Sunday 30 December 2012

COAL (A Short Film)


A Short film for ACF presents The COAL project in January 2013.

ART COMES FIRST is a collective of self taught artists and creative associates, who believe art should always come first.

Starring Kalaf Angelo, Matteo Gioli, Sam Lambert, Shaka Maidoh, Sebastian Dollinger, Aroun Ducroux, T-Michael, and Filipa Martinsen Rognan.

Written & Directed by Finn-Erik Rognan and T-Michael

Produced by Martin Barth Bergholtz

Tuesday 4 December 2012

ACF Presents The COAL (Teaser)


ACF Presents The COAL Project (Teaser)
Full Video Coming Soon…
Exhibition/Launch in January 2013



Friday 30 November 2012

Monday 12 November 2012

ACF Presents The Coal Project

ACF presents
THE COAL
at Pitti Uomo


Someone once said that great minds think alike, and this is all too evident in the
debut project from ACF, combining talented artists, craftsmen and creatives with the
same vision to create an installation exclusively at the iconic Pitti Uomo in Florence.

Combining the elements of artisanal creative skills with classic tools to create unique
products, the coal project is all about showcasing your creativity through the use of
utilitarian techniques. It is about the ultimate balance of creative thinking and
traditional techniques of manufacture, not mass market commercial products. The
entire project was designed around a raw mineral theme and to reflect this all of the
items involved are in a stark black colour in a variation of materials.

The Coal project is the work of 7 innovators that have come together to create ‘Pack
Essential’ the ultimate basics for any creative that finds themselves living out of a
suitcase across different parts of the world for their work. The main element of this
project was to choose essential items that are needed for the sartorial traveler that
don’t weigh a huge amount and can come in handy no matter what scenario you find
yourself in.

The Pack consists of a Handmade Leather Bag, The Ultimate Black Shirt, An Italian
Handmade Hat, Hand Crafted Glasses from Japan, Fine Cotton Socks, Leather Soled
English Made Shoes and a curated photographic poetry book. All the items come
together to fit into the leather bag for anyone to pick up and go.

Having began conceptual ideas at Pitti Uomo in June and 6 months of development,
ACF, whose values are ‘Sartour, Alchemy & Progression’ will present their project in
January within the Alternative Exhibition area over the 4 day period. On location at
the exhibition are ACF founders and business partners Sam Lambert and Shaka
Maidoh who have worked to curate the installation with artisans from across the
world.

The collaboration partners include Super Duper Hats, Lotho Eyewear, Eton Shirts,
T-Michael and Kalaf Angelo who’s work will be displayed at the installation.
---------------------------


Notes to Editors
For further information, Imagery or interview requests please contact ACF by e-mail in the first
instance at info@artcomesfirst.com 
Visit ACF online at www.artcomesfirst.com or follow on tumblr at www.artcomesfirst.tumblr.com  

Tuesday 6 November 2012

On the Street….The Smarties, Soweto, SA


About a year ago I was talking about my travel wishlist  with my good friend Sam Lambert. I had mentioned visiting Africa and immediately Sam told me I had to meet this group of young men in Soweto that called themselves The Smarties.

Sam was right; these young men love fashion, design their own looks, and even sew the clothes themselves. Their look is a mix of their personal experiences and their dreams.

Kabelo, the young man pictured above, found this suit at a second-hand shop and and had it altered to his exact desires. He is very soft-spoken and sincere, it was quite touching when he told me that Lino is his hero and that he wore his “Italian flag” hat on that specific  day to honor Luca Rubinacci’s birthday.

Continue checking the site for more updates about the Smarteez

By Scott Shuman
of TheSartorialist

Friday 2 November 2012

Passport Life Episode 02: Street Etiquette Gives Advice to Blue


On our second trip to Africa (Equatorial Guinea) we probably had the best time of our lives, the thought alone of traveling the world with your friends and meeting new people is out of this world. Watch this video here where we connected with Blue as far as building his brand/advice, it was his first time traveling outside of the U.S and his first stop was Africa.

Watch the video to see a glimpse of our trip , and Blue’s first time in Africa.

Too much fun lol.

www.streetetiquette.com 

Saturday 27 October 2012

Weekend Mood board of Inspiration 3



Go to http://artcomesfirst.tumblr.com/ for more

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Saturday 6 October 2012

Luminarias



Luminarias is a short visual documentary that mixes powerful images captured during the two day “Luminarias” fiesta in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, with a rich soundtrack comprised of an original UNKLE score, location sounds and a reading of the Rafael Alberti poem “Galope”.
Using grainy 16mm film, Luminarias portrays the drama, confusion and traditions of the event in a painterly way, while the multi-layered collage of sound design and music and text render the drama of the fiesta. The festival takes place every January and involves “cleansing” horses and their riders as they pass through burning pine brush. Horsemen and women of all ages from infants to octogenarians take part in the purification and despite the dramatic, sometimes scary images Haines has captured here, accentuated by slow-motion photography, there is an overwhelming sense of pride, respect and care that the villagers have towards their animals, as one rider said “Luminarias is something from another world, for me a horse is a King, I understand and love horses”.


