#17talks

Virgil Abloh Reimagines the Mercedes Maybach

Following their previous collaboration, Mercedes-Benz and Virgil Abloh are once again back at it, this time taking on the signature Mercedes-Maybach. Together with Mercedes Chief Design Officer Gorden Wagener, Abloh has tackled the new vehicle, which will be revealed on December 1 coinciding with Art Basel Miami. The two previously worked on a conceptual G-Wagon, and the Maybach is also set to be an electric show car. Dubbed Project MAYBACH, the collaboration has been teased with a mural, the first one located in London on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch. Decked out with 3D-line rocks and climbing gear, the mural hints that the upcoming car will most likely be inspired by the great outdoors. Highsnobiety Spotted on the wall is an Off-White™ backpack, hinting that there's another possible collaboration in the works that features apparel. We've previously seen Mercedes-Benz work on apparel with both Heron Preston and Proenza Schouler, so it is only a matter of time before Abloh has one coming. The crossover between automobile and fashion is continuing to grow, and Abloh has been a catalyst in growing the category. We're expecting more from Virgil and Mercedes-Benz, and we're looking forward to seeing what they've got in store. Stay tuned as the full collaboration is set to be revealed, and if you're in London, make sure you visit the mural on Redchurch street to take part in the activation.

Burberry Unveils Reflective Landscape Sculpture Pop-Up on Jeju Island in South Korea

Burberry (LSE:BRBY.L -0.80%) has brought their first-ever immersive brand experience on Jeju Island, South Korea in celebration of the brand’s outerwear collection. The ephemeral destination sees the essence of nature and technology merge together for a short period, as a part of the brand’s most recent global pop-up initiative. Through a mirrored sculptural building that takes naturalistic inspiration from the topography of the Sanbangsan mountain on the shore of Jeju Island. Reflective on the surface, the building mirrors the Hallasan mountain’s natural surroundings. On theme with Burberry’s outerwear collection theme, the pop-up continues to aim to blur the lines between “nature and technology, the indoors and outdoors, the real and the imagined.” Inside the sculpture, Burberry’s most adventurous outdoor pieces ranging from a selection of puffer jackets to the modern iterations of the British label’s signature trench coat, appear on display for visitors. Those who visit can also enjoy some downtime at Thomas’s Café situated a short distance away from the sculpture. The innovative space sees the digital sphere and physical collide and features an immersive art installation as well as interactive cinematic projects by three artists, showcased inside. Take a look above at the Burberry pop-up on Jeju Island. For more information, check out Burberry.    

Travis Scott & Drake Hit With $2 Billion Astroworld Lawsuit

Travis Scott and Drake are facing two massive lawsuits following the deadly crowd surge at Scott's Astroworld music festival in Houston. On November 17, attorney Tony Buzbee of the Buzbee Law Firm filed a suit for $750 million on behalf of over 125 clients. “No amount of money will ever make these Plaintiffs whole; no amount of money can restore human life. But, the damages sought in this case attempts to fix, help, or make up for the harms and losses suffered by these Plaintiffs-nothing more and nothing less,” the complaint reads. There are 10 recorded deaths from the festival, including nine-year-old Ezra and Bharti Shahani, who died a few days after Astroworld was shut down. On November 18, powerhouse attorney Thomas J. Henry filed a second lawsuit on behalf of 282 clients seeking $2 billion in damages. "The defendants stood to make an exorbitant amount of money off of this event, and they still chose to cut corners, cut costs, and put attendees at risk," a press release from Henry reads. Both lawsuits name a slew of defendants including Travis Scott, Drake, Live Nation, the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation, Apple Music, and other parties who profited from the event. Astroworld was a massive tragedy, and it's important that the victims' families, as well as those traumatized by the crowd crush, receive necessary support. Both the festival and its organizer, Live Nation, reportedly refunded all concert-goers for the price of the tickets, meaning that anyone who accepted the refund may not be eligible for further legal compensation. "These defendants will no doubt argue that their exposure is limited to the price of the ticket, and, failing that, will attempt to force all concert goers — regardless of their age or adequate notice — into binding arbitration, so a jury trial can be avoided," Buzbee said.

Nike Unveils Dunk Low "Ice" Sneakers for the Holiday Season

Following the reveal of the Nike (NYSE:NKE +2.06%) Dunk Low PRM “Vast Grey” last week, images of new festive Nike Dunk Low ”Ice” sneakers have emerged. The upcoming sneakers are inspired by the annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in which hectares of illuminated ice buildings and sculptures are erected throughout the Northeastern city of Harbin, China throughout January and February. Uppers are dressed in silver satin with white velvet overlay panels. Mismatched embroidery of children playing in the snow and riding on sleds are found on the lateral heel and toebox, and celebratory pennon banners line the turquoise-embroidered Nike heel tab. The inner lining is also dressed in turquoise contrasted with a red insole displaying the Chinese character for ice. Below, a gray midsole is elevated by a star-spotted translucent outsole to complete the limited-edition pairs. The Nike Dunk Low “Ice” is set to drop in the coming weeks on Nike SNKRS and select retailers. Stay tuned for pricing and release date information.

