Tag Archives: America

portland maine wolf cove inn

6 Stateside Vacation Destinations to Explore this Summer

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Thinking about traveling abroad for summer again? This time don’t follow your favorite (or least favorite) influencer on their vacation, but consider something a bit more patriotic and certainly no less interesting. Here we list some of the most beautiful cities, beaches, and mountains in the US where you can set off on a holiday as fulfilling as you can imagine. 
 
Cover image courtesy of Wolf Cove Inn.

 

portland maine

 

Portland, Maine

If you are in the mood for some New England charm get on over to Portland Maine. With cobblestoned streets filled with shopping and restaurants, this town has the cutest feel and the best clam chowder in the country. The town is known for its walkability around nature. Whether it’s a beach stroll or lighthouse search you can easily peruse around this homey town. Portland is also known for its intense civic engagement, so if you find yourself in a coffee shop you can probably turn to the person next to you and chat about our current political climate. 

 

albuquerque new mexico

 

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Home to cute cafes and breweries, whatever your drink preference on vision Albuquerque has you covered. Just by walking around downtown you will find a plethora of art galleries and quaint stores. The best part is if you visit in fall there is a hot-air balloon festival (pictured above) that should truly be treated like the 8th wonder of the world. You can watch in awe as 500 hot air balloons float across the sky. 

 

apostle islands wisconsin
Apostle Islands, Wisconsin

Now Wisconsin might not sound like the escape you were looking for, but traveling to the apostle islands feels like you have just entered another country. The islands are a combination of 21 strips of lands laid out on Lake Superior. With beautiful beaches, lighthouses, and shipwrecks to explore you will surely have your hands full.

 

burlington vermont

 

Burlington, Vermont
If cave exploration isn’t your thing and you prefer something more chill don’t hesitate to come to Burlington. You can stroll the streets checking out shops, local artists’ work, great restaurants, and the harbor. Or if you’re looking to burn some calories, you can go boating and try your hand in water sports on Lake Champlain.

 

boulder colorado

 

Boulder, Colorado

Another college town has entered the chat. Now, of course, there are still great restaurants and shopping, as it is a college town and that’s what college kids thrive on (food and clothes). However, Boulder is more for the adventurous type. Filled with beautiful mountains and other scenery this place is great for rock climbing, hiking, etc. Oh, and bonus, it was named the happiest city in the world in 2017!

 

 

northern lights

 

Anchorage, Alaska

Get ready for a vacation like no other if you go to Anchorage Alaska. First off, it’s cold, so that could either be refreshing to your sweaty summer body or a shock. Either way, a fun time is guaranteed. Some activities must include whale watching, a coastal trail bike ride, flightseeing, glacier hikes, and dog sledding, yes dog sledding. Of course, above all else, you can see the Northern Lights, you heard me, check that off your bucket list. 

kerby

Freedom & Future: Interview with Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss

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kerby
Portrait by Marshall Roach, editorial by Cameron McNee.
Editorial styled by Paul Frederick.

Pyer Moss was established in 2013 and gained industry acclaim for its heavily political Spring/Summer 2016 show, during which a compilation video highlighting police brutality and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement set the tone for the fashion presentation. Yet even though it’s been around for half a decade, Pyer Moss is, symbolically, brand new. “I actually bought my company back from my partners; I felt like it was a very unproductive partnership,” says Kerby Jean-Raymond, creative director and founder of the New York-based label.

So how does one start anew? Burn it to the ground, then build it back up—not just figuratively. In a series of three vignettes, Jean- Raymond did just that—enlisting the help of rappers Kari Faux, Vic Mensa, and graphic designer Eddie Opara, who, respectively, burned Pyer Moss’ old signature T-shirts, saged the office, tore apart voided contracts, and debuted a logo redesign. “It was all an attempt to lead up into showing what we are about now, which is very different in my opinion than where we were a year or two ago.”

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The new Pyer Moss arguably made its official land with its Fall/ Winter 2018 show, titled “American, Also.” The modern-Western collection included unisex garments, a live choir performance that included a medley of Black power anthems from soul singer and poet Gil Scott-Heron to Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar, and the launch of the designer’s new collaboration with Reebok. The presentation was compelling on impact, laden with a backstory of true empowerment; inspired by the oft-forgotten Black cowboys like Bill Pickett, the creator of “bulldogging”—now known as the rodeo. “When you think about the cowboy or when it’s being explained in context, you think about a white person who looks like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood,” says Jean-Raymond, “But you never think about the actual real labor hands that the phrase ‘cowboy’ was created for.”

Indeed, the term “cowboy” has a derogatory etymology, buried away underneath its heavily whitened Americanization and turned into an emblem of exclusion. “Me and my friends were out one night… and this guy was wearing this full American flag tracksuit, and… we all felt super intimidated. We crossed the street and in the car we had a conversation on the ride back home about how we don’t feel American even though we were all born here,” Jean-Raymond explains. “I wanted to essentially take the power back and flip it, and rewrite the narrative in a way that lets people know what our contributions to that subculture [are].”

