Nylon Guys – Yellow. Blue… Denim

Yohhh,

Cassette Blue denim and Yellow denim featured in Nylon Guys Spring ’08 issue.

 

nylon

nylon

nylon

Pacific Coast Highway

Took the bike out today.. and went on a Sunday cruise..(it seemed like motorbike city..)
Stopped by the class trade show, and then headed up pch for a little pre-sunset ride.

pch

duc

 

Laker Love

  • Posted on: February 29th, 2008
  • Posted in: Updates

Go Lakers!! Laker Fever..

Can you really test? Look at this line up. Ohhh dam, look out sun.

Lakers

Too many sports center highlight moments in this game..

Lakers spanked the heat..

LakersLakers

California Poppies

One of the beautiful wonders of California. The California Poppy fields.

A couple of photos I took a few years back cold chill’n, try’n to get balanced in the poppy fields.

poppy fields

poppy fields

Simone Pace

  • Posted on: February 26th, 2008
  • Posted in: Updates

Our homie Brendt from B.F.F. sent this cool story/short on our buddy Simone from Blonde Redhead.

From Cool Hunting. “This video joins Simone Pace, best known as one-third of Blonde Redhead, on one of his vintage Italian motorcycles, from an East Village garage, across the Brooklyn bridge, to the band’s recording studio. Simone shares some of the design elements that make him a fan of Motoguzzis, offers some insight on Blonde Redhead’s music and tells the story of the first time he played drums.”

Fresh Pow

Heard it was going to be dumping this weekend, so we made a quick run up to Mammoth. The drive up to Mammoth is sooo beautiful. You pass by so many of the wonders of California, Death Valley, The Salt Flats, Red rock, The High Sierra’s, California Poppy Fields, Black Lava Rocks, Mono Lake, Convict Lake and soo many more gems..

Mammoth

Red Rock

MammothMammoth
1,2)Snowed all night..

MammothMammoth

1,2) We set the binding back the night before ready for fresh tracks on every run…

Mammoth

Coming down the hill. Vista Point

Oliver Peoples

In preparation to shooting our campaign it was proving difficult to find a similar eyewear to cassette’s aesthetic with no visible branding.  The only company that came to mind was cult eyewear company Oliver Peoples.  Oliver Peoples has been a favorite brand of ours and for many celebrities for as long as I can remember.  In the eyewear world huge logos are common place, but for Oliver Peoples branding is kept to the inside; just the way we like it..  Special thanks to the folks at Oliver Peoples for completing our look and for being a pleasure to work with.

OP

Spring ’08

 

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House of Cassette S/S 2008

A Study of Movement in Quiet Space.

For Spring/Summer 2008, House of Cassette continues from its past Fall/Winter 07

narrative of seclusion in winter’s bosom, to the open embrace of a winter thawed.
When can Movement prove to be both Fierce and Beautiful? It is within these constructs

that Cassette embarks on a path of uncharted land, a gradual awakening to the grand

frontier.

Whereas past collections of Cassette have carried an underlying monochromatic scheme,

S/S 08 heralds a new chapter of subtle movement and color. Colors ranging from

lavender, pink rose, red, and lilac find themselves on tailored woven shirtings, jersey

knits, and light linen coats.

Synonymous to movement, the concept of Fluidity plays a key role in the S/S 08 theme.

The introduction of Modal, a silky luxurious soft fabric of jersey knit, one can appreciate

its application from the various fashion top offerings in its women capsule collection. For

men, Cassette continues to revisit classic military attire, refining core design elements

utilizing heavyweight fleece in their coats, finished with a characteristic storm tail cut.
Attention to the tiniest of details: Trims using British fabric to Riri zippers, built for

industry grade; Articulated darting for an exact fit, putting function and tailoring as its

prerogative; House of Cassette intends to outfit travelers in this grand journey of self-

discovery. This great want to explore, traversing the unknown, rejoicing in its

solitude…it is these such intimate moments in which House of Cassette not only

recognizes, but wills to celebrate.

***

spring

spring

Spring ‘08

Spring ‘08

Bazaar

Our dude Rickey hit us off with this clipping. He’s in Harper’s Bazaar Korea… Good Look Rickey.

Bazar

Bazar

1) Pictured Right. Rickey is rock’n our cassette tie dye sweater for the photoshoot.

Tow Truck

  • Posted on: February 20th, 2008
  • Posted in: Updates

Y’all hear about all the tow trucks lining up after the Laker game last night? Shit, there was a mad blowout Staples Center last night.. Haller.

.

