Com-Raid streetwear, sneaker, art and design blog

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Andrew Lee is the creator of the invisible:man label plus California's Commissary stores. As streetwear becomes ever more vacuously mainstream Lee has maintained the raw honesty of his abrasive punk-soaked art. Free of trendy pretension his work has stayed fiercely personal and true to an outsider's way of life.

After a short hiatus Lee has revived invisible:man, recently opening a new i:m store in NY. I caught up with him to check where he's at and see where his creative interests have taken him.

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• Andrew Lee
• Commissary
• invisible:man
• streetwear

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Give me change... hold the fries. New Com Raid stuff out soon. RSS or join the mailing list for release details.

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• Com Raid
• new releases
• tees

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My friend Ken at Madfoot Japan hit me up with some pics of their first summer '09 release, a brand new model called the Madfoot Oboi, a performance dance sneaker developed by Madfoot sneaker don Takashi Imai in conjunction with Omarion. In an increasingly pretentious and trend-sensitive streetwear market Madfoot have refused to water down the colourful eccentricity of their designs. By staying true to Mr Imai's original creative vision Madfoot have become the outsiders- a streetwear brand maintaining its quality without feigning to be a tastefully sterile and anonymously slick high-end luxury label.

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• madfoot
• sneakers

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As the Black Panther Party's Minister for Culture, Emory Douglas has had a profound influence on shaping the visual language of dissent and revolution both in America and abroad. His vivid artwork for the The Black Panther newspaper is today an iconic record of the turbulen period in American history that provoked it. More than a great artist, Emory Douglas was and continues to be a tireless servant of his community. His art speaks directly to the aspirations, fears and determination of his people. Their struggles are his own.

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• Art
• Black Panther Party
• Emory Douglas

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Sad news recently that San Francisco revolutionary bookshop and gallery Babylon Falling will be closing its doors for the last time come the end of June. Upper Playground’s Walrus TV caught up with the man behind Babylon, Sean Stewart, to get his take on what it means to be a revolutionary and how this common desire to the share a better life has rallied a community around his store. It’s an inspiring and thoughtful take on what it means to be an agent of change through cultural production.

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• Babylon Falling
• retail
• Upper Playground

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This site is about streetwear and street art, especially when it has a revolutionary pulse. Streetwear has always been about standing out and looking good, but is it today too much about being 'fashionable'?

By ‘fashionable’ I’m not talking so much about streetwear’s aesthetics. Sure, it’s gone in a more preppy, nouveau riche direction of late. If in 2005 it was Fresh Prince corny, in 2009 it’s strictly Carlton Banks.

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• streetwear