Director: Tom Haines
Producer: Ilduara Lamas & Tom Haines
Exec Producer: Tamasin Glasson & James Studholme
Original Soundtrack: UNKLE
DOP: Steve Annis
Sound Recordist: Andy Paddon
Editor: Julian Eguiguren
Sound Design: Sven Taits
Colourist: Ben Rogers
Camera Assistant: Alvaro Gonzalez
Runner: Miguel Costa

Thursday 4 October 2012

Thursday 27 September 2012

Art Comes First Styling Project #1


Concept & Styling: Art Comes First
Pictures: Jimmy Hansen

Friday 14 September 2012

Associate Creative Friends: The Brooklyn Circus (Ouigi Theodore)


Founded in 2006 by graphic designer Ouigi Theodore, The Brooklyn Circus is more than just a small clothing store hidden in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. It's a destination for open-minded forward thinkers that understand that style is another form of communication. 

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Associate Creative Friends: Liam Maher


The cult fashion tinkerer behind the Militant Guild of Rural Tailors a collective that delivers traditional tailoring practice and concepts into the present plus, Liam Maher is a designer that puts his philosophy of quality workmanship to practice as Design Director for Denham, Amsterdam. 

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Associate Creative Friends: Olu Michael Odukoya (The Avant/Garde Diaries)


In 2003, on a day off from his nine-to-five as a dispensing optician, Olu Michael Odukoya started a magazine that is as bold, big, and beautiful as the mountain it is named after: Kilimanjaro. Ignoring all the conventional advice about how to make a print magazine, Olu simply followed his own vision. Published bi-annually, he releases his editorial experiments and his view on visual culture on loose poster-sized sheets that are folded and kept in a box. Avant-garde thinking is fundamental to his success. For The Avant/Garde Diaries, Olu introduced us to Artwords bookshop owner Ben Hillwood-Harris.

Learn more about Kilimanjaro Magazine HERE 

Friday 3 August 2012

Louis Vuitton X Mos Def



here stands only a handful of hip-hop emcees who have been able to successful transcend the musical culture and find high fashion relevance. Yasiin Bey is one that immediately comes to mind as a long-standing personality known just as much for his outspoken position in the culture as well as his smooth flowing rhymes. Together with Louis Vuitton‘s “Core Values” campaign, Yasiin Bey pays homage to one of sports’ greatest showman, one Muhammad Ali. Focused around his greatest quotes, Bey takes on the role of story-teller, offering some powerful sound bites over these two videos directed by Stuart McIntyre.


Saturday 12 May 2012

Collect 2012 @Saatchi Gallery, London




COLLECT, an international art fair for contemporary objects, presented by the Crafts Council will be open to the public from Friday 11th to Monday 14th May inclusive. For tickets and opening hours click here

Monday 23 April 2012

Bardot >>>>>> ACF HQ Resident # 7



It has been a long time since we bought something new in the gallery space, so meet 
Bardot. 



Tuesday 27 March 2012

Denham: The Art of the Scissor Issue

It all started with a pair of scissors.

For Denham, but also for garment-making in general. Cutting cleanly through cloth with a knife is a tricky business. The breakthrough invention combining two knives on a pivot changed everything.


For us scissors are a metaphor. The shape of Jason's first scissor inspired the Denham logo. They are an obsession, evidenced by Jason's personal collection as well as that of the label's design director, Liam Maher whose combined collection can be seen within the Denham Garment Library. They are as beautiful as bronze Brancusi sculptures and as dangerous as Mack the Knife. They record a shared history. They come from as far back as the Dark Ages up through the Era of Savile Row making pit-stops in the American Civil War as well as rural tailoring workshops in the Middle and Far East.


They are triggers for the artistic process as demonstrated by art director Ali Kirby's seemingly infinite illustrative variations. Grafted together into hybrids he has joined them with chainsaws, sickles and propellers and deconstructed them to create mechanistic mammoths, preying mantises and bald eagles as a 2nd metaphor that represents the brand mantra: "WORSHIP TRADITION . DESTROY CONVENTION".


They link us to our collaborators. Forming the basis of new work from respected artists and designers whose interest in the twin-blades is sharp enough to convince them to play in our sandbox for a time. They are our House Guest Artists.



They are a universal language. They bridge us across cultural boundaries enlivening our dialogs with scissor-wielding artisans from every corner of the globe.

And each season we celebrate them all over again. This time around with seven individual scissor-art tees for men and three for women as well as scarves and custom-commissioned jewelry. The men's graphic range is founded, as-ever, on our signature basic-tee design making it available with or without artwork.

Friday 23 March 2012

Thursday 22 March 2012

Editorial: Art Comes First, Hedi Slimane & Sarah Richardson for I-D Magazine, March 2012


Jacket by Sam Lambert & Shaka Maidoh for Art Comes First

Shirt by Mirja Rosendahl.
Tie John Galliano


Shirt by Pringles of Scotland
Trousers by Sam Lambert & Shaka Maidoh for Art Comes First
Braces by Top Man, Shoes by Amathus


Photography by Hedi Slimane,
Styling by Sarah Richardson