PALM ANGELS!

"Most Anticipated Art Book Releases of 2014 This book, which features large-format photographs of skaters in Venice Beach and Manhattan Beach, captures the LA skateboarding scene, style, and street culture through the eyes of the world's most elite communities of skaters. Photographed by Francesco Ragazzi, "Palm Angels" takes the reader inside skate culture. Because of Ragazzi's artistic eye, the book is less focused on analyzing tricks and more about conveying the sensation of the men and women that engage in the dangerous, yet endlessly entertaining activity. "Palm Angels" includes an introduction by Pharrell Williams, who has become an icon in skate style." - Complex Magazine

Francesco Ragazzi is the Italian art director of Moncler. Pharrell Williams..well, you all know him.

Out 2 Sep 2014!

THE WAY I DRESS: MR JED LIND!

The LA-based contemporary artist on how he decides what to wear each morning. 

As you might expect from an artist whose past work has included geodesic domes assembled from bronze-cast windscreen wipers and aluminium canoe hulls intricately carved to resemble chicken wire, Mr Jed Lind has an unconventional eye for style. The Toronto-born, LA-based artist takes a utilitarian approach to dressing, citing fellow artist Mr Gordon Matta-Clark as an inspiration, and likes clothes that "go the distance" - he even admits to wearing his A.P.C. jeans until they're covered in holes, before chopping them up, covering them in plaster and incorporating them into his artwork. Idiosyncrasies aside, however, and Mr Lind's style is ultimately rooted in some pretty normal values, above all a desire for accurate self-expression: "I think it's really important to choose clothes that tell the right story about who you are," he says. "I ultimately feel that every day you put clothes on, you're always making a statement." 

Watch MR PORTER's final instalment of The Way I Dress to hear more of Mr Lind's musings on life and style, including his thoughts on hats, desert boots and beards, and an introduction to the philosophy that he calls "dudism". 

JONATHAN WILSON!

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." - Ludwig van Beethoven

Jonathan Wilson is an American musician and producer who was born in Forest City, North Carolina in 1974. Wilson released the full length album, Gentle Spirit, on Bella Union in 2011. In 2010 and 2011, Wilson collaborated with Erykah Badu in the studio on several songs, only one of which was officially released. Wilson also appeared as a special guest with Erykah Badu at her 2011 Coachella performance.

MARIO TESTINO ROYALE: A LOOK INSIDE THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S L.A. HOME!

Channeling his Peruvian roots, the iconic lensman transformed a Los Angeles hacienda into a vibrant showcase for his aesthetic—and now captures the results with his own camera.

Mario Testino grew up in Lima, Peru, an endlessly intriguing city of brooding conquistador-era palaces and leafy suburbs surrounded by hills and lapped by the crashing Pacific. Here he disported himself with fellow gilded youths and partied in the grand, sequestered houses of the well-to-do. In these sprawling homes he absorbed the uniquely Peruvian approach to decor, reflective of the country’s layered history, with naïf seventeenth- and eighteenth-century portraits of los arcángeles peering down on roomscapes crowded with colonial silver plates, the huacos artifacts of the Incas, and a jostle of imposing dark Spanish-inspired furniture and sleek mid-century design statements.

More pictures and the rest of the article after the break! 

CLICK CLICK CLICK FOR MORE PICTURES+THE REST OF THE ARTICLE!!!

THELONIOUS MONSTER - BODY & SOUL?

Thelonious Monster is a post-punk rock band from Los Angeles, led by singer-songwriter Bob Forrest. Active from 1983 to 1994, and again since 2004, the band has released five original studio albums. Despite never achieving mainstream success, a number of largely popular acts cite them as influential

In 1988, guitarist John Frusciante auditioned for Thelonious Monster, he was in the band for only three hours, then was asked to join the Red Hot Chili Peppers because they were so impressed by Frusciante's musical ability.

After several years of sporadic activity and side projects by Forrest, Thelonious Monster reunited in 2004 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California and at the Sunset Junction Street Fair in Los Angeles, and released their first new album in 12 years. California Clam Chowder would feature guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who was also a member of Forrest's short-lived band, The Bicycle Thief. Klinghoffer would eventually go on to replace John Frusciante in the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

From the album Beautiful Mess (1992), enjoy:

Primitive Hollenbeck Skaters ¬ Los Angeles

We don't know much about tricks and techniques, but we definitely love the ATTITUDE!