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Elon Musk Sells $5 Billion USD in Tesla Shares and Twitter Gets a Crypto Team In This Week’s Business and Crypto Roundup

Many brands are starting to see a recovery despite the challenges initially brought on by the pandemic. Some businesses, especially ones that focused efforts on expanding e-commerce ventures, have even seen profits rise even higher than before. HYPEBEAST has rounded up the top business and crypto stories of the week so you can stay in the know about trends across industries. Business 1. Elon Musk has sold about $5 billion USD of Tesla (NASDAQGS:TSLA -2.83%) stock so far Musk had asked his Twitter followers via poll whether he should let go of some of his personal holdings. Musk still holds over 166 million shares.   2. Steam Deck won’t be shipped until February 2022 Valve‘s highly-anticipated all-in-one gaming device Steam Deck will not be delivered to customers until February 2022. The company said that global supply chain issues led to them pushing back the launch date. 3. Apple has launched a subscription service for small businesses Apple has launched a new subscription service for small businesses called Apple Business Essentials. Integrating device management, iCloud storage and Apple support, the service is specially geared towards small businesses with up to 500 employees. 4. Twitter Blue launches in the U.S. The $2.99 USD subscription service includes a multitude of special features including the ability to undo a tweet, customize the Twitter app icon, access to ad-free articles from 300 U.S.-based publications and more. Twitter will pay a percentage of its users’ subscriptions to participating news websites based on what its users read.   5. Roblox reports better-than-expected Q3 2021 results Revenues from Roblox increased 102% year over year to reach $509.3 million USD. The platform’s average daily users reached 47.3 million players, marking an increase of 31%, with hours engaged going up 28% to a staggering 11.2 billion hours. Crypto 1. Beeple’s ‘HUMAN ONE’ generative NFT sold for $29 million USD The work — a kinetic video sculpture with a corresponding dynamic NFT — is designed to continuously display artwork that will evolve over time. Beeple will have remote access to the artwork and creative control over its content forever.   2. Twitter is building out an entire team dedicated to Crypto Twitter is expanding its interest in cryptocurrency, building out an entire team focused on exploring cryptocurrency, blockchain and other decentralized technologies. Software engineer Tess Rinearson has been named as the head of the new division. 3. Universal Music Group has created a Bored Ape Yacht Club band called KINGSHIP The project was created by 10:22PM founder Celine Joshua in collaboration with Jimmy McNeils, a leading NFT collector, who provided the Apes for the group. 10:22PM is Universal Music Group’s next-gen metaverse label.   4. Tim Cook confirmed that he has personal investments in crypto Cook didn’t reveal exactly which coins he held, Cook did explain that he’s been researching cryptocurrencies “for a while” and that he thinks they’re “interesting.” He added that Apple has been looking at accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, 5. The buyer of a $3.4 million USD Bored Ape NFT shared why he’s in it for the long run Last month, Brandon Buchanan, a.k.a rhincodon, bought a super rare gold fur Bored Ape NFT. Click on the link above to read about how he sees NFTs as an integral part of the digital future.

Check Out All the Marvel Studios Reveals From Disney+ Day

Celebrating its two-year anniversary, Disney+ revealed an expansive array of new content during Disney+ Day. Standing out amongst the slew of sneak peeks were all the new titles coming from Marvel Studios. Serving as the latest expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the streaming platform, we are set to see 12 new titles in the coming future. The announcements come complete with first looks, title cards and early information sure to get Marvel fans excited. Expected titles featured included Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, while some unexpected titles included the return of X-Men: The Animated Series with X-Men`97 and Ironheart which will look to continue the legacy of Ironman. Other exciting things coming include Echo, Agatha: House of Darkness, Season 2 of What If…?, I Am Groot and Marvel Zombies. Head over to Marvel’s website to learn more about all the shows coming to Disney+.

Kanye West Pays Elon Musk a Visit at SpaceX

The Apple Car has mostly been a concept limited to speculation and rumors, with minimal information released regarding product design and launch dates and even no confirmation that they are developing their own electric vehicle. In turn, fans have resorted to looking at patents Apple recently filed to inform their own conclusions. In absence of any further details, a team at Vanarama has taken matters into their own hands and designed a concept car “using genuine patents filed by Apple Inc.” Filling in the blanks, Vanarama has recreated the possible aesthetic of what Apple’s futuristic car might look like through an interactive 3D model. Since the beginning, the Apple Car has been compared to the Tesla Cybertruck. While the design by Vanarama shows that the appearance of Apple’s car might resemble Tesla’s in its steep angles and lack of pillars that see glass connect the window, windshield and sunroof. The chassis does not appear to extend to the door, nor divide the glass panels. Vanarama has also included a touchscreen that spans across the entire dash, adaptive cars, a Siri-connected steering wheel, as well as retractable handles with buttons that are reminiscent o the iPhone. In the past, media sources such as Reuters have confirmed that the tech company is looking to build its own autonomous vehicle. Take a look at Vanarama’s rendition of the Apple Car above.

