Monday 17 December 2012
Tuesday 11 December 2012
Monday 10 December 2012
NamaKo on the silver screen
In anticipation of our upcoming collections, we are creating a video to give you a taste of what's to come. We don't want to give too much away but think nature, freedom, elements of horror and partial nudity. I don't think you could want much more from a 2-minute promotional video.
The shoot took place in the heart of a dense forest, partly in the dead of night… it was like the opening to a cheap horror film where you're shouting at the idiot heroins to go back to their car, turn on all the lights and drive away. But we powered through and trudged deeper into the trees, laden with tripods, lights, cameras and not nearly enough clothes. In hindsight, December may not have been the optimal month to run around a forest scantily clad…
When we had all of our footage and our feet were suitably numb we headed back to NamaKo headquarters and, in true artistic style, drank as many bottles of wine as we could carry.
The video is currently in the post-production stage, so watch this space to see the final cut.
Wednesday 5 December 2012
Monday 12 November 2012
Friday 2 November 2012
The Lost Ones
We've cracked it. Why we do what we do, why sometimes we feel an overpowering sense of discontent, why we're even in London. The need to be extraordinary.
The normal, the 9-5, the mundanity of reality disgusts us to our very core. Everything we do, we do in the plight of achieving the extraordinary. You must feel it too. They put us through education, they fill us with enormous dreams, then they kick us out of university and dangle these dreams just out of our reach. Suddenly, all direction is pulled out from under us. It's no wonder we can feel lost.
Normality isn't enough for us. We have to be the alternative, the indefinable, the superlative! But how do we stop these unattainable dreams from crushing us with a self-destructing weight of disappointment? It's easy. We make them attainable.
We either have to achieve our dreams, or be content with the fact that they are exactly that; just dreams. We refuse to be content! The NamaKo Warriors are chasing their own extraordinary. Yes, we are lost. No, we don't know what we're doing. But we're damn well doing something. We're chasing it. Chase it with us.
Watch out for our new video that encompasses the confusion and the chase of the extraordinary. For all of our Lost Ones. Coming soon...
The normal, the 9-5, the mundanity of reality disgusts us to our very core. Everything we do, we do in the plight of achieving the extraordinary. You must feel it too. They put us through education, they fill us with enormous dreams, then they kick us out of university and dangle these dreams just out of our reach. Suddenly, all direction is pulled out from under us. It's no wonder we can feel lost.
Normality isn't enough for us. We have to be the alternative, the indefinable, the superlative! But how do we stop these unattainable dreams from crushing us with a self-destructing weight of disappointment? It's easy. We make them attainable.
We either have to achieve our dreams, or be content with the fact that they are exactly that; just dreams. We refuse to be content! The NamaKo Warriors are chasing their own extraordinary. Yes, we are lost. No, we don't know what we're doing. But we're damn well doing something. We're chasing it. Chase it with us.
Watch out for our new video that encompasses the confusion and the chase of the extraordinary. For all of our Lost Ones. Coming soon...
Falling back
The clocks have gone back, the nights are drawing in, it's dark, it's cold, it's miserable. We bloody love it.
We don't know if we're just a morbid bunch, but the NamaKo team can't get enough of this time of year. We love the darker than dark evenings; pitch blackness pressing down on us as we hurry home in the cold wrapped in hats and gloves and fur. We love the possibilities the night brings; danger, lust, sex, rum… long live the night!
Being complete horror fiends, Halloween had us in our element. This Halloween we took a trip to the V&A for an evening of ghoulish pleasure. It was certainly more interesting than getting wasted whilst dressed as zombie-pub-golfers, as we have done for the last few years. The gothic exhibition was truly bewitching - our favourites were the dark and twisted short films (we love anything dark and twisted) from innovative new directors and the amazing gothic magician.
Before we left we had a truly terrifying make-over courtesy of the MAC make-up artists. (what could be a better combination - MAC and spine-chilling gore?) Complete with movie-standard bullet wounds and facial gashes that looked like we'd pissed off Wolverine, we headed to the tube. Turns out that terrifying innocent Londoners on the tube is really, really fun. Although we felt a bit bad when a child started crying…
Horror is a huge influence in our creative process. We are currently working our way through a huge list of classic and modern horror films from across the globe (the Japanese do horror a little bit too well…) so don't be surprised if some of these terrifying elements make their way into one of our upcoming collections.
We don't know if we're just a morbid bunch, but the NamaKo team can't get enough of this time of year. We love the darker than dark evenings; pitch blackness pressing down on us as we hurry home in the cold wrapped in hats and gloves and fur. We love the possibilities the night brings; danger, lust, sex, rum… long live the night!
Being complete horror fiends, Halloween had us in our element. This Halloween we took a trip to the V&A for an evening of ghoulish pleasure. It was certainly more interesting than getting wasted whilst dressed as zombie-pub-golfers, as we have done for the last few years. The gothic exhibition was truly bewitching - our favourites were the dark and twisted short films (we love anything dark and twisted) from innovative new directors and the amazing gothic magician.
