Timoteo’s New Sporty Face: Chris Syers

I am always eager to be introduced to fresh faces in the modeling industry. I just received the images from a photo shoot with Christopher Syers at Timoteo.

Hailing from Murrieta, California, this 20-year-old model stands at 6’1” and weighs 180 lbs. Having played baseball in high school, he clearly has an athletic build.

Chris has been modeling for only 5 months. Welcome to the industry, Chris!




Photos Copyright Timoteo.

The New Sport Underwear Collection by Timoteo

Designer Timoteo Ocampo has just come out with a new range of underwear called the“New Sport Underwear Collection.”

Inspired by his English bulldog, Jackie, Timoteo is a 26-year-old designer from Los Angeles, California, who draws on the surfing and volleyball culture in his TIMOTEO collections.



Photos by Tom Cullis Copyright TIMOTEO.

Cheimaphobic Or Thermophobic Fashion: Which Trend Are You?

(March 12, 2010) Fears, fears, fears—there are many kinds of fears in this world. But one fear is known as cheimatophobia; that is, the fear of winter.

Cheimatophobiacs fear the lack of heat and, thus, tend to overdress for all occasions. Well what about the opposite situation: people who fear the heat and, hence, tend to under dress? I guess we could label this fear: thermophobia.

Now, I’m not a cheimatophobiac; but I do hate the cold! So living here near New York has been no joy ride for me throughout the brutal winter. Nevertheless, I have observed a fascinating trend—one that, well, even if I wanted to adopt, physically I could not.

When I moved to this area in September of last year, many guys were still wearing flip flops, t-shirts, and short pants. By November, I was already freezing my tush off and—to my amazement—there were still guys in flip flops, tees, and shorts!

Recently, the entire region was hit with one of the worst blizzards ever; and just this past weekend something short of a typhoon blew through the area, wreaking havoc and destruction.

Suddenly this week, the daytime temperatures have peaked at about 60° Fahrenheit (15° Celsius), and guess what? The guys are back in flip flops, short pants, and t-shirts, even in the brisk evenings!

Of course, this is not the case for all the guys, but I think you are starting to get my point, which is, first, there are no mid-seasons here. But not only—

If the guys are so intent on hanging onto to their beachwear until the last possible minute and ready to toss out their winter collection on the first less frigid day, engaging in any kind of business here requires some “thermophobic” thinking.

Hm, or maybe I should just buy some stock in flip flops! I think I may be just a bit cheimatophobic (chuckle)!

Photo Copyright Men’s Fashion by Francesco.

Jeff Garner is Prophetik on CNN & the Today Show

Earlier this year, I interviewed sustainable designer Jeff Garner of Prophetik in an article entitled Prophetik Jeff Garner's Organic Revival.

Now, CNN has broadcasted an interview with Jeff on the Today Show, in which he discusses his socially and environmentally responsible practices in producing fashionable green menswear.

Way to go Jeff!

(Please turn off the playlist below before starting the video.)

Fractal Geometry & Menswear

“Oh, no! Not geometry,” you say! But hang on, this fractal stuff can really be fun!

I saw a fascinating documentary on TV last night, so I thought to share the highlights with you.

We owe the term fractal to Benoît Mandelbrot—a Jewish Lithuanian who was born in Warsaw but fled from the Nazis to France with his family in 1936.

Although the concept of fractals dates back to the 17th-century German mathematician, Gottfried Leibniz, there was no visual way to explore them in depth until the computer and, of course, Benoît's ingenuity.

Fractals are shapes outside the regular circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares of traditional geometry, encompassing those like clouds, mountains, lightening, broccoli, coastlines, and veins, all of which can be produced through recursive algorithms.

The photos posted in this article have emerged out of the equation zn+1 = zn2 + c (the Mandelbrot set). The photo to the left is a closeup of the photo at top right.

Born 1954 in Maryland, USA, and educated at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, Jhane Barnes has diverged from tradition of artistic drawing by incorporating fractals and computer algorithms into her menswear since 1978.

Wrongly labeled a fashion “geek,” this fashion “genius” has produced limited editions of designs that never repeat twice.

The Jhane Barnes 2009 a/w collection brilliantly features a revolutionary new line of engineered, digital prints with fancy woven techniques and an unlimited color palette, which uses less water—hence making the collection environmentally sensitive.

