Palladium Boots: Then and Now

Lets take a short trip into the past, I'm thinking about 1920. A company called Palladium was founded as a manufacturer of aircraft tires for the aviation industry. Fast forward to 1939 and business is booming what with the world being at war and everything. Over the next 6 years Palladium are practically raking it in that is until about May 1945 when the war ended. Over the next 2 years the Demand for Palladium tires slowly began declining so they head guys at the company decide that rather than going bankrupt they'll put their expert knowledge in rubber and canvas to another use. And thus Palladium was reborn as a boot maker.

Known for being hard wearing (the soles of the boots are made using the same rubber as the tires) and for providing the French Foreign Legion with their signature Pampa boot, Palladium have somehow managed to make themselves even more relevant in terms of style and practicality.

Available at Size?

P.S

Last week I went to the launch party at The Old Blue Last in Shoreditch where I lost yet another brooch. I'm way to traumatized to go into the details of how I lost it. Just know that it was made using a vintage brass lion taken from a 15 year old belt, 24k gold coated stingray skin (yes the fish) and Swarovski crystals. I made it by myself by hand. The only consolation being that there are a pair of Palladium boots on their way to me as we speak.

3rd Time Lucky?

The problem with being an alcoholic party animal that wears fabulous things is that sometimes when doing the things that alcoholic party animals do, clothes and accessories can get lost or damaged. I know this from first hand experience.

Isn't this a beautiful brooch?

So far I have been a proud owner of 2 of these. One in green crystals and the other in black. Both of which have been lost due to my drunken antics. The first was lost in September 2008 during London Fashion Week. Don't ask me how because I haven't got a clue. Just know that somebody else is walking around with my brooch. The second was lost in February 2009 again during London Fashion Week. It doesn't take a genius to notice the trend that I am cursed to forever loose this beautiful piece should I ever be in possession of one.

This makes me ask the question should I buy do I deserve another one? Maybe this time I will be more careful. The chances are slim seeing as my alcohol consumption has gone up 10 fold in the past 6 months.

Click here to get yours from Liberty of London. It only costs £95.

Key Closet

My name is Niyi Maximus Crown. If you've been reading my blog then you know exactly what I'm about. I like things that are shiny and I like things that sparkle. I am Swarovski's biggest fan and I am obsessed with diamonds and other precious gemstones. So when I come across a brand like Key Closet I can't help but get a little bit excited.

This Luxury casual wear brand features T-Shirts hoodies and tops all embellished by hand with embroidery, spray paint, hand applied foil and Swarovski crystal. All tastefully done to produce a wearable work of art

But that's not where it ends because Key Closet are also Responsible for the £7000 pair of jeans.


Now when I first heard the price the first thing I said was "lets be real if the jeans are going to cost £7000 I really do hope it's got some diamonds on it somewhere". How ironic because they do. The hand made, one of a kind, jeans are covered in 1309 stones including real diamonds, over 160 nail heads and beautiful hand painted accents.

I shed a little tear.

Click here to check out the website.

My pussy smells divine...

Amanda is the new fragrance by Amanda Lepore and I don't even need to smell it to know that it's going to be hot. I love Amanda, I think she's actually amazing and it's weird because I don't actually know why. She's like an angel in a sense...

Anyway, the bottle is cover in over 1000 Swarovski crystals and comes with a signed booklet featuring photos of Lady Lepore taken by Nico Iliev. Also a very important factor is that the fragrance is limited to only 5000 so I would say get in there quickly to purchase yours however at $950 you may have to take a while scraping your pennies together first.

I'm one of those people that will buy anything if it's packaged well enough so the contents of the bottle doesn't actually matter to me however one of the components that make up this fragrance is real Cristal as in the champagne. I don't think there's enough to get drunk off but it's the thought that counts.

And for your viewing pleasure...



Lovely!

I must warn you...

In the shoot that I styled for the next issue of SUPERSUPER this makes an appearance...

Yes that is a motorcycle helmet coverd in Swarovski crystals.
Yes it is worth £3000.
Yes I did have to sign a form saying that I will give my left arm, right leg, 4 fingers of my choosing and some hair should anything happen to it.


Brace yourselves. It's gonna be major!

The only piece of luggage fit for Mr Crown

OH MY SWEET BEJEEZEES...


Samsonite have made my suit case of dreams. Limited to only 30 pieces worldwide, designers at Samsonite's Black Label have teamed up with Swarovski to produce this re-edition of one of their 1920’s trunks. Just look at what they have done...

It makes me weep.

I don't really know what else to say. Something so epic doesn't require my paltry words. I feel as though the English language is totally inadequate to describe how the sight of this amazing piece of beauty makes me feel.

I am actually being serious when I say that this thing has brought a tear to my eye.
It will be available from a few places, Colette being one of them.

Image courtesy of High Snobiety

A day in the life of Mr Crown...

Today has been quite an interesting day. I say interesting because I don't really know how else to describe it but for those of you who ever wondered what it was like to be me, (I know all of you have) this is a typical example of a regular day as Niyi Crown.

(This is a very long post however the ending is worth it all)

I woke up this morning and got ready for work. Before I left I spoke with Annoushka from the Bape press office to arrange an appointment to view the Spring/Summer 09 collection.

(Oh my sweet shitties, as I type this I can hear a mouse squeaking from the other side of the room. I've never heard this before, I thought mouse squeaking was just an urban legend)

So I left my house to get on the bus to the office and there was a crazy woman in the street near the bus stop going ballistic because nobody had a lighter for her to light her cigarette. I would have offered her mine but I was a little intimidated by the fact that her ass was hanging out of her trousers from where she had been stamping her feet like a kid throwing a tantrum. Cellulite is not sexy!

