2013 Round Up; April

My highlights from April saw some old favourites joined by some welcome newbies.

My stills of Futura featured in March, but in April I was able to reveal a short video I also Directed about the great man - a film that went on to achieve huge interest online which was fantastic!

Next, Sydney Fashion Week came to town, and IDYSM good mates Vanishing Elephant took centre stage and I was lucky enough to to shoot on the catwalk, but of equal interest to me was outside as classy threads met classy kicks by the fashion conscious crowd,

Finally, my 'In Their Shoes' interview series gathered momentum as Frank Liew, the brains behind Silly Thing shared his sneaker story.  The interview series is something you will see more of in 2014, as we hear from more fascinating (hopefully) sneaker peeps from around the world.

2013 Round Up; February

Feb saw more cosmopolitan content with IDYSM travelling between London, Sydney and Melbourne.
Starting with Sydney, the 2013 Vans Bowl-a-Rama saw the iconic Bondi skate bowl attract a global crowd, and I was honoured to shoot skate legend Steve Caballero.
Melbourne and London offered up some amazing eclectic street findings (as always), and in Feb I was also privileged to showcase the video content I Directed for Vanishing Elephant's fantastic Autumn '13 campaign.

Sex Appeal

OK, the title of this post should have read 'Socks Appeal', but sex sells so it's a shameless attempt at a pun of a pun.  And a shameless attempt to get more traffic too if I can be honest.

Anyway, nice shoes always need a good partner in crime, and with the boom in socks as fashion items I thought I would share some great product I've been lucky enough to try out recently.

Starting at the top with Stance, a brand renowned for breaking all the rules with their wares.  Their NBA range has got sneakerheads around the world frothing with excitement over their uber cool look, featuring retro icons such as Larry Bird, alongside colourblocked club branded product.  They look great, but are also fantastically made and comfortable for whether you're hitting the court or the street, they're insanely good.

The 2nd pic showcases the consistently great produce of Sydney brand Vanishing Elephant.  Regulars to IDYSM will know that VE are good mates so it's perhaps no surprise that I wear these a LOT.  Stylish, comfortable and affordable, you really can't go wrong.

Third down are from The Sock Thief, and online venture hoping to be your one stop sock shop.  They stock an assortment of carefully selected brands, each with a serious amount of style and swagger.  The 2 pairs here are from Yarn Works (left) and Democratique (right).

Finally, These great Buy/Sell socks are from a capsule collection from Australian label Bad Goods.  Named their 'Business Socks' these have a great sense of humour and personality about them, perfect for Hump Day.

Anyway - there you go, some socksy news for you.  It might be sexy for someone?

Showreel

So the past few years have been pretty busy for me - and from small acorns I Dig Your Sole Man has not only become an increasingly bigger part of my life, but it's also opened up numerous other doors for me too.
To take stock of what I've done on the site and beyond,I was asked to create a showreel, and I thought it would be something worth sharing on here so enjoy - and come back tomorrow for a cracking new instalment in my 'In Their Shoes' interview series with Eugene Kan from Hypebeast.

Vanishing Elephant; Sydney

Our very good friends at Vanishing Elephant have opened their first ever Sydney store, their first ever in Sydney, and it's a space that's already creating quite a buzz.
I shot the above video and stills of the store and urge you to check it out not only for it's great design, but also for (of course) the amazing product on display too.
Quality clothes from the brand are of course on display, and the store also stocks some great shoes too - from VE's great range, and also from the feelgood Japanese brand Buddy too.
The weekend is here, so show the VE team some love and shop till you drop!

MBFWA Vanishing Elephant Spring Summer 2013

This week has seen Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia hit town, which means that the world's eyes are focused on Sydney as the countries top brands and designers showcase their wares to the fashionistas of the world.
Last night (Wednesday) saw Huw, Felix and Aaran from Vanishing Elephant celebrate their 5th year anniversary by staging their first ever show, and I was lucky enough to be there to document the triumphant evening.
Showcasing both men and womenswear from their Spring/Summer 2013 collection, their trademark premium clothing and footwear captivated the crowd both inside and outside the packed venue for a collection that could boost any wardrobe.
I'll put up some more pics from MBFWA next week but for now enjoy - and a huge congrats to the VE team.

Vanishing Elephant SS'13

I don't usually post over the weekends, but I really want to share these videos that I made for the amazing Australian brand Vanishing Elephant.
Season after season VE are renowned for putting out premium classics with character, and the SS13 mens and womens collections are both crackers and well worth checking out.
For the launch we produced 3 clips - a Behind The Scenes featurette as well as idents for the womens and mens collections - so check them out and enjoy!

