12 Countries. 70 Days.
Designers. Boutiques. Trend-setters.

The 1270 Tour Blog

Mar 01

Hong Kong : Day 43-47

Our arrival in Hong Kong brought us into some of the colder weather conditions than we expected. After being in Europe and Japan, we were really hoping to be able to pop some shorts on from here on out. But unfortunately we are gonna have to wait until we get to Singapore. Our accommodation here in HK would be considered quite typical of the standards here, calling it small would be an understatement. And calling it open would be false. With all of out luggage and North American sized bodies, we barely have enough space to avoid one another. But a roof is still a blessing. We are staying right by the water which is great to run along in the mornings, especially with the ocean air.

We did the usual touristy things, we went to Mong Kok, where Kurt really showed me how to bargain. We got a bunch of little things to bring back. We had a good system going, worked like a charm everytime. We ran into Brian from 8FIVE2, who we were meeting later on for an interview, along with Eric Koston and his crew. Brian is an awesome guy, with a great sense of humor.

If you havent visited Hong, you are going to be amazed by the height of the buildings and the way the city has been built around the topography. Its so lush and green, yet so modern at the same time. Its awesome here, and the cost of living (other than accommodation) is much more affordable. Not to mention the food is dope.

We met up with fellow Canadian Eugene Kan, one of the editors at HYPEBEAST. It was crazy to see a bunch of people our age running a site that literally influences a generation around the world. Super down to earth, and super canadian.

After that interview we rushed over to 8FIVE2 skateshop where we met up with Brian and a few suprise guests. We had the opportunity to chat with Stefan Janoski, Omar Salazar, and Sean Malto. After that it was off to the new indoor skate park to watch them ride and check out a game of SKATE. Great night, and great vibes with the people in HK. Thanks to Eugene and Brian for a short but fun trip to HK. See you on the flipside. Tomorrow, Singapore.

                 

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Feb 25

Lets get personal.

 

Well this week has been many things, and a cluster-fuck would be the simplest (although crudest) way of describing Tokyo. Day by day it seems as though the city forces you to plummet deeper into the subcultural chasm it runs on its own. Its hard to believe how small of a fraction in which the world really chooses to dress and style themselves in. And the exclusion created through the need to be an individual. Tokyo has shown us a level of respect, openness, individuality, and drive like no other city we have ever seen before. I am still finding myself daydreaming and staring at neutral spaces whenever I can just so that thoughts and images can be registered and categorized within my mind. A valuable lesson taught, and an invaluable lesson learned.

For all the people who have taken the time to speak to us during our stay here, many thanks. We are off to Hong Kong in about 10 hours, with almost double the luggage we started with. Sayonara & Arigato.

- Mayan

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Feb 23

Home-Town reppin’.

My boy Shallay Bhatia and his crew have been working with Canada Basketball and have put together a few video projects. Take a look at what Canada’s future is looking like.

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Feb 23

Tokyo : Day 40

        

So getting around Tokyo is much MUCH more challenging than we anticipated. But as much as we can read maps like the back of our hands now, the streets here are quite difficult to pinpoint, especially if you’re trying to find a store. This was the case as we roamed around Jinnan-Shibuya trying to find VENOM, the home store for contemporary brand DIET BUTCHER SLIM SKIN. Most people recognize the brand for their distinct high top sneaker, but they have been doing really intricate designs with an underlying punk influence for almost 14 years now. The language barrier was a bit higher with this interview but brand director, Masaki-san and founder and head designer,Tami-san, were so pleasant and kind. Super cool interview, store, and concept. We had a chance to see some of the older campaigns which really looked into the ideas of time and notions of aging. We even got to see one of the life size dolls of Tami-san which was used from an campaign in SS 2011. They also loved out GHSTS  tour tees, and popped em on right away (only up from here Joey Keefer).

 

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Feb 22

Tokyo : Day 39

                       

We had the pleasure to meet and interview Verbal and Yoon. Internationally known for their music, style, and design. Listening to them explain Japanese street culture and style gave us incredible insight into what we have been seeing on the streets of Harajuku and Shibuya day to day. They also gave us a tour of their office, recording studio, and creative space at Ambush Design.They were incredibly gracious and kind, also big shout out to Luke for his help as well!

On our back to the apartment we met some very kind and humorous women you a) convinced Kurt to buy a hand made wooden pendant using their ‘American accent’ and b) told Kurt he was exactly their type. Hilarious.

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Feb 22

Tokyo : Day 38

                 

Arriving in Asia was such a breath of fresh air.  First of all we got a chance to be back in the sun after being in gloomy eEurope. We loved being in Europe but after 38 days of traveling, being farther East was such a great change in scenery. After a long flight, we arrived in the Narita airport in Tokyo, Japan. The city in one word is, inspiring. the people, the fashion, the food, the technology…everything is so vibrant and exciting. Spent most of the day wandering the streets of Shibuya and the next day around Harajuku. We have an awesome apartment in Shimouma which is also an awesome area of the city with lots of creative types similar to Williamsburg. Tomorrow is our interview with Verbal and Yoon at their office in Shibuya, getting very stoked for our week in Tokyo!

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Feb 22

Last night in Paris

     

We invited Kurt’s good friend Kate (who happened to be in Paris) Ben, and our friend Antoine from WGSN over for some drinks on our last night in Paris. Drinks turned into a night out, which may not have been our most responsible decision since we had to leave for the airport at 8:30 am. But our flight to Moscow was smooth, we pretty much slept the entire way through. We had a nice little treat during our layover too as we had some burgers and quesadillas. We have a nice 9 hour flight ahead of us. Bring on the inflight beverages.

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Feb 18

Paris : Day 37

               

Our last day here in Paris, and memorable nonetheless. Started our day early as we had to pull off our final interview, and see the city. We headed over to Le Louvre where we met Camille and Victoire for lunch. I must admit when the French do something, they make sure they do it with style, class, and a real kick. We were lucy enough to have lunch at Le Cafe Marly at Le Palais du Louvre, which overlooks/surrounds/encompasses the Louvre. We had two amazing views in front and behind our table; one overlooking the beautiful exterior of the Louvre, and the other looking into the museum itself. Thanks so much to Victore, Guillaume, and Camille for helping make our last day so fun. We then headed off to PIGALLE to meet Stephane.

Pigalle is definitely a store that still runs with the streetwear mentality. One side you have Rick Owens, and the other side carries Stussy, its all about what  one likes. The interview was good as per usual. Ran into Michal from Bread and Butter Berlin again, i think shes following us… But we had a blast at the shop. A little taste of Angel Dust and the Cat Daddy. Big shout out to Stephane, Gaoussou, and our homeboy Young Nasti. Thank you Paris.

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Feb 18

Paris : Day 36

   

Our first full day in Paris was spent roaming the beautiful open garden area Palais-Royal and then high fashion street Rue Saint-Honoré. The gardens were beautiful with incredible sculptures and fountains. In one area we could see the Eiffel Tower, the Triumphal arch, and (almost) the Louvre. Got some great street shots and city scenes. Afterwards we checked out the famous Parisian one-stop-shop Colette for some dope merchandise mixture of fashion/art/toys/electronics. If you go to Paris, it’s a must-see. Came back to the apartment for a home cooked meal before heading out on town to meet up with good friend Antoine and some lovely girls from Sweden.

Mayan:Kurt spoke about Sweden like he worked for their tourism department.

 

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Feb 17

Some dutch love…

Patta just blogged about the tour. Check it out here: http://www.patta.nl/index.php/category/blog/

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