Titled” Plastic City” Dimepiece Designs, drew inspiration from Barbie and the physical idealism  Hollywood places on  its youth. As an intent to be ironic , the collection features graphics with a shaved Barbie head, catchy slogans and cut and sew pieces. Available at Dimepice Store.

Han Ahn Soon   designed by AhnSoon Ahn presented her Autumn/Winter 2009 collection during japan fashion week . The line caught my eye as it’s fun , feminine but still not too girly. I have to say that  although the mongolian inspired coats and jacket  are  vaguely reminiscent of Anna Sui,  her aesthetic is  like a sleeker version of boho-chic.  Images via jfw.

On the next page a closer look at Han Ahn Soon  Autumn/Winter 2009.

Here’s another image from opening night at the NY TopShop launch party, where we get a peak of the shoe offerings. I’m not overwhelmed by what I’m what I’m seeing here, people.  Then again, I am super picky about my shoes in that I will spend money I don’t have to obtain ones that both standout from a design perspective and use high quality materials.

Btw, the guy in the image is Sir Philip Green, who owns TopShop and is INSANELY wealthy. According to Wiki, he is Britain’s seventh richest man! I wonder if that includes Queenie??

With shoes like these Lanvin metallic woven sandals, you don’t have to wear much else. They are, essentially, the oufit. Everything else functions as a backdrop to elevate their insanity.

Spotted at New York magazine’s Shop-A-Matic, but you can purchase them at Kirna Zabete.

One more angle after the jump.

Love how this Maison Martin Margiela bracelet combines the heavy link chain with flashy and feminine rhinestones. It’s available at ELuxury for $250. My one issue is the materials versus the price, which don’t match up as far as I’m concerned.

Spotted at NotCouture.

The cute jacket and dress above are from NYMag, which got a sneak peak at TopShop’s lookbook for its first U.S. location, which is set to open in New York on April 2nd. There are a few more images over at NYMag, plus the U.S. website is now available for you to lay your pretty eyes on.

When is a sweatshirt not a sweatshirt? When Alex Wang  gets his hand on the design, natch!

Spotted at ShopBop.

Need we say more about how excited we are about this? This M.O.B. Colette tee is part of the French retailer’s latest designer collabo series, commemorating Barbie’s 50th birthday. It features a special collection designed by Jeremy Scott, as well as a bunch of other select designers. No word yet on when these tees go on sale, but we will let you know as soon as we know!

The back of the tee on the other side.

Who but a crazy person wouldn’t love to own a pair of these Current/Elliot jean shorts to wear almost non-stop through Summer ‘09. I spotted them first at the great Colette, but you might be able to find them in more local sites, where they’re not quite as high-priced. Then again, given Colette’s love of the unusual, maybe not.

A while ago there was a  category in fashion  called urban brands. In that category you would find labels that generally were associated with black inner city youth or hip-hop. They had names like Pellé Pellé, Fubu , Pnb , Mecca, and of course Akademiks.

Fashion and thankfully people have always been more open and diverse than what was perceived so, the term urban which really should have just been a city thing , became somewhat obsolete and I would dare to say replaced by streetwear . Keep in mind,  however that  in Japan for example Fubu is till hot!  Nonetheless, brand perception and image are  powerful concepts.

We wonder where this relaunch will take  Akademiks when most of us who probably rocked it are still current and aware of the latest and greatest. Kudos  to the  art direction and styling for erasing any hint of a stereotypical video vixen vibe, that I for one associated them with .  Any thoughts?

Check out  the Akademiks womens’ look book on the next page.