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Drake is now co-owner of an esports brand
Drake's commitment to gaming is going well beyond the occasional star-studded Twitch stream. As part of an investment round, the Canadian rap giant (along with entertainment mogul Scooter Braun) now has co-ownership of 100 Thieves, a "lifestyle, apparel and esports" company founded by retired Call of Duty player Matt "Nadeshot" Haag and backed by Cleveland Cavaliers chairman Dan Gilbert. Drake and Braun will serve as strategic advisors while the company expands its competitive gaming to more titles and grows its apparel business.
Reebok's first plant-based shoes go on sale for $95
It took a while, but Reebok's first plant-based shoes are ready for your feet -- the company is now selling limited numbers of the NPC UK Cotton + Corn through its website for $95 a pair in unisex sizes. You'll have to be happy with a lone "natural/chalk" color combo, but you can feel better knowing that 75 percent of the shoe is made from USDA-certified biological material. The upper is made entirely of the shoe's namesake cotton, while the sole is made from a corn-derived biobased TPU (DuPont's Susterra Propanediol). Even the insole is made from castor bean oil, and Reebok avoids using dyes to maintain the shoe's eco-friendly credentials.
Amazon sets its sights on official soccer shirt sales
Amazon's foray into clothing and fashion has been met with mixed responses, particularly from major labels that believe its marketplace could devalue their brand. That notion doesn't seem to fit with Italian soccer giants Napoli, however, as the club has just become the first team in the world to launch its own "brandstore" on Amazon's sprawling marketplace.
Levi's uses lasers to give your jeans an eco-friendly finish
You may like the thought of jeans with a worn-in finish, but that look frequently comes at a steep cost. It not only takes a long time to finish jeans (two to three pairs per hour), it frequently involves thousands of chemical formulations. Levi's thinks there's a faster and more environmentally responsible way. It recently introduced Project FLX, a system that uses lasers to finish denim. The technique involves taking photos of the jeans and illustrating them-- the laser then gently marks the jeans based on that illustration to create the simulated wear. This cuts the finishing time from several minutes or more to just 90 seconds, and whittles the number of necessary chemicals down to a "a few dozen."
Warby Parker recommends glasses using your iPhone X's depth camera
The depth-sensing front camera on the iPhone X isn't just useful for unlocking your phone or making silly emoji clips. Eyewear maker Warby Parker has updated its Glasses app for iOS to include an iPhone X-only recommendation feature. Let the app scan your face and it'll recommend the frames that are most likely to fit your measurements. This isn't the same as modeling the frames on your face (wouldn't the iPhone X be ideal for that?), but it could save you a lot of hemming and hawing as you wonder which styles are a good match.
Amazon's private label takes aim at the fashion industry
You might buy a suit from Amazon, but would you buy a suit made by Amazon? The company has reportedly launched seven private label fashion brands and up to 1,800 new products ranging from men's suits to women's accessories to children's clothing. Its own trademarked brands include Franklin & Freeman, Franklin Tailored, North Eleven, Scout + Ro and Society New York. The brands, which were first spotted by an analyst and reported by fashion site WWD, seem to be moderately priced -- a men's suit costs around $300, for instance.
Rockstar's Black Friday sale discounts GTA 5 merchandise
Rockstar joins this week's money-saving festivities with a collection of Black Friday price drops on collectibles and apparel featured in its online store. DIscounted items include traditional fare like lithographs, hoodies, and posters along with oddities like a body bag-styled sleeping bag and a t-shirt that identifies its wearer as a known associate of noted psychopath Trevor Philips from Grand Theft Auto 5. This holiday weekend is also your chance to pick up a cheap iFruit case for your smartphone or a GTA 5-branded beach towel for warmer months. Rockstar's sale starts this Friday and extends through Monday at 11:59 p.m. EST. [Image: Rockstar]
The Secret World offers snazzy game apparel [Updated]
It's often seemed unfair that we were able to dress up our characters in The Secret World with all manner of fashionable attire and yet couldn't be that cool in real life. That's about to change, as Funcom's partnered up with WeLoveFine.com to offer a line of official TSW gear. As you might expect, t-shirts make up a bulk of the store's offerings. These include straight-forward logos of the game's factions as well as humorous mock-ups of in-game places. Fans of the Innsmouth Academy can now register for classes with an official hoodie of this fictitious school, and there are two messenger bags that would be perfect for toting your homework around. [Update: WeLoveFine has pointed out for us more TSW goodies, including two posters designed by Steve Thomas. The company also promises to add more women's tees (thanks for that!). If you decide to pick up some goodies, use MASSIVETLYTSW when you check out to snag a 20% discount. No, we don't get anything if you do, but you get to spend less money. Win/win.]