LeBron James, Drake and Naomi Osaka Team Up To Invest in Sports Technology Company, Potentially Worth Billions

LeBron James, Drake and Naomi Osaka have linked up to invest in a sports technology company called StatusPro. Started by two former football players, Andrew Hawkins and Troy Jones, the firm describes themselves as a sports tech and gaming company that incorporates player’s data and augmented and virtual reality to create a bevvy of training and fan engagement products. According to the press release, the sports tech firm is part of a growing industry that is projected to be worth $57 billion USD by 2027. StatusPro currently has partnerships with a number of NFL teams including the Baltimore Ravens, the NFL Players Association and NCAA collegiate teams. Additional investors for the company include Verizon, KB Partners, Greycroft and Leeds United stakeholders. Hawkins and Jones are amongst the less than one percent of Black entrepreneurs who receive funding from traditional venure capitalist firms. Hawkins said, “It’s incredibly humbling that pioneers of their level believe in us as founders and in our vision for this industry. We always say StatusPRO is only as strong as our team, and our team just got a whole lot stronger.” Naomi Osaka, a strategic investor for the company praised the duo sharing, “I look for investment opportunities that can have a lasting impact on culture and society – and StatusPRO is poised to do that. It’s not only going to influence gaming and entertainment (two things I am passionate about), but also the way athletes can train and analyze their performance.” With the help of investments from James, Drake and Naomi Osaka, StatusPro hopes to take its products beyond football and into other facets of the industry.

Apple Car Concept Renditions Designed After Company Patents Have Surfaced

The Apple Car has mostly been a concept limited to speculation and rumors, with minimal information released regarding product design and launch dates and even no confirmation that they are developing their own electric vehicle. In turn, fans have resorted to looking at patents Apple recently filed to inform their own conclusions. In absence of any further details, a team at Vanarama has taken matters into their own hands and designed a concept car “using genuine patents filed by Apple Inc.” Filling in the blanks, Vanarama has recreated the possible aesthetic of what Apple’s futuristic car might look like through an interactive 3D model. Since the beginning, the Apple Car has been compared to the Tesla Cybertruck. While the design by Vanarama shows that the appearance of Apple’s car might resemble Tesla’s in its steep angles and lack of pillars that see glass connect the window, windshield and sunroof. The chassis does not appear to extend to the door, nor divide the glass panels. Vanarama has also included a touchscreen that spans across the entire dash, adaptive cars, a Siri-connected steering wheel, as well as retractable handles with buttons that are reminiscent o the iPhone. In the past, media sources such as Reuters have confirmed that the tech company is looking to build its own autonomous vehicle. Take a look at Vanarama’s rendition of the Apple Car above.

The Supreme x Nike "By Any Means" in "Black/White" as Seen on Foot

Following the on-foot look of the “Brazil” edition, YankeeKicks gives us a 360 view of the Supreme x Nike (NYSE:NKE +1.27%) SB Dunk High “By Any Means” in black and white. Along with a Navy and Red installment, the trio of sneakers is reported to debut in the upcoming weeks. Shaped up in the signature two-toned colorway, this offering resembles that of the “Panda” design which reverses the shades by opting for a black leather base with white overlays including the main lateral Swoosh. As a nod to the brand’s 2008 “By Any Means” collection, the text is found embroidered on the heel in a script-like font with an outline of the “NY” branding checked off by a mini Swoosh under a white embroidery reading “Supreme Team” by the pull tab. The tongue branding features the brand’s “SUP” text while a “No <3” hits the forefoot of the shoe on the lateral and is capped off with “World Famous” detailing the lace tips. Finishing off the design is a white midsole atop a black rubber outsole. Look out for the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk High “By Any Means” Black/White to release at Supreme flagship locations and through the brand’s website.

DiW Crafts Carbon Fiber/DLC Black Grail Project Patek Philippe Nautilus

DiW has recently given Patek Philippe’s Nautilus 5711 a whole new makeover. Part of Designa Individual’s Black Grail Project — where they create carbon versions of some of the most iconic watches — this 5711 took a total of ten months of development and another six months of assembly time. The majority of the watch now sees key design components like the bracelet and bezel crafted in complex carbon fiber — reducing its weight from 115g to just 80g. Parts that haven’t been remade in carbon fiber are coated in DLC while the dial is done in matte black. If you look closely at the bracelet, which DiW says was the hardest detail to create, you’ll see that each link is carbon fiber joined to DLC stainless steel. Limited to just 5 examples, the Black Grail Project Carbon Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 from DiW retails for roughly $210,000 USD.