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By Kimio Ng
With Nikon D3
Tamon SP AF 28-75mm f12.8

Since the establishment of the store in Wanchai, HK Vintage Watches has been specialized in selling antique watches, archetypal watchmakers such as Rolex, Panerai, omega and Patek Philippe. With the coupling of unique models and professional knowledge of watches, the store has expeditiously attracted the collectors’ attention. The new branch – The Vintage Concept, was launched at Lyndhurst Street last week. Thematic interior, expanded class of products and the historical trace in every single piece of antique, the store thoroughly shares the pleasure of collecting precious antiques with customers.

Without even setting foot in the store, the products at the display window are already captivating. The vintage atmosphere greets customers once they entered, where the yellowish lights glow on the wooden showcase, shelves, floor, tile platform and stone wall. The new store sells antiques purchased from Europe and the U.S, not only antique watches but also release accessories such as watch straps, cases and boxes. As for handbags and jewelry, products of a series of brands including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Christian Dior, Givenchy and Hermes with assured quality since the shop collaborates with the renowned European antiques buyer, Susan Caplan. The line of leather luggage is as well as stunning – details about the year of its manufacture and the noble family of which originates are attached to each individual piece, like they are presenting their own mysterious and unique stories. It is likely rare to have such massive amount in Hong Kong.

Text: Vincent Lau | Translation: Trulie Lam
Photo: Anthony Chan

THE VINTAGE CONCEPT
Shop 7-8, G/F, Lyndhurst Tower,
No.1 Lyndhurst Terrace,
Central, Hong Kong

+852 2522 2070
 

This season White Mountaineering has chosen western culture as its theme; designer Aizawa Yosuke has produced a series of denim clothing, which is a rarity for the brand. Included in the seriesare shirts, jackets, and trousers, created through a complicated washing process, their utilitarian function and collage cut is fused completely. When the clothing is matched with a pair of outdoor patterned boot, it completely radiates the heavy masculine style that will prove to be the choice summer attire for boys.

Text: Vincent Lau | Translation: Nathan Cheng
Photo: Kimio Ng

SHIRT HKD$5,380
JACKET HKD$8,980
PANTS HKD$5,280
PANTS HKD$4,380
APRON HKD$5,480
BOOTS HKD$9,280

THINK SILLY STORE
Unit 8, 18 Ka Yip Street, Chai Wan, Hong Kong.
+852 2898 2199
1 – 8pm (Closed every Monday)

The biker jacket is one of those items that must be in every man’s winter wardrobe. This coincides with our special feature on Japanese classic cars in Obscura Spring Issue 2012, and the 1970s “Grease” feeling that permeates from that period. But as we approach early spring, the biker leather may come off as being too heavy, this season Undercover uses layering and collage to merge both sweater mate- rial and the usual thick biker leather. This fusion allows for a more lightweight biker without losing its original feeling, the jacket is great for traveling, driving or riding.

Text: Vincent Lau | Translation: Nathan Cheng
Photo: Kimio Ng

HKD$14,180

UNDERCOVER HONG KONG
Unit 11, G/F, Block B, 18 Ka Yip Street,
Chai Wan, Hong Kong.

+852 2881 8002

1 – 8pm (Closed every monday)

London fashion shop Hostem has most recently added a space in their shops called The Chalk Room, it continues the trend of being designed by the JAMESPLUMB (James Russell and Hannah Plumb) duo. Through the utilization of old church benches, they have recreated 19th century sofas, Victorian dresser and shelves, antique luggage, and through the use of lightening, created a strong feeling of renaissance times. Both the walls and floor use a special scrub effect to produce an antique effect, and this all coincides with the mysterious image of Hostem.

Text: Janice Chan | Translation: Nathan Cheng
Photo Courtesy: Hostem

HOSTEM
41-43 Redchurch Street, London, E2 7DJ, UK

hostem.co.uk

Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong located in Central, Hong Kong had been a regular venue for art exhibition. The hotel continues to work with ART HK12 this year and have invited the Amelia Johnson Contemporary to collaborate with Tang Kwok-Hin to display his work at Clipper Lounge, the dining outlets in hotel. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Tang received his Masters and Bachelors of Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. After graduation, Tang immediately gained recognition through his multimedia work. In addition, he had been working as a visual arts teacher at the HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity and is one of the most active artists in Hong Kong.

Using imagination and inspiration from the surroundings, the exhibition combines unrelated people, architectures and family history together to create a brand new experience. The exhibition goes by the name “I Call You Nancy”, the gallery is a site-specific installation based on the life of the artist’s fictitious sister – Nancy. The exhibition features extensive collage pieces, detailing the life of the fictional character – an imaginary map of her birthplace, her travel experiences, her favorite music genre and what may she become if she actually existed. The paintings are embedded in multi-layers of glasses, creating a hazy atmosphere.

