Be Glitterati Ties

My first attempt at tie making

In a recent post, I hinted at the possibility of releasing cut and sew products but in all honesty, I saw that as a long-term goal that I wouldn't be able to pull off any time soon. Knowing that I’ve been working towards this goal, my wife pulled some strings to help turn this dream into reality. I’m excited to announce that we will be releasing a line of neckties later this year! The images in this post are of my first kick at the can.

Work in progress

At the workroom in Toronto

Cut and Sew Aspirations

In an effort to take Glitterati Communications a little further into the fashion world, I took my first sewing class with the wonderful folks at Patch Halifax. I struggled at times but my instructor, Elliot was a pro and always managed to get me back on track. I'm excited about the possibilities. Is this the start of a Be Glitterati cut and sew line in 2016?

New Be Glitterati Apparel

We've added some new products to our store. Now you can get sand coloured, “In Glit We Trust” t-shirts and black “Mixin Up the Medicine” t-shirts, hoodies and crewneck sweaters to keep you warm and fresh during the winter. 

Be Glitterati X ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

During the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge craze our gear has popped up in a few videos. Here is one of my favourites. It also happens to be the one where I was nominated! Support ALS Canada.

Future Glitterati – Mo

The most recent addition to the Future Glitterati series is my conversation with the Lion-Hunter herself, Mo Handahu. 

Lion Hunter Logo Design

Reginald Magazine Review

Reginald Magazine is the latest fashion publication to hit the Halifax Regional Municipality. So far they seem to be doing a lot of things right. They have a focused leader, good design, good stories with people that are relevant to Halifax's fashion scene, a good team of folks behind them and they're doing well in the online social arena. I'm excited to see what's next for them. On another note, the excellent style journal, Fashion East celebrated their first birthday last night. Hopefully, them and the growing list of fashion creatives, writers and retailers in this region can keep the momentum going and establish a true fashion industry on the East Coast.

Glitterati Duane on Tha Underground Radio Show (Edited)

My interview with Tha Underground radio show with all the other stuff cut out :).

Nick Wooster - Get Dressed Like You Mean It

I agree with Nick's take on men and uniforms. As a person who spent all of both primary school and high school wearing a uniform I can say that we always found creative ways to wear our uniforms and still express ourselves so the argument that uniforms are restrictive, although valid is also not considering the fun one can have when playing within a certain context. After all, most of the fun in design comes from the restrictions set on a project by the client. Those restrictions often force us to think outside of the box and they ultimately lead to ideas that may have never developed had we been allowed to do whatever we wanted to.

A young Glitterati Duane in his school uniform

Another point that I agree with is that, it was refreshing to not have to agonize over an outfit, but know that I was stepping out of the house looking somewhat put together. Don't get me wrong; Most days, I enjoy digging through my closet and looking for creative and new ways to present myself to the world. I also tend to dress according to my mood, so it's nice to have freedom to be able to do that, but I still miss the days when I didn't have to think about clothes. I just grabbed my white shirt, dress pants, blazer and tie, and was good to go.

Hood Legend Video

Every neighborhood basketball court carries the memories of past great players on their worn concrete surfaces. To the people that witnessed them in action, those players will live on forever: As Hood Legends.

This is our first attempt at video production and it was a lot of fun, piecing it together. That being said: Please go easy on us :). Special thanks to Dean "Sizzlin Montana" Jones for repping the brand in the video, Nicholas Maynard for doing the bulk of the camera work and AbCents for the musical dopeness.

Glitterati in the Clutch

Glitterati Duane at the Clutch Culture Summer 2012 showing (Pictured centre). Photo by Montwedi Sebina

This summer, Glitterati Duane was invited to view the Clutch Culture Summer Collection at Fred. We are eager to explore the fashion industry further so having the opportunity to see a well assembled collection presented in person was exciting. Mo, Clutch Culture's designer and owner is one of our biggest local inspirations for her accomplishments, work ethic and effervescent personality. Mo also runs popular lifestyle blog, Curvy Geekery where she documents a lot of her adventures in style.

Mo of Clutch Culture (Image courtesy of Curvy Geekery)

The show was broken up into two segments: The first segment was called "1998", which is a reflection of Mo's 16 year old self. It pays homage to the great memories she has from the 90's. The second segment was called "Wild Hearts", which focussed on her brands's staple, African prints and her personal style. The colours from both collections were vivid and the clutches were very well crafted. 