Dress like the Jet Set with new Sega clothing line
Whether you're spray-painting police officers in Shibuya-cho or bundling up for a Sakuragaoka afternoon of investigating what happened on the day the snow turned into rain, UK-based Insert Coin Clothing has styles to suit you.The company's "Sega Reloaded" line features authentic recreations of both Beat and Gum's t-shirts from Jet Set Radio (which amusingly bear the characters' own names), and both shirts and hoodies based on the tiger-adorned leather jacket worn by Shenmue's Ryo Hazuki. Other Sega designs reference Shinobi, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and Sonic.Another upcoming offering by the company is inspired by Sega even more literally, complete with bags matching the approximate shape and appearance of Dreamcast and Mega Drive consoles.
Chanel counterfeiters beware: US federal court orders domain names seized and de-indexed
We're well versed in the art of the gadget KIRF 'round these parts, but counterfeiting's a problem faced by the fashion world, too. Chanel filed suit in federal court to stop hundreds of websites from selling KIRFs of its gear, and the judge recently ordered the seizure and transfer of those domain names to GoDaddy to hold in trust until the case is resolved. It was also decreed that they be stricken from the indices of search engines and social media -- including, but not limited to Bing, Google, Facebook, and Twitter. So it seems the federal courts have obtained the ability to order that legal remedy (the de-indexing) be given by companies not party to a lawsuit (Google, et al), though we know of no law granting it such powers. Of course, we can't know for sure until one of the accused copycat sites decides to lawyer up and fight back. Until then, fashion KIRFs beware: the feds can apparently wipe every trace of you from the internet.
The North Face announces Avalanche Airbag Safety System (ABS) vest and pack, we go hands-on (video)
Imagine hitting the slopes for the ultimate free ride down the edge of a cliff. Now picture being caught in an avalanche with only a shovel to free you from hundreds of pounds of snow -- the odds don't look too good. The North Face hopes to change all that by integrating an Avalanche Airbag Safety System (ABS) into its tried and true backpacks with the launch of its ABS Patrol 24 Pack and ABS Vest, two new body-worn fixtures that inflate to protect your from falling snow much like the airbags in your car. Add two new fabrics into the mix, FlashDry and Thermoball, and it seems like we've come a long way since the days of working out in our college sweats. We go hands-on with pro snowboarder Xavier de Le Rue after the break to see how it works.%Gallery-139505%
AT&T plans to sell exercise apparel that tracks your vitals, performance
It's not enough for AT&T to simply sell cellphones, its emerging devices unit also traffics in everything from GPS dog collars to connected pill bottles. Now the company wants in on the fitness tracking craze. Forbes is reporting that Ma Bell will start offering apparel that could track GPS routes, heart rate and other vital stats -- similar to the E39 shirt above from Zephyr and Under Armour. The clothing isn't just for athletes though, the military, first responders and seniors could also benefit from the technology. Sadly, no firm release date or prices were announced, so don't expect to wander into a Modell's and pick up a wicking t-shirt that uploads your workouts to RunKeeper any time soon.
Joystiq T-Shirt Contest: The Finalists!