So I got to the office and had to leave shortly after my arrival because there was a press day for me and Dominik (assistant) to attend. We went to view the Lee Cooper and Jean Charles De Castelbajac collaboration. I did a few fashion returns while Dominik went back to the office.

After making the returns I called up George (tech editor) to organize the return of a Sony Ericsson phone that he was testing. Turns out that he was near Selfridges so I walked over to meet him. He gave me the phone after exchanging our greetings and stood chatting for a few minutes before I decide that I wanted to take a trip into Selfridges. We walked through the jewelery section (obviously) and into the Wonder Room (again, obviously) still talking and making comments as we passed by the amazing objects of desire. Our conversation soon turned into me totally just bitching about how life isn't great and how it could be so much better when the lady behind the till decided to join in. Without going into too much detail me and Taline get to talking about fashion (turns out she's a designer). We exchange details and then something realy weird happens. She just pulled out 2 back issues of WOUND magazine (which I love) and says I can take them. She putt them in a nice yellow bag and says here you go.


Freebies from selfridges are always good right? Anyway the fabulousness of the situation quickly came to an end as my mouth slowly filled with blood due to the fact that I had bitten the inside of my cheek. Thankfully I was well on my way back to the office so nobody could see the horrid face I was pulling. Before all of this though I bump into superstar Video Director Mo Ali. This was the first time we had met in person so it was a nice greeting. Through out our whole conversation all I remember thinking is "WOW I'm jealous of this guys eye lashes, they're so dangerous". So anyway, I get back to the office only to be greeted by an invitation to a music event being hosted in the Swarovski Crystalized store by Music Matrix.

Namalee and myself got to the event in the middle of a performance which was actually amazing at about 7:45. The thing about this event is it was a music event. It was a music crowd. I was totally alien to this kind of environment because I am fashion. I'm used to walking into a room and everyone competing to be seen in their best outfit. Not at this event. Everyone just looked so normal. Me an Namalee stood out like a fire in the woods. I loved it.

On my way home I was absolutely shattered and my feet were killing me because my trainers are a size too small. As I walked home from the bus stop I decide to start taking all of my jewelery off. It is a long process and I didn't want to wait till I got home before I began. I got home and start to take all of my jewels out of my pocket only to find that one was missing. After frantically searching for about half an hour I forgot what I was even looking for to begin with and sat down to eat some pasta instead. With a mouth full of food I suddenly blurted out "OH MY GOD I'VE JUST LOST THE MOST EXPENSIVE PIECE OF JEWELRY I OWN".

All I have to say is that some luck bastard is about to stumble across a platinum and diamond ring and should they choose to sell it...
££££££

P.S
Don't think I didn't go out to search for the ring because I did. This isn't the first time this has happened to me either, I just didn't learn my lesson the first time around. I'm pretty calm about it because if not I will just break down and cry.

I met him at a show during fashion week...

...and I fell in love instantly. In case you didn't know I love sparkly things. Especially Swarovski Crystals. Now take a look at this guys head...

2 hours of sitting there having glue slapped on his head to place these crystals on his head is what makes this guy a leagend.

P.S
They were genuine Swarovski crystals do not get it twisted. The reason they don't sparkle like they should is because of the lightning.

Also

The rest of his outfit was quite fly too!

The Hip-Hop Crown Jewels Auction

A few months back I was lucky enough to attend Swarovskis' Runway Rocks event which was absolutely amazing. Now, when I walked into the venue I was so overwhelmed with excitement that I didn't even pay any attention to the small glass cabinet that was by the stairs. It was only after the show (and a substantial amount of alcohol) when I was on my way out, I realized that this cabinet contained a selection of some of hip-hops' finest Jewels. The sexy lady behind the cabinet kindly informed me that these beauties were going to be up for auction at the Philips de Pury gallery in New York. She began telling me about the whole event and how it will feature around 50 pieces worn by the likes of 50 Cent, MC Lyte, Kanye West, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Biz Markie, Missy Elliot, Notorious B.I.G, and so on and so on. She also mentioned that Pharrells' multicolored pave diamond Gucci link necklace was going to be included in the auction (which would explain why when I interview and shot him for the September issue of SUPERSUPER he wasn't wearing it). I nearly burst into tears. It was all just a little too much for my drunken mind to handle. So I stumbled outside and lit a cigarette.

Here are some pictures.

Hip-Hops' Crown Jewels


This headphones pendant Belonged to Biz Markie



I believe this watch belonged to Notorious B.I.G


This is Missy Elliot's ring


This is the ring that brought me to tears. It belonged to the late great Tupac Shakur.


Now onto the serious business. The lady that I was speaking with also mentioned that Lil' Jon's "Crunk Ain't Dead" necklace would be featuring in the auction too.

However, what that bitch failed to mention, and I am quite upset that she didn't is that this was going to be up for grabs as well...


Yeah that's right!

I totally just shit my pants when I saw this.
It's Slick Rick's diamond encrusted eye patch. If it where mine I would wear it every single day for the rest of my life. What burns me the most isn't only the fact that I cannot at present afford this masterpiece but the fact that whoever buys it probably wont even wear it.

I think I'm ready to die now. Just give me a cigarette and a glass of elderflower and gin.

p.s
A portion of proceeds from the sale will benefit Russell Simmons' Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, the Hip Hop Summit Action Network and the Diamond Empowerment Fund.