I rolled up to the Laker game with one of the nicest ladies around Mrs June; a power house in the denim industry. We met up with Heather from Lucky and Heather’s girl friend. We had a blast.. High fives all around..

.

Pau Gasol played his first home game. Pau Gasol coming from Barcelona, Spain stands a smooth 7feet. Pau got it all, fast on the floor, great range (sinking it from past the free throw with ease) and has handles.

During the intro Pau gotta a little more love than Kobe. Shit was crazy.

Half time: 73-37

Final: 122-93 with Kobe and Gasol and most of the first string sitting out for most of the 4th…

Lakers

 

Lakers

Magic/Project

A lot of people have a love/hate relationship for Las Vegas. At times I really like it, but the whole Magic/Project show experience can be a drag. Or is it that no one likes to work while in Vegas, maybe that’s it..
Nightlife during Magic is always crazy…. So, many places to go.. and so little time to do it all..

LV

1) View from Moon, on top of the palms.. This place is prob one of the most illest clubs around!! The roof opens up right above the dance floor and you literally dance next to the stars.

LVLV

1,2) Look out for Crystal Castle.. She killed it (on stage at Moon).

LVLV

1,2) Random Homie shots around the show.

LVLV

1,2) Gifting Day Spa hosted by Trane and Lisa.

*Special thanks to Trane and Lisa for all the hosting this weekend, you guys are killing it. Dinner was really nice, and the company was ill shout-outs to Haze, Hawaii, Stash, Rich-cr8, Aly, Rickey, Josh-cr8, comwelthcrew, crooks, hellz, and all the kids that were there…Yo, the gift bag was a keeper..

*Special thanks to Marcella at Kangol, Dinner and view at Nove was amazing!

Grammys

Went to Mark Ronson pre-grammy party at the Roosevelt. Saw a bunch of homies, my man Cory straight kick’n it/ work’n with Santogold.

grammysgrammys

Takashi Murakami

  • Posted on: February 11th, 2008
  • Posted in: Art, Updates

The Murakami show is literally around the corner from our studio.. I have been meaning to go since it opened.. When we heard that they were having a closing show, had to roll up to check it out..

TM

Studied Streetwear

Studied Streetwear

By Erin Barajas

L.A. designer Peter James Lee blends high design with street credibility
to create Cassette, streetwear for the connoisseur.

In a studio on a gritty Los Angeles side street Peter James Lee plays an
unassuming fashion underdog. But, with his young designer streetwear
brand, Cassette, hanging alongside Yoji Yamamoto and Yves Saint Laurent in
top tier stores like Harvey Nichols in London, Barney’s New York, Fred
Segal and Villains Vault, Lee is a part of an elite crew hoisting L.A.
street fashion from the pavement to the global fashion stage.
With designer fashion invading city streets, streetwear has to step up.
“It has to feel real and be well-designed” Lee says. Street sartorialists,
like record junkies and sneaker fiends before them, want luxury,
exclusivity and style something Lee is perfectly poised to give them.
As Puma’s lifestyle designer, Lee traveled six months of the year and
admittedly went anywhere a “connecting flight and an excuse” could take

him. Years of jet setting between London, Hong Kong, Berlin, Tokyo and New
York fed Lee’s global perspective and design aesthetic. “There’s a lot
going on out there and one of the key things I learned is to just sit and
look at people around you. It sounds boring, but you learn so much just
watching people walk on by,” he mentioned. Later, as creative director for
Hudson Jeans, Lee learned the ins-and-outs of premium denim, a cornerstone
for streetwear.
Now, as the head of his own brand, Lee looks to vintage garments from the
’20s for construction cues and mines his own lifestyle and that of his
peers for design inspiration. “Cassette’s approach is analog, not digital.
Our focus is on craftsmanship, design and construction. Where other brands
spend hours and hours on T-shirt graphics and embellishment, we put in
hours and hours on fit, seams, rivets, pockets, all the tiny details that
add depth and value. We don’t have a graphic element at all,” he said.
It’s a cerebral approach to detail and design, “So, on the surface

Cassette looks really sparse, but look closer and you will see that so
much work goes into even the most simple piece.” And, like an
old-fashioned tailor or a high-end atelier, Cassette offers custom-made
pieces, including skinny wool suits and pitch-perfect bespoke jeans.
For Fall, Cassette offers guys super clean handmade denim sewn on vintage
machines, skinny jackets made of imported waxed cotton, wool fisherman
sweaters and quilted boiled wool jackets. Girls, often overlooked in the
testosterone-heavy streetwear market, get felted wool capes with moldable
hoods, short knit sweater dresses, fitted wool pea coats and subtly sexy
jeans. For more fashion-forward types, Lee designed a skinny leg
jodhpur-style jean with a super-long rise and a slouchy crotch and ass.
The look, for both sexes, is a little ninja, a little skater and very
quirky. “It’s not for everyone, but it is so comfortable,” he said.
So far, the reaction from editors, retailers and shoppers has been great.
“All the countless hours working through the night is all worth it when we
hear that people are liking and responding to what we’re doing. We’re a

small team and everyone is making a big sacrifice to be here because we
believe in the brand and what it can be,” Lee said. Without a big
marketing budget or public relations gurus outfitting celebrities in free
goodies, Cassette is growing by word of mouth and on the backs of

tastemakers.