Between your comments and the input of Team Joystiq, we've narrowed the Joystiq T-shirt Contest down to just six finalists. Exciting, we know! But before we pick the winner, we're looking for one last round of input from you guys and gals. We don't necessarily need to know your favorite, we're more looking for your thoughts on each of the designs. Which would you simply wear and which would you buy multiples of in case of mud fight or run-by fruiting? We'll be picking the winner -- who'll receive a console of their choice and five games -- soon, so let us know! %Gallery-134122%
BlizzCon 2011 presale merchandise now available
Just like last year, Blizzard has made certain BlizzCon-exclusive items available for preorder by BlizzCon 2011 ticketholders. There are almost 100 pieces of merchandise available this year, from designer toys to poker sets to calendars to Starcraft 2 Mega Bloks sets, and they're ready to be viewed (and purchased) right this very moment! Check out the presale on the Blizzard Store, but keep in mind that you won't be able to see the new merchandise unless you're logged into a Battle.net account with a BlizzCon ticket (or virtual ticket) attached to it.%Gallery-134120%
US Army wants thermally adaptive shirts, less of that nasty B-O
War-making apparel is about functionality just as much as fashion. That's why the US Army is offering a cool $1million in research funds to anyone who can help realize its dream of "thermally responsive textiles." The ultimate goal is clothing that automatically tailors itself to rapid changes in ambient and body temperature, thereby removing the need for alternative garments and reducing the weight and 'cube' of a soldier's payload. So-called smart fabrics have already been demonstrated by army scientists, based on comfy-sounding metallic fibers that curl up when it's cold and straighten out when it's warm. That sort of technology just needs to be reworked to make it practical and laundry-safe. We don't want those strong colors bleeding out in the wash, because as the line goes: if you're going to fight, you might as well clash.
Conductive nanocoating could lead to flexible, wearable devices, Lady Gaga sticks with meat suit
Flexible is the new rigid in the gadget world, from OLED panels and e-paper displays to, of course, the adorable PaperPhone. Now researchers at North Carolina State University are hoping to take flexible to the next level by applying a conductive nanocoating – thousands of times thinner than a human hair – to ordinary textiles. Their technique, called atomic layer deposition, grows an inorganic coating atop cloths like woven cotton. The treated fabric conducts electricity, opening the door to thin, wearable devices with the flexibility of everyday clothing. The technology's still in its nano-infancy, but who knows: maybe a few years from now you'll be sporting a genuinely playable Angry Birds shirt.
We wish these Team Fortress 2 (and Portal) concept shirts were real
As the self-appointed arbiters of video game fashion, we can confidently say that Jay Ford's series of Team Fortress 2 shirts (with a bonus Portal tee!) are both clever and fresh. Now, if only they were a real thing we could purchase and drape across our bodies. Check out all the designs below!
Item-level RFIDs get support from big retailers, track your every purchase
Toilets, cows, and Germans have all been tagged by RFIDs, but according to a new study, it's footwear and fashion that top the demand for radio-enabled tracking. In a report released yesterday, ABI Research said more than three-quarters of a billion RFID tags will be used in global apparel markets in 2011, with retailers like Walmart, Macy's, and JC Penney leading the way. Item-level tracking isn't new -- in fact we saw something similar in 2006 -- but with the likes of Walmart on board, the system is expected to grow as much as 60 percent in the next three years. The study suggests inventory and security as driving factors in the adoption of RFIDs, but we've got our suspicions. And anyway, we don't want anyone to know how much we spent on that Material Girl leopard print shrug -- not even a machine.
New hoodie and Cataclysm designs from SwagDog
Online apparel company SwagDog is pleased to announce the arrival of the zip-up hoodie to its selection. SwagDog has always been famous for its WoW-themed apparel -- more notably, the fact that you could get anything screenprinted onto these shirts. Favorite class? Guild tabard? Why not grab an embroidered hat of your chosen profession? Now you can add more than just a regular short-sleeved tee to your wardrobe. On sale now for $44.99 US, you can purchase a comfortable, long-sleeved, zip-up hoodie version of the classic black guild tabard shirt. Now you can proudly show off the might of your guild, all while staying warm this holiday season. SwagDog has also announced the arrival of both worgen and goblin-themed clothing as well. Since they're now part of the World of Warcraft designs, you can root for Gilnaes or cheer for the Bilgewater cartel. Make sure to head over to SwagDog.com to see more of this great merchandise.
Reebok sets sights on flexible computing sportswear, partners with startup team
Science has prototyped flexible versions of just about everything a ever-loving geek needs: displays, memory, batteries, LEDs, speakers and an input device or three. Now, Reebok's looking to put some of that computing power up our sleeves. The apparel manufacturer's teamed up with MC10 -- a startup founded by our old friend John Rogers, who helped pioneer the field -- with the intent to build "conformable electronics" into high-performance clothing for athletes over the next couple of years. Though the company told MIT Technology Review the devices typically consist of thin silicon strips printed onto flexible materials, and that they might they might measure metabolism and performance using embedded sensors, hard details are few -- the only thing we know for sure is that a flexible tech scientist just scored a partnership with a major company, and we're hopeful they'll make something neat. PR after the break.
