What a week, I am knackered. You all have probably noticed through our other social channels (FB and Twitter) that DJB and I headed down to Paris for a very special launch. The good folks at Levi’s Strauss Europe invited us down to the launch of their new flagship store on one of the city’s most prestigious roads, Champs-Élysées. I can’t pronounce that title with a French accent, end up saying Champ Ellesee haha. We bumped into London-based style enthusiasts on the Eurostar, Aaron and Martell of Individualism who happened to be going to the same event. More on the reverse.

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Levi’s – Facebook | Blog | Champs Elysees Store

What makes this store so special that Levi’s wanted us to be there? Well the history of denim actually started off in France.

Appropriately enough, the legacy of denim harkens back to 17th century France and Serge de Nimes, a sturdy fabric known as “serge” that was introduced in Nimes, France. More than a century later, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis invented the first blue jean.

To celebrate the legacy, Levi brand have launched this new flagship store with their latest collections (Commuter, Made & Crafted et al) , ALL their denim range as well as the vintage clothing. Keep reading…as we went gorillas for the rest of the night.

The day started off pretty early with us heading to Paris around 10am. Straight through to the hotel as soon as we reached there – y’all need to stay at Mama Shelter if you’re going to the city. It’s a little bit special with iMacs in every room and hip-hop playing as soon as you walk in. I wasn’t sure how to illustrate our brief trip so decided to feature it as a photo story below.

We were planning to take video and a hell of a lot more imagery but the day was hectic! to be honest, we weren’t expecting 27 degree weather. Sweatfest.

Aaron let me borrow his 50mm 1.2 lens. JEEZ, the depth of field and focus is a little bit better. Auto-focus is a lot faster too.

DJB looks happy.

iMac on deck. Photobooth ting.

Mama Shelter. You have to stay here. Now onto the actual store…

Impressive installation ey? It’s Busy P/Pedro Winter’s first ever art installation. Taking him back to his skateboarding roots.

The 2 limited edition jackets from the new collaboration collection with Pedro Winter/Busy P (Ed Banger Records) and James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem). To celebrate the long-standing connection between the two countries, the launch of the new store features a few collaborations between popular French and American cultural tastemakers. Over the next few months, artists and music legends; Busy P, James Murphy, Mr. Andre and Shepard Fairey will share their love for each other’s culture, creative movements and homelands through installations, limited edition design, collaboratively designed apparel and events. Now that’s what I call a collaboration.

You should have seen how happy Busy P was to represent his city. We’ll be dropping an interview later on this week – spoke to him on what inspires him and his Ed Banger movement.

I dig this! This look is for the mid-30s creative director haha.

Custom Levi’s Vintage vest. This guy’s style >

‘This friendship has inspired important movements in music, film, art and fashion’ – We can only dream of doing the same with the family.

Busy P‘s tattoo inspired design. I need and want – $190 euros, might just have to make another trip down to Paris for one as I was in two minds on the night.

I’ll leave you guys with the campaign video, so clean. SHEPARD FAIREY YO.  I need to see what he comes up with. Obey x Levi?

Shout out to the Levi’s PR team. We had a joyous time!

OK, so I’m not very good at ‘talking about myself’ but here it goes… My name is Sami Janjér and I’m pretty much your average guy and then some. Haha, that sounds corny as hell but I will swiftly move on. I’ve known the guys since our days at Arts (to think that was one big holiday) and this site pretty much set standard for most of our peers to do something and I can safely say between Yin, Yang and DJB they were the ‘cool cats’ of uni so I’ve proudly bookmarked www.yinnyang.co.uk since second year of university (you should do too).

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OK so the ‘average guy’ part; I’ve got a degree in Marketing and Advertising, I don’t really like socialising with strangers but love networking with like minded people. Very big on visual stimulation whether moving or still hence you will most likely find me near a poster, gallery or an east end street corner. My latest obsession is running, this is actually true (not like your CV) and part of the baddest, RunDemCrew. I’ve worked for some big brands, some small brands and myself frankly border line workaholic. If I’m not doing any of the following, I’ll most likely be travelling, filming (oh i act too) or learning something new. I’m a self titled ‘Earth Child‘ who is obsessed with sunsets and hippie behaviour. All round weirdo.

Sorry in advance.

Sat in a half empty American Airlines plane, listening to Gospel and praying that I’ll make it back to London safely. It’s the end of the beginning. The past 10 days in New York have been nothing short of amazing. Staying in Brooklyn was perhaps the best decision of the whole trip – it helped us embrace the culture and gaze the Manhattan madness from a distance. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the trip when we departed London, the last trip to NYC was amazing but completely touristy. We didn’t even touch BK – the whole ‘OMG it’s so hood and I may come home in a coffin’ thang but it was the complete opposite. Yes, you’ll see the thugged out hoodie-wearing folks but I see that in East London on a regular! More on the reverse.

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I don’t want to turn this into an essay length personal post recapping my personal journey through out the trip. The New York lifestyle is very enticing – the speed of it, lack of time awareness, dinner at midnight. It sounds awful but perfect for someone who works at an agency. Ask anyone of our advertising/marketing/PR friends – they’ll tell you all about it.