Everyone in attendance was dressed to kill and Fred was the perfect venue for the event. It truly felt like we were among the "Glitterati" of Halifax. Below are a few shots that Duane took at the event. To see more shots, check out Curvy Geekery. Mo is currently hosting a 90's costume party called Homeboyz & Flygirlz on October 6th at The Argyle so if you're in the city I recommend that you check it out.

Runway action

Models

The gracious host (Fred) doing his thing for the camera

Clutches

Fred planet

Door prize courtesy of Buscuit General Store

Glitterati Duane Interviewed by Showoff Magazine

The folks over at Showoff Magazine were kind enough to do a feature on me. Check it here!

Glitterati Duane on Background Noise

I had a chance to stop in and chat with the wild boys of the Background Noise Podcast! We got to talk about the Be Glitterati line, my background, a new project that I have in the works and a bunch of funny stuff from the past week. Check out the show here.

Be Glitterati 2011-12 Look Book

Check it out. At long last the Be Glitterati look book and store are live. Hit me up about any items not displayed in the store that you might be interested in.

"Be Glitterati is a t-shirt line born from the daily influences of Bermuda born, Halifax based designer and artist Duane Jones. The inspiration for this line includes everything from rap, culture, depression, to happiness and sex.

The glitterati are known as the fashionable set of society but we consider the glitterati to be anyone on the grind who will stop at nothing to fulfill their dreams. The way we see it: Anyone can “Be Glitterati”."

Be Glitterati Available At Fresh Goods

Big tings a gwan! Starting an apparel line has been a dream of mine for about 10 years now and thanks to some support from my family and some hard work it's finally becoming a reality. We have officially launched the Be Glitterati t-shirt line and have the first two of many designs to come for sale at Fresh Goods Sneakers and Apparel in Halifax. Here's the brand's mission statement. (For now anyway)

"Be Glitterati is a clothing brand that draws from the daily inspiration of Halifax, NS based designer and artist Duane Jones. The glitterati are described as the fashionable people of society but we apply that word to anyone on the grind and will stop at nothing to fulfill their dreams. Be Great. Be Grand. Be Glitterati."

Shown below are a close up of the "This is my Rifle" shirt in an alternate colour and a Glitterati bookmark that we are using as a Tag..

Glitterati Duane x Fresh Goods

My piece inspired by Mal's song, "The Giving Tree" is currently on display at Fresh Goods Sneakers and Apparel in Halifax. These guys carry some dope brands including, Nooka, G-Shock, The Hundreds and Shwood. They also support local brands like my personal favorite, The Quarrelsome Yeti and hopefully Be Glitterati *wink *wink. If you're in the city and want some fresh stuff that you can't find at the mall check them out at 1491 South Park Street ASAP!

New Glitterati Communications Portfolio Site

A few months back I decided to start tinkering with Cargo to see what it was all about. Cargo is an online portfolio hosting service that gives users more freedom to decide how they would like their work presented. Fast-forward to today and I have decided that for now, placing the bulk of my portfolio on Cargo is the best way to go. I'm really happy with the way it turned out and am looking forward to hearing any feedback. I will still use beglitterati.com as the home base for my online adventures so you can continue to visit there. Below, are a few more screens from the new site including a shot of a t-shirt from my Be Glitterati line. Visit the new portfolio here.

Jeff Staple Interview with Made

The ever inspirational and intelligent Jeff Staple.

Influencers

This is a really inspirational video by R+I creative. I'm a day late and a dollar short with this video but it's too good not to post. It features discussions about how trends are born and the select few that have the power and confidence to set them. Ironically, the people in the video talking about influences are all influencers in their own rights.

The Madbury Club

The Madbury Club is finally here. For those of you who follow Phillip Annand and his blog Award Tour you've probably been waiting with baited breath. For those of you who don't follow Phil here's the low down. (Well my interpretation of it anyway). The Madbury Club is a place for forward thinking individuals with eclectic tastes to gather information and inspiration on anything from fashion to fishing.  I personally see a strong hip hop sensibility in their approach but as a rule they are a group that are influenced by everything, and represent the eclectic tastes of the MP3 generation. The site has a few design and technical issues but as a designer I'm not mad at it. I think the aesthetic overall is beautiful. Having a lot of their photography shot by the super talented Tone can't hurt either though. Good luck to Phil and the crew. Check out the Madbury Club Here.