Looking at the future of designer streetwear, Lee sees only opportunity
for Cassette. ‘We’re bridging the gap. We are a designer fashion brand
that is appreciated on the fashion connoisseur level and real enough for
the street cool guy to appreciate,” he said.

Erin Barajas is California Apparel News’ manufacturing editor.

 

Keys Please

While I was on the plane back to L.A. I saw a photo Alicia Keys rock’n red cassette’s up in the inflight mag (I was bugg’n).

“Like you’ll never see me again.” WHAT!/? Come on; Alicia Keys straight kills me with all her joints. You can guess “No More” is Every High School’s love anthem. The list/hits go on…. and on..
And. ummm how FLY does she look in dem red cassette jeans, sheeitt.
Haller at your boy.
Mrs. Keys, we’re big fans!!.

….

Peep the vid of her performing “No One” on Carson Daly wearing red cassettes.

She always kills it.

Keys

Red Cassette’s

Keys

Red Cassettes

 

BlackBerry

My Dude; John is for sure a brotha from anotha mutha.. John is staring in a Blackberry vid (click the pic of him). John and Jiae run Theme magazine. They are one of the keenest and sharpest couples around.. . They are always bringing the illest content from the coolest people making shit happen.. It’s great to see the light turned around and giving them/him some shine.. Props to Blackberry for the acknowledging Theme mag.

 

John Lee

BTW.. John is wearing Tee by E.Haze, Jeans by Cassette, Shoes by Clae.
curve

1) Thanks John.

Asian Sartorialist

Our dude Rickey recently came back from Korea. We caught up for a bit yesterday and he’s been telling me about his push for this year. He’s ready and focused…. Rickey’s on a mission.

He’s been telling me about this boyhood from Korea. Some people have called him the Asian Sartorialis. Rickey was out hanging with him and he posted him on his blog..(pic from yourboyhood’s blog)

Rickey in Ktown

Top jacket: Dior Homme by Hedi Slimane
Jacket: Undercover by Jun Takahashi
Shirt: Dengue Fever
Jeans: House of Cassette
Shoes: Comme des Garçons

Miss America

A few months ago we got a call from the Miss America producers asking us to take part in their last episode, which was going to be the red carpet episode. They wanted to revamp the Miss America image and make it a little more relevant to today’s television market. They asked us if we would like to outfit 9 of the states. They said they wanted to choose 6 leading designers from L.A. (We’ve been flattered before and it usually doesn’t work with us…) Our first reaction was… humm have you seen our clothes? They confirmed and said yeah we’ve already checked your website and they thought it would be a really great fit… Soo, I was like oh.. o.k.. (Pause..) I kinda told her what we were about, and gave a brief description of our customer and they were totally cool with it.. They wanted to revamp the Miss America show with different looks other than the old ball gown image.
I might have come off like a snob.. trying not to work with them.. only because were not the Miss America type of clothing brand.

After thinking about it.. we thought at the end of the day we thought it would fun.. A few days later we headed up to the film site and the whole experience was really cool. Everyone was soo nice to us… Catering to us our every need. They put us with the underdog team.. Soo funny.. We’ll I am really glad one of our girls made it to the top three. Gwan New Mexico, Go underdogs….

Question: Would we do it again? Yessir..

Miss America

Miss AmericaMiss AmericaMiss AmericaMiss America

All girls rock’n cassette.

Hey Baby

Cassette’s in Bow Wow & Omarion’s ‘Hey Baby’ vid.

Hey BabyHey Baby

1) White Highwaist Cassette shorts. 2) Omarion is rock’n our Cassette Red denim.

 

Harajuku Girls

Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Girls rock’n our jeans. Looks like all the photos were taken in our hood.

harajuku girlsharajuku girls

1) Yellow Cassette’s 2) Cassette High Waist Cement Wash .

harajuku girlsharajuku girls

1,2) Turquoise Cassette’s

1776

Old London

1) Building on the left used to be an old wheat mill. The mill once used the water flowing through the canal to power grinder. Built in 1776 (Old as the U.S.).