Part of Pyer Moss’ purpose, (and of Jean-Raymond as an artist in general), is to re-contextualize history in order to create a modern culture. It’s no wonder that two seminal labels of the ’80s and ’90s, Cross Colours and Reebok, have enlisted him as the collaborator to bring a new and fresh spirit into their brands. The fact that his first sneaker for Reebok sold out in five minutes after dropping online and in select retailers is a clear indicator of his charge in contemporary culture. But even with an opportunity to access more resources and larger distribution, Jean-Raymond’s main intention is to educate and inspire conversations about sociopolitical issues. The shoe in question, the DMX Fusion 1 Experiment, might be a cool piece and the next sneaker to top cop charts, but it has unlikely inspiration: aid airdrop containers. “We were looking at how food and other aid is delivered to countries like the Congo, and how they airdrop them from these helicopters from like 10,000 feet above, and all of the straps that are around them.”

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It’s the intention behind everything he works on that has made the New York native a sought-after artist, putting precise and thoughtful care not only behind what he is creating, but where it will end up. Past projects have seen him take on mental health and corporate greed (both for past Pyer Moss collections), as well as climate change with a project for the Museum of Modern Art, and LGBTQ youth homelessness with the Ali Forney Center (an upcoming collaborative collection will drop exclusively through Ssense). And while this may seem like the new normal—part of the “wokeness” wave of the past few years—Jean-Raymond has been doing it since 2013, long before it was widely accepted, let alone cool. So what has that journey been like?

“We definitely were ostracized and ridiculed [at first], but I think what I wanted is happening—for more people to take a stand and more people to get involved. I don’t know for sure that it’s been done in the most tasteful way for a lot of brands; I feel like a lot of people are doing it and they’re getting rich off of it, and that… doesn’t sit well with me.” This distinction is essential when talking about his projects—it’s not about putting out messages for marketing, fame, or likes, it’s about bringing up uncomfortable topics such as equal pay and #MeToo (both of which he mentions) to find resolutions and bring about change. It’s clear why pocketable activism bothers him so much. “I don’t know how much of it is altruistic, how many of these companies are actually taking their resources as they’re making money off of this thing, and then reinvesting it back into their communities. It can get very perverse.”

With such a prolific and high-thinking career, it’s hard to imagine Jean-Raymond taking some time off. “I’m working on that,” he laughs. But there’s a long road ahead for the creator; these divisive times making it evident that people like him are necessary to create a fair, free, and sustainable future. One of the aforementioned vignettes is paired with audio from a Nina Simone interview, during which she says freedom is just a feeling. “You know it when it happens,” she carries on to say. To Jean-Raymond, happiness is also feeling that echoes the legendary Simone’s words; “Freedom,” he says. “Freedom and no angst.”

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Weiss

Watch Weiss Watch Company’s New, Made in America Short Film

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Video: Weiss Watch.

As the only watchmaker in the United States that designs, engineers, and manufactures its own cases and dials, while also finishing each movement by hand, LA-based Weiss Watch Company has slowly started to restore prestige to American watchmaking. “Our field watch stands apart because it was truly built to be worn every day and to last,” says the master watchmaker and founder Cameron Weiss in a new short film (above) where he shares the design processes behind his beautiful timepieces. A modern representation of American ingenuity and integrity, Weiss Watch Company launched only just last fall at Barneys and other major retailers, but its pieces have continuously sold out since, while the brand itself continues to push the boundaries of timepiece design.

BWTN

Bernard Willhelm Spring/Summer 2015 Lookbook

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25-by-Josh-Paul-ThomasImage: Bernard Willhelm.

As per usual, art-skewing fashion designer Bernard Willhelm‘s latest collection is anything but usual clothes. His just-released lookbook for Spring/Summer 2015 (below) reveals slightly revealing but mostly subversive garments that tackle cultural tangents ranging from the over-branding of American patriotism, the ever-increasing stardom of supermodels, society’s constant desire for the “next” (à la the former hit MTV show from the late ’00s of the same name… but also pointing fingers at the severity of our consumeristic culture), and—last but not least—gorillas. Duh. It’s an eclectic assortment of super dyed swimwear, gender-crossing attire, and dazzling prints—not to mention the designer’s ever popular quirky footwear—that keeps us anything but not interested.

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Images: Bernard Willhelm.

AmericaCollection1stLaunch

Root for Team USA with Ball and Buck’s New America Collection

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AmericaCollection1stLaunch

Image: Ball and Buck.

It’s a big week for America. For starters, this great nation turns the big 2-3-8 this Friday, Independence Day — that’s a Betty White (92) + a Ralph Lauren (74) + a Tom Cruise (51) + a Miley Cyrus (21)! But first up, today—as if nationalist spirits couldn’t get any brighter—is the highly anticipated USA VS. Belgium match at the FIFA World Cup. And while Americans cannot change what some might call less than favorable odds (Belgium has given up only one goal so far in Brazil), they can control their pride for USMNT thanks to Ball and Buck‘s newest capsule collection, appropriately dubbed: The America Collection.

“The World Cup is an incredible time of pride for all countries who participate, says Mark Bollman, President and Founder of the lifestyle brand. “With the America Collection, we’ve made a series of Stars and Stripes infused products that allow you to show off your patriotism with quality clothing that is, for once, actually made right here in America. Go team USA!”

From shirts to belts and totes to lighters, Ball and Buck has taken your summer essentials and Americanized them.

America-Hunters-Shirt

Image: Ball and Buck.

America-Zippo

Image: Ball and Buck.

BOWTIE

Image: Ball and Buck.

Check out the entire collection, available now online.