** As always with content I make it's all done by me with each of these sequences shot, Directed and edited by myself.

2012 - The Videos; Behind The Brand

I've been Producing more video content in 2012, something that I love doing, and something I plan to do more of in 2013.  Today I wanted to revisit some of my 'Behind The Brand' videos, a sub-series I created which allows brands I like to give up their own story in their own words.  These videos are all shot, directed, produced and edited by myself so I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy working on them as I plan to add more in next 12 months.

Local FC; Sydney

As a a HUGE football fan, I was very excited to see the world game become local recently with the inaugural Sydney 'Local FC' tournament.  The football loving collective shares an appreciation of the core values of the beautiful game, and last weekend they took to the pitch to show their skills with the first ever tournament in Redfern, Sydney.  A number of stylish teams were present from the likes of Vanishing Elephant, Nike, Havianas (and more) and needless to say the skills on the pitch, and the footwear on display was equally stylish.

A big thanks to Huw for the invite, and congrats to Team Vanishing Elephant for being crowned the winners at the final whistle.

I put together this short video of the day, and thanks to Tamron and Lensbaby for the loan of some great new kit to play around with.

Music: Can I Kick It; A Tribe Called Quest (available on iTunes).

Recap - Behind The Brand; Vanishing Elephant

To end my fortnight of recaps from 2012 so far, I thought I'd revisit this short video I made as the latest instalment in my Behind The Brand series.

From the emails you guys send in it sounds like you love the video content I produce, and the Behind The Brand series has been a real hit so thanks for all the views and kind words.

This video focusing on the Australian brand Vanishing Elephant saw me sit down with VE co-Founder Huw Bennett to talk about the past, present and future of the brand, which has already achieved great things in a short space of time, and with their first womenswear line dropping soon, and their toe dipped into the world of retail it's not likely to slow down anytime soon.

I hope to do more work with the boys at VE soon, but for now, check out the vid, and check out their site here.

Behind The Brand; Vanishing Elephant

As the latest of my 'Behind The Brand' video interviews, I sat down with Huw Bennett, one of the founders of Sydney contemporary fashion label Vanishing Elephant to talk all things VE.
From it's humble beginnings only 4 years ago, the brand has gone on to become an Australian institution, picking up the illustrious 2010 GQ Designer Of The Year Award along the way.
Despite some impressive growth, the brand have managed to retain their core values something which will hold them in good stead for their new ventures in retail and global domination!

Music: "As Colorful As Ever" by Broke For Free (http://brokeforfree.com/)

Vanishing Elephant Store; Melbourne

Last week I brought you a preview of my meeting with Huw Bennett, part of the fantastic Australian menswear label Vanishing Elephant (see here).
I was also lucky enough to be invited to shoot the brand's Melbourne store, and in keeping with the brand's contemporary design aesthetic, it didn't disappoint with an accessible fit out which allowed the great product to stand out and speak for itself.
It's the weekend, so I imagine many of you will be looking to indulge in some retail therapy.  For those of you in the Melbourne area I urge you to head to the QV and check out the store, for the rest of you, enjoy the pics and here's a link to their online store.

Huw Bennett; Vanishing Elephant

It's always great to meet people whose work you like/admire, but all too often the experience can leave you feeling deflated and slightly disappointed.  However, I am now officially prepared to add the names of Huw Bennett, Felix Chan and Arran Russell to my illustrious list of greats who exceeded all expectations when I had the pleasure of meeting them *.
The guys are the brains behind the fantastic Australian menswear label Vanishing Elephant.  Despite only being 4 years old, the brand is regarded by many as a bright light on the Aussie menswear scene, and in 2010 their clean, contemporary styling fused with an accessible price-point and quality product was (deservedly) awarded Designer of the Year at the prestigious GQ Men of the Year Awards.

All up it's a brand that I love, and I was delighted that Huw was invited to speak at the Carbon Festival about the Evolution of an Idea.  It seemed only fitting that the brand were asked to contribute to this forum after achieving great success in such a short space of time and Huw spoke about how having, and focusing on a clear vision is integral for turning a mere hobby into something bigger.

I'm delighted to reveal that there's some great Vanishing Elephant content to come soon on IDYSM with an exclusive Behind The Brand video IV and a showcase of their great new Melbourne store.

* The list includes Muhammed Ali.  Rod Stewart.  Robbie Fowler.  Yes, I like some Rod Stewart stuff - don't judge me!