Travel a little further east past Bromley by Bow and construction is underway for Olympic games.

Old LondonOld London
1) Historic building. Paul’s neighbor they share the island together. 2) Apparently the oldest laid brick in the whole of England. Notice the perpendicular laid bricks for the carriage wheels.

Old LondonOld London

1,2) On me way back home, helping myself to a drink at United’s Red Carpet club (open bar).

The Shoreditch House

My last night in town; had a late meeting with a really nice director cat Giles and his assistant Kate over at the Shoreditch house. We met just a few hours before he leaves to South America for a month to shoot a new commercial. The Shoreditch house is a members only multi floor estate, that happens to have a pool on top floor(yes in London).. The building is equipped with a huge bar, pool table and video games that’s loaded up with credits, a dining area with views of an open kitchen and a back dining area for more private conversations, and a wonderful view of London.

1) Met up with Fats the man around town.. He gave me a cool insiders look into the different stores in London. 2) Stopped by the maharishi store and got a chance to meet Hardy the man behind maharishi, P.T. gave the intro.. (mode 2 painting..)

Been staying the night over at Paul and Angela’s over in the east end.. Paul had Monday off so he was able to really show me around the city.. On Tuesday spent most of the day working in the Puma office.

1) Paul’s desk in the Puma design studio. 2) Puma’s entertainment office. Thanks Lisa.

DNR

DNR

DNR

Cassette Sweater and Cassette Denim

W1

Westmin

WestminWestmin1) Walked down the famed Savile Row, and walked by some of the old famed tailor studios. Sadly it wasn’t all that I had thought it was gonna be. One major reason for the let down was right at the start of Savile row was the biggest Abercrombie I had ever seen. They turned a once beautiful building into a retail day club.. (beefed up topless guys selling you clothes.) Paul noticed that even with the door closed and the streets empty you could still smell the Abercrombie cologne from the side walk.. (That shit was funny.)

WestminWestmin

1) Westminster, one of the illest underground stops, you can just smell the money…

WestminWestmin

EastEnd

My first night stay was on Old Street in the Eastend.. What seams like L.E.S. of nyc.. Eastend is a little more diverse. You can find the NewRave kids, Rudeboys and Coolguys, all hanging around the way from each other.. A side note you know your in a good place if they have Kabab/Fish ‘n chip’s shops on every corner, for the after drink soak up..

EastEndEastEnd

1,2) Jaguar Shoes

EastEndEastEnd

London Sunset

This weekend in London was gorgeous. Was out all day and night. Check out amazing sunset on the river Thames.

London Sunset

London SunsetLondon Sunset

1) Millennium Bridge 2) St. Paul’s Church

Bricklane

Enjoyed a stroll around the Sunday market and around Bricklane, in London’s Eastend. Bricklane on Sunday is wild, you’ll find loads of vintage shops and people hawk’n anything and everything they can.. Apparently this stems from an old ‘by law’ that states you can sell stolen goods between certain hours on Sunday. Ever since.. people just bring all kinds of shit on Sunday and lay’n it out for sale..

BrickLaneBrickLane

1) Actually found that cassette sticker that we posted a while ago. 2) Ill record shop, soo many goodies could cause a person to spend all their money..

BrickLaneBrickLane

1) Rude boys at mendoza’s. 2) Ska ska ska…1

BrickLaneBrickLane

1) These guys were kill’n it and by the looks of it they might have been still hung over from last night. Haller. Voice’s was raspy, and the tunes were funky.

EL-Oh, EL-Oh.

  • Posted on: January 27th, 2008
  • Posted in: Art, Updates

Arrived in London this morning. And shortly after I checked into the hotel long time buddy Paul Taylor came to pick me up to show me around. Haven’t been back here in a while. We walked around the East end. Headed over to Tower bridge and then walked over to the Tate Modern.

London

Tower Bridge

LondonLondon

1) Space Invader 2) Insa

LondonLondon

1,2) Tate Modern

LondonLondon

1,2) Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth 2007

LondonLondon

1,2) Mark Rothko

LondonLondon

1) Sol LeWitt 2) Dan Flavin

LondonLondon

1)Douglas Gordon 2) Joseph Beuys

The 4 Friends Show

Just accross the street from the Sartorialist show was the 4 Friends show– Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Donald Baechler, and Kenny Scharf.

4 Friends4 Friends4 Friends4 Friends4 Friends4 Friends4 Friends4 Friends4 Friends4 Friends

The Sartorialist

The Sartorialist had his opening for his photos this week.
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