapper, record producer, actor and entrepreneur Nas has a new clothing line, HSTRY. You can also hear the exclusive Nas interview on our SoundCloud page.

Celebrating the past and present culmination of knowledge, hip hop icon Nasir Jones understands that HSTRY is written everyday. DTLR VILLA is proud tp showcase the clothing line. Inspired by personal experience, knowledge, the aspirational 'from the gutter to greatness' message, the Hstry clothing collections feature long and short sleeve t-shirts, hoodies and more. “...I’ll take what I can get and that’s all I need to go to new heights." - Nas. he Hstry clothing brand is quickly turning heads as it celebrates the colorful culture, and collective excellence from the past, present, and future of the hustle.

Jahlil Beats | Timberland Brogue Boot 'Sundown'

2016-12-22T00:00:00-05:00

When it comes to fashion and music, Jahlil Beats definitely knows the strong bond both elements play in today’s culture. That’s why VILLA is taking another step towards strengthening that relationship by collaborating with the Timberland brand and featuring, yet another, talented hip-hop artist. Jahlil Beats is no stranger to the game of hip hop. His passion started at the age of 12, escaping him from the everyday pressures of his community in Chester, PA. Over the years, he was able to master his craft and impact his look through his love for streetwear. From his artistry to his choice of attire, Jahlil has a keen eye for design and is a phenomenal influence of what it means to stay fresh in the game. The ‘Sundown Brogue 6” Premium Boot’ was perfectly designed by Timberland to resemble the night time sky after hours and affirms the appeal that Jahlil looks for and rocks every day. So, rock the Sundown Brogue Boot and take a little bit of sunset with you. We sat down with Jahlil Beats to talk about his influence in style and music: VILLA: Can you describe how your style of production is connected to your personal fashion style. Jahlil Beats: I'm from the streets, so that's plays a huge influence on my music and style. I'm also a huge fan of street wear brands. V: What do you like most about the VILLA Exclusive Sundown Timberland Brogue Boot? JB: The thing I love the most about them is the wing tip design. It’s a crazy idea with a fresh design. Def a must cop! V: You work with a lot of artists in the music industry that have their own personal sense of fashion. How important do you think fashion is to an artist’s career? JB: It's pretty much mandatory. Hip hop culture was mainly built off of fashion. If you want to be a part of this culture, you should stay fresh. Especially nowadays, most of these artists are getting by mainly because of their swagger. V: Can you give us a little background of your relationship with VILLA? JB: VILLA has always supported me and believed in my vision. I’m very happy and grateful for the partnership we have. VILLA has been rocking with me for years! V: What can we look forward to in 2017 from Jahlil Beats? JB: A ton of hits! Plus, my label Tandem Music Group is breaking new talent!