Tag, You’re It!

Skater-style duds, cool coats and skullcaps roll in for Fall ’13.

I grew up thinking the New York high school backdrop to the TV show Fame was the coolest school in the world. After visiting New Design High School for our latest photo shoot, it’s clear this school joins the ranks, namely for their “best kept secret” rooftop skate park. This homage to graffiti style art looks out over the Lower East Side and is dubbed “Rooftop Legends.” A couple of the blank walls, I was told, were waiting for some plum artists to return from their annual pilgrimage to the über-cool Art Basel Miami festivities.

Acclaimed photographer Igor Borisov captured kids showing off their freshest Fall ’13 outerwear paired with urban sportswear in our fashion feature “Hot Shot.” Like me, the kids we cast were smitten with the space and many of them brought their own skateboards to the shoot. Callie, one of our models, showed off her boarding skills atop an Andy Warhol-Marilyn Monroe board and, my personal favorite, her limited-edition Homer Simpson board.

We visited another cool kid on the block, Appaman, and founders Harald and Lynn Husum filled us in on their urban-jungle ready line of boys’ and girls’ clothing and accessories. In our Q&A we spoke with trendy coat company Bernardo Fashions about their Collection B line, which expanded into kids’ coats just a year ago. The company’s fast-fashion perspective and social media prowess is launching this brand top of mind for girls and boys looking for big sister/big brother looks at a competitive price. Speaking of “tops,” the top of the year means new plans, budgets and company directions, and in our feature, “New Year, New Leaf,” we chat with a host of store owners to find out what’s crowning the list for 2013. Some retailers might be smart to put school uniforms on that list to complement their current selection, according to our feature “School’s In,” that cites an uptick in the number of schools requiring uniforms across the United States.

Whatever your resolutions for this year, make sure you keep them—we all know what can happen to the best-laid plans. Be sure you communicate these goals to your team and get everyone’s buy in—this will help them stick. Here we’ve resolved to kick it up a notch, with more offerings coming down the road this year, including new sections, helpful statistics and more, so keep a look out.

Happy New Year!
jennifer Cattaui
jennifer.cattaui@9threads.com