THIS IS NOT A SUIT - A FILM BY A. SAUVAGE

There has been a dearth of content on our blog. If you'd like to contribute, please email us! We have tons of content to share with the world but there are only so many hours in the day. Anyways we try our best not to repost content, but we found this video to be amazing.

Our buddies over at drifters & stray linked us the video.



We have been contemplating a move to tumblr to keep things easy.

sifr 2011 : hong kong sourcing day 2.3

One of our last videos from Hong Kong!

This video takes us inside the sample room that we are currently working with out of Kowloon. So after a year of producing with Indonesia exclusively we've finally made a comeback into China. We're doing several styles with the sample room captured in the video and we're looking to grow that selection in the coming collections. Besides producing out of this great sample room we're also doing our first batch of knitwear out of HK! We were more than happy when some of the samples that the knitwear supplier showed us from their portfolio had Flippa K tags attached.

If you have any questions, feel free to post in the comments section below!

Next up we have some footage from our recent shoot for our new project and we will be shooting some out of this world footage straight from Jakarta with our new footwear and clothing manufacturers.



Sincerely,
sifr

sifr 2011 : voyeur home videos

A little different from the holistic design video we posted earlier but in a similar light. We're taking more video footage about our process, our day to day on trips, insights into spots we checked out while traveling, peaks into factories and offices we visit. On our HK trip we figured that we've been having such a great time these last 2 years it would be selfish to not share it with the people that make what we do everyday possible.

In this video we are kicking starting our second day in Hong Kong. The day preluding this one was an action packed 23hours of work, indulgent food and smooth drinks; unfortunately we don't have much documentation of that besides a couple of photographs. We're about to go upstairs and finish some tech packs and then check out what Sham Sui Po has to offer, hopefully we will find a worthy fabric to sample with and use for production. We have a few more videos from HK covering the sample room and our thoughts of Sham Sui Po, stay tuned!

We are planning to return late May, so if you guys have any suggestions on places to go please let us know. We're up for anything, private kitchens to local noodle joints to beautiful nature spots. Share your secrets with us!

We'd also like to thank Alessandro Schuelli and Fasil Alemante for their continued support and advice regarding our growth! Their words and actions have helped us shape the company into what it is today.



Sincerely,
sifr

sifr 2011 : holistic design 0.1

We are going to be releasing a set of unedited anecdotal videos from our production trips in Jakarta, sourcing trips in Japan, to our day to day operations in Singapore. In this series of posts & videos we will be touching on everything from production based techniques to things we learn about in our visual merchandising that we've picked up over the last two years and employing in our brand today. Hope you enjoy the footage!

In this video Suraj is touching briefly on "stitches per inch" something that is integral in constructing any garment. SPI has a direct impact on the strength of the seam, the appearance of garment, and can affect the elasticity on certain fabrics and seam puckering. Seam strength depends on several factors: fabric weight & type, stitch & seam construction, stitches per inch, the type of thread and its size, and balancing the tension between stitches. SPI differs from garment to garment, fabric, weight and so on.

Consistency is also mentioned in the video something that resides in our design process but is visually distinct once the garment comes into reality.

Be Linen Movie

A friend recently passed me the link to the video below. I found the timing of my friends recommendation to be quite uncanny as the world's cotton supply plummets due to terrible harvests the last two years and prices begin to shoot up as world consumption catches up with supply. The question I have been asking myself regarding fabric is where to next? We at sifr have been looking at several possible fabric alternatives to offset our cotton consumption. For our jersey we've been exploring modal, tencel, and bamboo. For our woven we have been looking at linen (not European in particular), lyocell, and several other cellulose & synthetic blends. You'll start to see us use a wider range of fabric types this coming 2011.

If you're interested in fabric or just about systems & processes the video below will most definitely satiate your curiosity. The 15 minute film provides a brief glimpses at different components of the growing, processing, post processing, manufacturing, and fabrication of the oldest fabric in the world, linen. The film is beautifully shot and has superb flow between the different topics related to linen although the video does get a little too overt with the marketing it's still a great watch, enjoy!

BE LINEN MOVIE from Benoit MILLOT on Vimeo.

RSA Animate - First as Tragedy, Then as Farce

In this short RSA Animate, renowned philosopher Slavoj Zizek investigates the surprising ethical implications of charitable giving.

jason fried, marketing by sharing

we've recently started using basecamp in the office, this is a great talk given by one of 37signals founders, jason fried. we will do a post on a how basecamp has impacted us later this month. in the mean time enjoy the brilliance of this video.