JUST DO IT.

One of the key observations from the trip is the New Yorkers/Americans approach to things. Finding a real ‘New Yorker’ maybe an impossible task, just like London it’s very multicultural, so many accents and dialects. At least a dozen or so folks I met out there, moved to the city with near to nothing. A huge leap of faith, dropped everything and just went for it. They’ve all got that inspiring go-getter attitude, so brave. Many moved there with no jobs, less than 100 dollars to their name in search of their purpose in a concrete jungle. My cab driver last night left India at the age of 18, biked through 173 countries before ending up in New York. ‘I just wanted to get out and see the world, you know’. Wow. You’ll come across a lot of stories like this!

I’ll finish the post on that note. Well, I’ll leave you with a few photographs from my Friday & Sunday escapades. Finally got around to visiting the ever popular DUMBO district, an acronym for ‘Down Under Manhattan Brooklyn Overpass‘. It’s one of New York’s fast improving areas, currently being taken over by an endless number of digital agencies – including one of my favourites; Whispr, who’s office Kola and I ended up visiting on Friday. Located it in an art deco period building on Main Street that houses over 50+ agency offices. Incredible. They even gave me my own desk for a hour! Y&Y office in DUMBO soon? Who knows. Ask and ye shall receive.

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Wait for the best part of the DUMBO – look at the imagery. Imagine seeing THAT view on a daily basis – it’s a perfect postcard moment. *drool*

Before the trip, one of the places I was adamant about seeing was the Highline. In fact I wanted to run across it but due to lack of space in my luggage, I left all my gear behind. Almost ended up coming back without actually checking it out! Sunday was the day – I ended up checking it out with one of my friends and we definitely chose the WORST day possible as the weather took a sharp turn for the worst – monsoon-esque rain. NYC is all about extremes! Have a gander at the imagery though, I’d love to come back and capture the views on a bright sunny day.

Is the soul of New York a drug? I certainly want more of it.

That’s one word to describe the New York lifestyle. It’s perfect for the young and ambitious – I admire the go-getter attitude and collaborative culture of the city. It does take its toll, you just don’t notice the time. Dinners at 11pm and average night’s out ending at 5am? My gosh. I spent most of the day recovering from the week’s madness – a night in Jersey, meatpacking dining, SoHo escapades amongst all the madness. Have a gander at some of my imagery from day five. Yes, I’m late again.

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Before I let you oogle over the imagery, wanted to give you a heads up on the Metro. It’s a visually unpleasant service, not at all comfy but way more efficient and reliable than the London Underground. Express trains are needed in LDN. However having a 24 hour service in this city means you’re likely to come across some bizarre people. Loud and just plain weird. Avoid eye contact at all costs, otherwise you’ll have a creep talking to you for 5 mins. Actually writing this post whilst on the N train back down to BK.

Just like previous YiNYC posts, I’ve experimented with different colours and styles of photography and post processing. Enjoy the wide-angle shots from around Meatpacking District and Broadway Lafayette.

So patriotic.

Haven’t forgotten about this feature! I’m still wearing my FuelBand like it’s some kind of religious ornament. It’s helped me keep tabs on my journey through the city – the last few days have been considerably less than the first few. Tiredness crept upon me! doesn’t help when you’re suffering from a cold/chest infection.

Thursday – Click here
Friday – Click here
Saturday – Click here

Can’t wait to get back to London and start working out again. All this soul food consumption must have taken it’s toll on my body. Vegetarian time!

Interesting social campaign link-up between Mountain Dew & Lil Wayne.

Blurred.

Majority of New Yorkers have a real bad sense of style – their shoe choices are laughable.

Sorry for the lack of update yesterday, I wasn’t too bothered to get my camera out and photograph everything. Strange – wanted to just enjoy the company I was with and the city that I’m in. That only lasted a day so have a gander at the imagery from around Brooklyn and Clyde Frazier‘s new restaurant/bar/sports lounge/basket after the cut. Lot’s of randomness from all over the city in fact.

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So I’ve decided to add yesterday’s photos to this post too, all a bit random from live bands, restaurants, food, vintage shopping and architecture. Hope you enjoy – there’s a lot to take in. The city is huge in comparison to London! Also before I go, have a gander at this video my friend conjured up in the past few days in NYC. For a friend of his back home, home is where the heart is. You know.

Walked roughly 20 miles in the past 2 days – over 35,000 steps according to my FuelBand. It’s definitely made me more conscious about how many calories that I’ve burnt on a daily basis and has also made me want to walk more than I did in the previous. It’ll be interesting to see how I’ll compare in London but I’ll be working out there and walking a LOT less. Can’t wait to get home! I miss my city. Love New York though, the next 3 days are going to be epic. See my stats for the 27th & 28th.

FuelBand is out on April 1st. BoxPark. GEDDDDIT – if you’re a lazy fat arse like me, it might just make you a little more health & fitness conscious.

Double Seven, Meatpacking District. You have to check out this lounge.

NJIT! Clyde Frazier’s joint.

