C/D: Volume 15
🚀🦚🌪️🍒🌊🎾🪄💎🔮
Howdy folks, it’s Quinceañera time!
June was absolutely electric and yes, I know it’s now July but I met with the official scorers and they said due to travel and the holiday week, this one still counts for June. So now that we have that settled, maybe you were waiting for this, maybe you forgot about it, or maybe this is your first dispatch…
Whichever the case, I’m so happy to have you. This is where it’s going down if you want to know what’s happening at the intersection of all kinds of cool shit. C/D is here to combine worlds, bridge gaps, and make you smile. We’re now 6 months into 2025 (woah)—half way through the year with open rates holding at 65% as we grow this puppy slow and steady.
June featured our Spence LA pop-up with some sweet tie dye from Chilly Studios (pictured below) and a trip to Paris for fashion week. Now we’re jumping into July with two special L11 product releases. The first will be coming during Wimbledon in the form of new tennis pouches featuring a special tech component. The second will land later this the month in collaboration with Désolé Atelier—a series of 50 one of one embroidered hats I teased in C/D 13. Yeehaw.
Stay safe out there and have a happy 4th!
With love,
L11
Main Event 🎡
Paris Fashion Week Men’s
While you might see me as someone that does a lot of ‘fashion stuff’ the truth is that I hadn’t been back to Paris for Fashion Week since I worked at a showroom back in 2016. A lot changes in 9 years and, at the same time, a lot stays exactly the same…
Overall it felt like fashion summer camp with a wide range of people attending for a wide range of reasons. Some for actual work, some to just be seen, lots in between. Because of this, the scene felt extremely fragmented between streetwear, contemporary brands and high fashion drip lords—many rocking garments I simply cannot comprehend wearing in the Paris summer heat (think hoodies, heavy pants, boots, etc). The groups overlap a bit (where it gets fun) and also stay in their own lanes in ways that feel very you can’t sit with us coded. It makes sense—fashion at the highest level, regardless of what people might say, is really about gatekeeping. All about the right individuals wearing your clothes. The right follower counts sitting front row at your shows. They’re just clothes at the end of the day so its the the stereotypical shit engine that actually powers the whole machine. Sometimes this is fun and sometimes, in the humid Paris streets, it’s quite annoying. My advice to anyone that takes themself too seriously: don’t! It’s a lot easier to smile and be nice…so is life.
With tennis on my mind, I saw a clear opportunity for sport to have more of an impact/presence outside of running in future seasons. All the footwear brands were in Paris and most were doing some form of a group run—from Salomon to Hoka to Asics to Brooks to Saucony to the more obvious Nike staging their big ‘Breaking 4’ event. I see a future where sports integrates deeper as brands test the water into new categories under the cover of fashion week. We’re already seeing this fashion/sport shift with new players like, well—Players.
The Levi’s space was beautiful and super well executed as was the experience at Jordan Brand. Japanese brands like andWander and OAO are crushing it and the Hoka showroom space was 10/10.
Around town we crushed content for Altra by way of Common Ace. Shoutout to KJ and Jamie for being excellent partners in crime.
Consider the itch re-scratched. I’d bet it’s not another 9 years before I’m back…😈
An Invitation 💌
L11 Morning Club
Morning Club is happening and you are invited. Cruise out of the long weekend with some fresh fruit and fresh friends. Tuesday morning, 9am-10:30am at Soho House Holloway. Show up whenever, bring whoever, leave whenever. See you there.
8465 Holloway Dr, West Hollywood, CA 90069
A Restaurant to Consider 🍜
Paperboy - Paris
Ok back to Paris stuff. Paperboy feels, looks, and operates more like a sneaker store than a sandwich shop—a definition that can be seen as a blessing or a curse. On the one hand, the flavor meter hits. The turkey sando unit (pictured below) I ordered on two separate occasions was simply bangin’ and worth the hype in every way.
The place is a scene (not necessarily a bad thing) but it’s kind of silly to have to get up while waiting because the owner is getting photographed by a Korean indy mag. After the 20 minute wait, I was told that they mistakenly gave my sandwich to the wrong person (def a bad thing) and after waiting another 15, I was a Hangryboy.
Alas, I came back a few days later and ate inside vs. taking the to-go route which was certainly the more advanced maneuver.
Overall a very Parisian place that you must hit, but make sure to be on your toes because sometimes Paperboy serves clothes instead of food. Or something like that.
A Store to Check Out 🛍️
Serica - Paris
A brand, but also a store! I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon Serica, a newish watch company I had been introduced to by friend of C/D Nico. The shop is well put together in the heart of the Marais. Easy to stumble upon and easy to make a destination. What it lacked in air conditioning (like almost every other establishment in Paris) it made up in an ideal streamlined retail experience. Clean, elegant and product-first.
It’s hard to buy a watch without trying it on first. Founder Jerome and his staff were incredibly pleasant and helpful as more and more people came in to try on watches. I came in intrigued and left with, well…
A Brand to Know 📡
Brigade
Brigade is not French, but it was in Paris that I got to check out the Brooklyn-based brand for the first time. Founded by life and business partners, Aaron and Sarah, Brigade is part of a new wave of streetwear labels worth keeping your eye on.
Blending a very New York aesthetic with more obscure forays into cycling and the outdoors, Brigade has a certain je ne sais quoi that makes you feel something new but also familiar. Oh, and their red pillbox cap picture above was all over Paris. Keep an eye on 🅱️rigade!
Something to Buy 💸
Manual Disposable
New York brand/creative studio Manual makes these slick disposable cameras in a range of fun colors. They make a great gift for your friend that likes cool shit (me) or a nice little treat yoself for the next time you travel. Apps and zerts!
An Account Worth Following 📲
Welife.design
Boppin’ around Paris the two people I probably saw the most were Xylk and Feef (what names!) of @welife.design. It’s hard to describe what they are doing exactly but it isn’t hard to know it’s special.
A combination of brand, personality, culture, and energy (buzzword salad)—these guys are on to something major. They went around all week putting up bootleg posters (like the one below) featuring images of random celebrity lookalikes attached to big fashion brands. In some cases, like with Jacquemus, the designer himself engaged with their post. 😂 indeed, Simon.
I was anointed Life Designer #192, something I’m proud of without really knowing what it means. Watch this space, there will be much more of these two and the creative ideas flowing from their brains. Great people who deserve to win. I’ll be rooting for them and now you will be too.
Unsolicited Feedback 🤷🏻♂️
Performance Art
We attended the Kid Super after party after not making it into the show earlier that day. A little brain fried from a week of running around I was surprised to find what can best be described as performance art. In front of the DJ booth they had setup a glass pen featuring two people tap dancing in paint. I watched for a solid 10 minutes and still couldn’t tell you exactly what was going on. Later in the night Kid Super’s father, Adult Super, entered the pit to the whole club chanting his name “Peter, peter, peter!” Was it fun?—sure. Was it also very odd and slightly off putting—also yes! Life is about juxtapostion, I suppose.
Something to Watch 📺
THE END: A Gardiner’s Island Story
We know her from Feed Me but I enjoyed watching Emily’s documentary from a few years back she made on Gardiner’s Island. Strange and whacky—an interesting piece of Hampton’s lore.
until next time ✌️
Linkies: 1 (cosmic baseball) 2 (8k martini) 3 (sexy watch) 4 (josh greet) 5 (second serve)
share with someone you think might enjoy ❤️
***