FIB’s Weekly Drop Highlights #5

Welcome back to FIB’s weekly drop series. Here are the fashion, tech, music and footwear releases that we’re psyched for during the third week of September.

Credit: NME

This week’s highlights include Baby Keem’s latest banger “first order of business”, Pantofola d’Oro’s latest offering “The Sneakerball”, the Apple Watch 7, Melissa x Lazy Oaf’s latest jelly collab and more.

Melissa x Lazy Oaf

Jelly masters Melissa team up with lazy Oaf following their jelly platform sneakers release earlier this year. This time, the two collaborated on three hues of mule sandals.

The shoes draw their inspiration from psychedelics, The footwear design is inspired by psychedelics and is part of Lazy Oaf’s “Lazy Waves” winter collection. The mules feature a squared toe and translucent heel accents, with an avant-basic aesthetic that dates back to the ’90s. Each pair is dressed in green, pink, and black with opposing colour themes. They can also be paired with mesh socks (pictured). Lazy Oaf’s creative lead Shirley Webb tells Hypebae,

“We went back into the amazing and extensive Melissa archive for our second collaboration, and fell in love with their nostalgic block-heeled mule, playing with our flower motifs as a nod to our first collaboration.”

The mules and socks are made from 100 per cent recyclable plastic and cost £99 and £10 GBP, respectively. On September 16, the collaboration will be available via Lazy Oaf and Melissa’s online stores.

Baby Keem, “first order of business”

Baby Keem’s album The Melodic Blue first hit audiences on 10 September. Since his breakout mixtape (2019’s DIE FOR MY BITCH) Baby Keem has been an intangible artist Rumours have arisen regarding the rapper’s close relationship with Kendrick Lamar and his new PG label. It has since been confirmed – Keem is Lamar’s cousin.

His debut includes no fewer than three performances from Lamar, confirming the newcomer’s place in the competitive hip hop scene.  The overall vibe of the album is more akin to a mixtape, with the calm, aquamarine tones of “first order of business” providing a nice little taster of the artist’s range.
The song itself is a tribute to the day that Keem bought his grandmother a house; the three and a half minute-long video is directed by Dave Free, a co-founder of the creative service company pgLang.
Check out the full video above, this release comes hot off the heels of the video drop of his track “issues”, also featured on The Melodic Blue.

Frank Ocean’s Green Baby

This one’s not so much a drop, as a highlight. This week, Frank Ocean showed up at the Met Gala… With a green animatronic baby.

The event, which took place on 13 September featured a green-haired Frank Ocean, accompanied by a green-skinned artificial infant. The avant-garde R&B songwriter is well-known for his controversy on the red carpet, but what does this particular stint mean? Frank Ocean made time for a brief chat with TV personality Keke Palmer on the night. She asked for some context. His response was, basically,
“Well, movie magic, America. I dunno.”
The event has since, driven social media into a frenzy.

Pantofola d’Oro – Sneakerball

Pantofola d’Oro is synonymous with immaculate craftsmanship, legendary authenticity, and a distinctively Italian elegance. It has a rich sporting tradition and this season, the design house introduces the SNEAKERBALL silhouette – drawing its inspiration from an antique football boot drawn on paper by creator Emidio Lazzarini.

The sneaker is handmade in Ascoli, Italy, utilising traditional shoemaking processes, giving it its unmistakable, deconstructed appearance. The design has an expanded, folded tongue as well as a side insert evocative of legendary football boots from the 1980s.

The sneaker is handmade in Ascoli, Italy, utilising traditional shoemaking processes, which give the shoes their deconstructed appearance. The design has an expanded, folded tongue as well as a side insert evocative of 1980s football boots. The shoe utilises sustainable alternatives in eco-leather; materials which merge the brand’s latest collections, combining tradition, utility, and innovation with modern materials such as a Vibram sole.

The latest Pantofola d’Oro SNEAKERBALL is available at select retailers as of September 14 for $260 EUR. Milan’s La Rinascente will also be hosting an exclusive two-week pop-up for the sneaker’s launch. For more information on the brand and its history check out the website.

Apple Watch 7

Credit: Apple

On Tuesday, Apple introduced the next-generation Apple Watch Series 7 at its Keynote presentation. Titled ‘California Streaming’, the tech giant hosted the event at the Apple Campus in San Francisco; where they revealed updates made to its iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Speaking of the brand new Apple Watch series, Apple’s chief operating officer explains,

“Apple Watch Series 7 delivers significant improvements — from our largest and most advanced display, to enhanced durability and faster charging — making the world’s best smartwatch better than ever before,”
He continues,
“Powered by watchOS 8, Apple Watch brings useful new capabilities to help customers stay connected, track activity and workouts, and better understand their overall health and wellness.”

The new Contour face takes the dial to the edge of the display and animates throughout the day, with an emphasis on the current hour. Its classic World Time face is based on heritage watches and is ideal for those who travel. The Portraits face uses the depth capabilities of iPhone Portrait mode to compose beautiful, personalised experiences.

The most recent Apple Watch version offers a brighter, Always-On Retina display with 20% more screen area. It has ultra-thin 1.7 mm borders with softer and rounder edges. It has a faster charging time, all-new accessories and an improved watchOS 8.

The user interface has been optimised for its larger display, with larger letter sizes and a new QWERTY keyboard which makes entering and reading texts from the Apple Watch easier than ever before. Larger menu names and buttons have also been introduced to programmes such as the Alarm app.

Apple Watch Series 7 will start at $399 USD, Apple Watch SE starts at $279 USD and Apple Watch Series 3 starts at $199 USD. Accessories will be available to order from today, while the Apple Watch Hermès Series 7 and the new Apple Watch Hermès bands will be available later this fall.

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