Behance: If I Knew Then What I Know Now

I'm sure some of you already know of the creative platform, Behance Network, this is some content from one of their sister sites, 99% (1% inspiration). Einstein was on the ball when he coined that one... Where ever you are right now, whether in school or transiting between jobs this short video may help to pose the question to yourself, "Where am I right now?". Not only in relation to geography, time and space but on a non linear plane of thought as well.

Where are you in the universe? Are you steering your own ship? (Feel free to comment below)

Unlearn Your MBA

A friend passed me the link for the video below a few days ago. A talk done by a programmer and main partner of the web application company 37signals, David Heinemeier Hansson. Although Mr.Hansson's talk is related to programming and code rather than fashion, visual aesthetics and design the underlying business concepts transcend many barriers that define distinct avenues of industry and enterprise. A lot of what is talked about pertains to smaller scale companies. Ideas and insight that can traverse laterally across many forms of product &/or services. If you've got an hour to invest into some great concepts regarding innovation and small business management then please click the video below (Excuse his humor).

Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture | Video on TED.com

It's been awhile since I've shared anything from TED.com. The talk below is something worth sharing especially if you're in any sort of industry that requires creativity. A worthy 15 minutes to spend watching something that may bring up some questions on the way you, your team, your company, your industry operates.

Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture | Video on TED.com

Helena Park - Go Outside

Go Outside from Helene Park on Vimeo.

A nice stop motion video I found off vimeo staff picks that was shot on a Canon 7D in Maui, Hawaii. I can't help but thinking what the video suggests, maybe a trip to the botanical gardens this weekend. Music is by: Cults - Go Outside.

Phantogram - Mouthful of Diamonds Official Video

Phantogram recently released their official video for their song, 'Mouthful of Diamonds'. Have a look, have a listen.

Four Lions : A Jihadist Comedy

I can't wait till Four Lions debuts in theaters this May. A controversial comedy directed by Chris Morris that follows a 4 man suicide terror cell in the UK. The story follows them from the groups initial inception to their gateway to heaven, blowing up the London marathon.

The Polaroid SX-70 & The Impossible Project

Below is an excellent film done by the Eames highlighting the technicalities of how a Polaroid SX-70 works and functions as well as it's practical and creative uses. The reason why I mention this beautifully designed camera to you all is because of the recent revival of its film in the forms of the 'IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT'.

The great people at the IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT have made a huge strides in the preservation of analog photography something that is withering away from current pop society. As you all know Polaroid ceased producing its film in 2008. the result of this was inflated prices on ebay, people rushing to their nearest bulk wholesaler and stocking up in fear of not being able to ever use their Polaroid cameras again. The technology that Polaroid produced was in danger of becoming obsolete; hundreds of thousands of functioning cameras would be rendered useless due to the lack of film.

The IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT started in October of 2008, the mission entailed thousands of hours(17 month span) of collective research and work, the acquisition of the last functioning Polaroid film factory in Holland and invaluable support of Ilford Photo. The seeds sewn by the IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT have come to fruition in the form of several film types. These new film packs have breathed life into hundreds of thousands of Polaroid cameras around the world.

Content Aware Scale for Photoshop CS5?

Just in time for April 1st. If not, it'll be something awesome to look forward to.
Crossing my fingers for the latter.

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world | Video on TED.com

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world | Video on TED.com

A friend of mine linked me this video a few days back, I finally got around to seeing it and the significance that I took away from it was amazing. This is a little out of the context from what is usually posted here but I think this will be relevant to quite a few of our readers that grew up around some sort of gaming console or computer(the same concepts from the video can be translated from sports as well, but I think the point of time commitment is a lot more common in games). A lot of the subjects touched on I've come up through my own research, however the vindication from hearing the points mentioned in this talk are priceless to me.

Ho imparato che niente e impossibile, e anche che quasi niente e facile…(I’ve learned that nothing is impossible, and that almost nothing is easy…) - Articolo 31 (Italian rap group),

 “Un Urlo”

Jeremy Clarkson - Beatbox (Swede Mason)

On the subject of sound splicing. Swede Mason.

Pogo - Skynet Symphonic

Pogo, the artist behind the video above samples all his sounds from the actual film. It must be quite a daunting process scanning the motion picture for those particular sounds to fit into the piece. Here is a link to more of his work, Pogo

The tigerstripe camo m-65 looks great.

Wong Kar Wai: Days of Being Wild

"I finally arrived at my mother's house, but she didn't want to see me. The maids told me she no longer lived there.
As I was leaving, I could feel a pair of eyes watching me from behind,
but I was determined not to turn around. I just wanted to find out what she looked like. Since she wouldn't give me that chance, I wouldn't give it to her either."

Opening Ceremony Interview on VBS.TV

The second half of the Opening Ceremony interview hosted by Spike Jonze.