So, if you bombed out of high school geometry or you just made it through by the skin of your teeth, now you have a second chance! And you can wear it too!



Photo top right Mandelbrot Set by Wolfgangbeyer, Copyleft at Wikipedia.
Photo middle left closeup of Mandelbrot Set by Wolfgangbeyer, Copyleft at Wikipedia.
Slideshow Copyright Jhane Barnes.

Cohesive—Prep'd to the Edge

Spanning 90 blocks of wholesale-retail business, which totals billions of dollars in yearly revenue, the Los Angeles Fashion District is undoubtedly the West Coast hub of the US garment industry.

Referred to as the "Garment District" since the 1930’s, the area was equally known for its clothing knockoffs, widespread homelessness, and dirty streets. But that all began to change with the renovating efforts of organizations like BID—the Fashion District Business Improvement District—who renamed it the "Fashion District."

Rising from the depths of this concrete jungle of literally thousands of businesses is no easy task! But fusing function with fashion, designer Dave Appel of Cohesive has surfaced as the functionally innovative standard of men’s clothing.

Designing from the age of 15, Dave has learned to pay close attention to minute details as seen in the line's intricate seam stitching and the brand’s signature item—the embossed skull button.

If you are a "9-5 professional" in need to taking off that jacket and tie after work for a funkier weekend, then Cohesive’s edgy prep-look is the right one for you!



Photo 2009 a/w collection Copyright Cohesive.
Slide show 2009 a/w collection Copyright Cohesive.

Prophetik Jeff Garner's Organic Revival

Several weeks ago I posted an article entitled, London Fashion Week: Doubly Green, in which I presented several eco-brands that debuted this year at estethica—London Fashion Week's green initiative.

One of the companies featured was Prophetik—an eco-friendly company based in Tennessee that manifests art, love, poetry, and internal freedom and supports numerous charities around the world.

After requesting an interview several weeks ago, designer and owner Jeff Garner paid me a call. We must have chatted for an hour about Jeff’s sustainable journey, which he depicted with a free-spirited passion that one rarely encounters today.

As a musician and poet, Jeff’s career took off in the creative world of music management at Stiletto Entertainment, as he jet set with pop star icons like Paul McCartney and Barry Manilow who impacted him deeply, firing his own “passion”—an informal training that prepared him for green fashion!

Having led a naturalistic upbringing on a farm in the Deep South, Jeff was fully aware of the detrimental impact of the fashion industry on the environment. At first, however, Jeff was hindered from taking action due to feelings of unworthiness; that is, until he was mentored by Calvin Klein, who encouraged him simply to chart his course according to his heart-felt vision.

With the burning desire to inject a positive philosophy into the fashion world, Jeff began communing with like-minded individuals, whom he consulted about sustainability. Soon, his wheels touched down on an alternative t-shirt company, which, in the course of nine years, Jeff has converted into a full-blown eco-collection!

At the time, garment factories in Tennessee had long been closed, leaving a trail of laid-off sewers that were scattered throughout the “sticks”—impassioned elderly folk who still shared a strong work ethic and the old ways of the Deep South. Down on a farm, Jeff and his team began stitching renaissance pieces of conversational garments that harbor no hidden agenda, no gimmicks, and no grey areas.

Jeff diligently employs GOTS-certified dyed fabrics, organic pigments, vintage or wooden/bamboo buttons, and even baking soda to soften garments. All these processes limit his choices in the materials and colors that he may choose and demand considerably more time. “There are no short cuts,” urges Jeff—and he would have it no other way!

Like a Norman Rockwell of sorts, Jeff draws his inspiration from ordinary life and nature, such as with his s/s 2009 collection, which paints a picture of a horse in the English countryside being set free from its rider.

Jeff launched Sustainable Kids to teach the next generation how to live responsibly in an age of consumerism. When children purchase a new Prophetik garment, they receive a box with a postage stamp so that they may ship an old garment to impoverished children in Haiti. Moreover, with the purchase of every garment, $1.50 is donated to the building fund of a children’s village in Haiti.

Prophetik is retailed in 77 stores across 5 countries.

Photos Copyright by Prophetik.