Kellog’s

Hmm, Americans need to cut out all the processed food. Bet the fruits are made in factories too.

What a store.

The BkC.

Camo! Olive!

Euphoria is you for me.

Rafael de la Ghetto.

NoStrand, Lafayette.

Patriotic.

Tiffany. Vintage Store – 10 feet.

Chai-Thai. Nice spot just off 6th, Bedford Avenue.

I invested in a leather jacket. My face looks awkward. Look at the jacket. Not my face. JUSTICE x Surface 2 Air.

I love this city more and more by the day. Staying in Brooklyn was probably the best decision we made – the lifestyle over here is so much different to the one uptown, it’s more chill. It’s similar to East London but way better – Bedford Avenue is definitely one of my favourite parts of the city. We kicked started our day there with BURGER for brunch. Then walked through Williamsburg, over the Bridge and onto Bowery and NoHo/SoHo. Long ass walk but we had to burn off that fat gained from the meal. You’ll see what I mean on the reverse – hop on!

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As you can tell, I can’t be bothered to write much. Time to head out for breakfast in the café downstairs and onto the Letterman show.

Gah. 24,000 steps, 11 miles and a whole lot of calories destroyed yesterday. Insane right? Nike FuelBand has made me want to keep beating my score on a daily basis, the gameifcation of every day life. Whatever you’re doing from dancing at a bar to walking across bridges. You’re burning fuel. See my stats in more detail here.

I forced myself to use the 25-105mm lens in these shots. Came out pretty cool. What do y’all think?

Trench.

KOLA BELLO -> kolabello.com

DuMont Burger.

Good Lord.

Tie as a pocket square. Fly guy.

Tosin of Brookyln.

Bedford Avenue.

Bill Cunningham. I wish.

Williamsburg Bridge.

Stars & stripes.

Bowery.

Depressed Mario.

London Fashion Week folks below. They were super nice.

Sofia Vergara! That is all.

Sending my kids here some day.

Tourists posing in front of the Empire.

Gah, apologies for the delayed post. Life over here has been surreal so far – everything feels like a scene out of a movie/TV show. Even the part of BK we’re staying in, NoStrand, the area around here isn’t the most visually pleasing but so much personality. The people are a mixture of super nice and crazy (as in don’t look at them and walk past) haha. I’m not going to break down what we did each day, just a tad too long! I want my photographs to do the talking – hop on after the cut to see our journey through BK, Queens and Manhattan.

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Like I mentioned in my lift-off post – I’ll be keeping tabs on my movements throughout this trip on my Nike+ FuelBand. The day prior to this (flight day) wasn’t the best in terms of FuelPoints, though I managed to garner over 2500 points and hit my target – still wanted to break the 3000 just by walking. So as soon as we landed and unpacked – left for dinner around 11PM. Yes that’s right, stayed out till 4am. Went bed at 5am. That’s 10am UK time so we were up for approximately 26 hours which helped us resist the jetlag. With that and all the rest of yesterday’s movements in 3 different NY districts – I managed to conjure up 4500+ points and double my target. 16,000 steps! MADNESS.

See detailed breakdown here. Enjoy the photos.

You know you have to start the day of with Dunkin’ Donuts. Never again though – the calories are INSANE.

BK Chillin’

POLAROID!

Len Xiang. More soul than every artist in the UK Top 10.

Hood Fried Chicken.

Faith.

Above all.

Tosin and the Italian ‘gangster’.

Camo.

Red pants.

What a cute couple.

The walk.

As I scramble through my thoughts, trying to mind map and organise the events that’ll take place for the next 10 days. Rather aptly listening to Brooklyn native Sean Carter as I patiently wait for this flight to lift off into the blue sky. Sat beside me are two friends, both you’ve probably virtually come across at one point: @Miss_Tosin of PinBoard Blog and @KolaBello, Wretch32 and Alex Clare’s keyboardist. As I embark on this Yang-less trip from the heart of London to the soul of New York; be sure to keep checking back as I’ll be posting my daily experiences from the city that never sleeps. Join me for the YiNYC series. If you’re a Y&Y reader from the big apple, hit me up at yin@yinnyang.co.uk or @niran7 – let’s chill and create. I’ll also be recording my daily….*hop on after the cut*

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Fuel points from my Nike+ FuelBand. Boom!

I’m leaving London. Going to be working across the Atlantic in NYC for a year. I wish – hol’ tight for YiNYC.

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Y&Y is going to Mexico! Arriba! Thanks to the good people over at WeAreSocial, and our own Jazz, today I’ll be flying out to Mexico City to take part in the Adidas Training Academy. Uh-mazing!! Over the next five days I’ll be participating in boxing inspired training, and yoga and dance classes, all of which will be led by a internationally recognised trainer. Adidas want to enable and inspire us to achieve our personal goals in sport through training by supporting us with innovative products, services and athlete insights. With the London Olympics just around the corner, this year is huge for sport and more and more people are appreciating how important it is to lead an active lifestyle. I’m excited to see what Adidas have to bring to the table. Check back next week to find out how the trip went and what I got up to whilst out there!

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