In the exhibition, they will also be showing a short film of the Oriental City – an imaginative city where Nancy resides in. By overlapping the images of closing chain stores and family businesses, it brings out a sense of tragedy through the loss of prosperity in a city. In addition to his personal sentiment, Tang also wishes to point out how the social trend has altered people’s perspectives and values on family and parenthood in the 80s. The exhibition is being held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel located near Victoria Harbor and it will run from now through May 26. 

Text: Vincent Lau | Translation: Nathan Cheng
Photo: Terrence Fong

Clipper Lounge Hours:
6:30am-11:30pm 
Viewings for Diners or by appointment

Gallery Hours:
Tues-Sat: 10:30-6:30pm 
Other times by appointment

MANDARIN ORIENTAL, HONG KONG
5 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong
+852 2522 0111

mandarinoriental.com.hk
 

Dylan Raasch, the designer of Nike Roshe Run, is strongly influenced by the concept of Zen and has been practicing meditation ever since he was a kid. The name and inspiration of the shoes come from the word “Roshi”, which stands for “Master” in Zen; the only difference is that he has replaced the last letter with an “e”.

Since the design is inspired by the simplicity of Zen, Dylan has built the series with only what is absolutely necessary. The application of a new material “EVA” has replaced the traditional double-layer protection design, providing much stronger support and protection.  To come more in tune with the theme, Dylan has imagined a Zen practitioner meditating in a Zen garden and used the environmental elements for inspiration, which gives rise to this simple and refreshing design.

The outsole of Roshe Run uses the traditional Nike Waffle Pattern, while the insole is designed to imitate a Zen rock garden. Dylan wants the shoes to look like stepping stones in a Zen garden, and he has coupled this design with a natural dark green and white color in order to mimic the gardens and stones, and with a name ‘Iguana’. One special feature of the shoes is that the shoes pad is designed in a way so that users can decide whether or not to wear them with socks. The simple design of the shoes makes it a versatile item to go with any kind of outfit under the hot weather in the summer. Besides the dark green/white combination, we have specially picked the black/white and red/white version as well.

Text: iemi | Translation: Nathan Cheng
Photo: Fong Siu Pong

HKD$599

Nike Sportswear Store
7 Pak Sha Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
+852 2577 0703

nike.com.hk

Ever since Facebook had announced that they have bought Instagram for $1 billion USD, it had caused a major discussion. The use of photo-sharing apps on smartphones became a part of the public’s everyday life. The high demand of photographic accessories has caused the emergence of this market and the quality of the accessories has been made to meet professional standards. The new Belkin LiveAction Camera Grip is made with lightweight, soft-touch plastic and connects to the iPhone via the dock port. The LiveAction app is available to download for free on iTunes in order to provide control of the separate buttons on this accessory. The intergrated tripod mount allows you to attach your device to any standard tripod for more steady control, making your iPhone more like a digital camera.  

Text: Vincent Lau | Translation: Elibe Wong
Photo: Terrence Fong
HKD$398
 
BELKIN
belkin.com/hk

Blackmagic Design is an Australian company specializing in the production of professional broadcast, video production hardware, software and equipments, including a series of recording, editing and format converting tools. Among their products, the DaVinci color correction system is by the far their most famous invention, and has once won the Emmy Awards in the area of technology excellence. The brand has previously expanded their area of expertise to the field of photography, integrating lightweight design into professional equipment, hoping to make it available to the general public. The camera is named Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Equipped with a 16.64mm x 14.04mm dimensions sensor, it is capable of capturing digital pictures in a 2.5K (2432 x 1366) resolution CinemaDNG RAW uncompressed file format, making it possible to completely retain the original video signal.

It can also present a 13 level Dynamic Range, providing a much greater luminosity and color adjustment range. The Blackmagic Cinema Camera utilizes an interchangeable SSD hard disk as storage media, which can ensure a smooth and fluent shooting while making it convenient to transfer files to the computer for post-editing. The aluminum body covered with a plastic layer weights only 1.7kg, coupled with a simple streamlined design and is compatible with both Canon EF and Zeiss ZF lens. The five inches touch operation screen makes it possible for immediate remarks and notes input. It also allows real-time screen amplification and auto-focus. The camera comes along with the full version of DaVinci Resolve 9.0 software, so that users will be able to develop high quality images and videos even at home. The product is expected to be released in July 2012, priced at $2,995USD.

Text: Vincent Lau | Translation: Nathan Cheng
Photo Courtesy: Blackmagic Design

BLACKMAGIC DESIGN
blackmagic-design.com