Before we left we had a truly terrifying make-over courtesy of the MAC make-up artists. (what could be a better combination - MAC and spine-chilling gore?) Complete with movie-standard bullet wounds and facial gashes that looked like we'd pissed off Wolverine, we headed to the tube. Turns out that terrifying innocent Londoners on the tube is really, really fun. Although we felt a bit bad when a child started crying…
Horror is a huge influence in our creative process. We are currently working our way through a huge list of classic and modern horror films from across the globe (the Japanese do horror a little bit too well…) so don't be surprised if some of these terrifying elements make their way into one of our upcoming collections.
Monday 10 September 2012
Friday 7 September 2012
A positive Outlook
You’re drenched in sweat, surrounded by thousands of
people, blinded by mesmerising laserlight and as the bass the drops you and the
thousands around you, simultaneously lose the plot.
This pretty much encapsulates our experience of Outlook festival this September. A vividly eclectic mix of hip-hop, dubstep, drum & bass and reggae all set against a backdrop of an abandoned fort complete with moat, dungeon and the inimitable ballroom.
Despite being in the beautiful Pula in the heart of Croatia, sunshine was not on the cards. The NamaKo team were scared shitless by the most breathtaking displays of lightning that literally tore open the sky. We couldn’t have asked for a more epic setting.
Double rainbow over the main stage
View from the NamaKo apartment
We danced until sunrise every night, high on life…mostly, and tried to soak it all up. Back at Headquarters in London we’re finding it difficult to adjust to normality. Apparently it’s not acceptable to turn the bass up to bone-shattering levels on the tube…
._Team Namako_.
Thursday 6 September 2012
Wednesday 29 August 2012
Carnival Soul
After successfully trashing the new NamaKo headquarters with our housewarming party (what was supposed to be sophisticated drinks escalated somewhat until we were partying on our roof until 5am with Josh Osho and his ‘crew’), the severely hung-over NamaKo team decided to ignore the mud on the walls and the sleeping bodies in the living room and hit Notting Hill Carnival.
Rum is apparently an extremely effective hangover cure, who knew? So by the time we arrived we were more than ready to party again. With sunshine blazing, jerk chicken and red stripe in our hands, we danced to everything from Beyonce to Latin American salsa.
Carnival encapsulates our NamaKo message of individualism and unique power: everybody there had the most incredible positive aura that could be felt for miles. The weekend completely dispelled the misconception about miserable Londoners. Don’t be surprised if you see some carnivalesque themes running through our next collection.
Next stop: Rio!
Tuesday 21 August 2012
NamaKo Creative Retreat: Things got Scilly…
We love, live and breathe London 24/7, and although we adore this frenzied city it’s sometimes nice to take a step back, collect your thoughts and revaluate.
The NamaKo team hopped on a helicopter and jetted to the beautiful British paradise nestled in the Scilly Isles: Tresco. Staying in the picturesque Dolphin House, surrounded by nothing but sea, sand and salty air, we immersed ourselves in creativity and let the island inspire us.
Our view from Dolphin House
There is something about the air out there that really seemed to get us going. We’re not sure whether it was the lack of car fumes, the sound of waves rather than sirens or the fact that stars could be seen without the electric hum of the city, but we managed to come up with a number of brand new collections for the NamaKo range.
But London was calling us again. There’s only so much clean air we can take. The NamaKo team can announce that we have now moved into our brand new headquarters. And it is glorious. Let the hilarity ensue…
._Team Namako_.
._Team Namako_.
Tuesday 24 July 2012
The Mantra
Imagine
being so strange that nobody knows what you are.
This is the fate of the NamaKo. Overlooked, their underlying brilliance unrecognised.
The NamaKo may be ugly and one of millions, but it does it's own little bit of good in the world.
We think this deserves to be recognised.
The NamaKo is all of us. Power, mystery and understated brilliance.
If you relate to the desire to shine amongst the masses, follow us and become a NamaKo Warrior.
This is the fate of the NamaKo. Overlooked, their underlying brilliance unrecognised.
The NamaKo may be ugly and one of millions, but it does it's own little bit of good in the world.
We think this deserves to be recognised.
The NamaKo is all of us. Power, mystery and understated brilliance.
If you relate to the desire to shine amongst the masses, follow us and become a NamaKo Warrior.
Wednesday 4 July 2012
The Method Behind The Magic
A name almost as mysterious as the creatures it describes. Imagine being so strange that nobody is sure what you actually are. This is the fate of the NamaKo, the misunderstood marine creatures that swarm the ocean floors.
The unconventional aesthetics of these creatures often leads them to be shunned and overlooked, people don't recognise their underlying brilliance.
They are vital for sustaining the ecological systems of the ocean, and when eaten they have anti-aging properties and are strong anti-oxidants.
The NamaKo may be ugly, it may just be one of millions, but it does it's own little bit of good in the world, and we think this deserves to be recognised.
The NamaKo is all of us
The Japanese get it. The NamaKo has been the focus of many Haikus in Japanese culture, which point out the power, chaos and ferocity of the NamaKo which so often go unnoticed. They also use NamaKo as the name for a hand guard on a sword: even Samurais recognise the power of the name.
The NamaKo is our symbol, it encompasses everything we stand for; power, mystery and understated brilliance. If you can relate to the desire to shine amongst the masses, then follow us and become a NamaKo Warrior.
._Team Namako_.
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