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See, this is what we miss most about Dipset. We don't even have to explain what's going on here. Coogi cardigans and Swag Splashes. Pure entertainment. Courtesy of SmackTube via Smarten Up Nas.

"What I might call her élan, her soul," says Rick Powell, Duke University professor about one of Barkley Hendricks '70s portraits of black Americans. It's a funny mashing of experts talking art and some really old rad personal style that we just cannot replicate in current times. We wrote about Hendricks' first retrospective happening now at Duke's Nasher Museum but have yet been unable to make it to North Carolina to see the exhibit (though we—and you—have until July). This video tour of the exhibit is second best, but we'll take it. Because even if we went right now Hendricks wouldn't be there rocking a sweet neckscarf and he is on YouTube. Win some/lose some.

When we were in high school our math teachers didn't know anything about math because they were really water polo coaches and our english teachers were really german professors but the kids at Newark, New Jersey's Arts High School got real with Parisian art/fashion collective Andrea Crews. AC's art director Maroussia Rebecq taught them to make insane sculpture ensembles out of second hand clothing and this is a (err, crappy ) video of the process, which mostly shows the kids playing musical chairs, spinning into a psychedelic fairy tale of rainbow sucking goblins, and having no sense of adult remorse, which, unfortunately, we have now that we're older.

If you haven't checked out/purchased/dreamed about and saved money in your piggy bank for designer Christian Joy's debut collection of women's wear then we strongly recommend you do, right now. We were lucky enough to get an invite to her studio a couple of weeks back, and extra specially psyched that our studio visit coincided with a package from the mailman—more precisely a package of spectacular archival Joy pieces created for her BFF Karen O straight off the exhibit floor of a museum in Tokyo. CJ and Karen O have been friends pretty much since the Yeah Yeah Yeahs started out and as well as talking us through the inspiration behind some of the most iconic costumes, she gave us some really great insight into what makes their creative chemistry sparkle.

Sometimes the runway lacks the creative narrative of designer inspiration, leaving us with just a series of fashion-clad models parading down a white strip. To counter this, designers look to alternative ways of conveying their message, like film. Director Georgie Greville made a conceptual fashion film for the Fall ‘08 Spring and Clifton collection, showcasing the label’s knight-in-shining-armor theme with studded leggings, shimmery vests and heavy knits. Greville uses light and shadows as a symbolic journey through time and space, emphasizing the dreamlike story of the collection. Check it out for yourself here.

When we saw These New Puritans in Austin (see also: this post) it was very hot and they said the word "fire" a lot over jittery guitars and stop/start drums. Our thought process kind of went like this:
1)It is way too hot
2)This music is making us uncomfortable
3)This music is making us uncomfortable in a good way!

This video does the same thing and also makes us feel like we are having a drunk nightmare where everything is on fire and we are just staring at dude and once again, it is crazy hot. Uhhh, anyway! In F53 (on stands and available for download here) we talked to These New Puritans drummer George Barnett about the relationship between music and fashion and what he's doing with Dior. Check it out after the jump. more...

Jim Jones goes three full wardrobe changes deep in the first 30 seconds of this video, which just goes to show how seriously intense JJ is—and has always been—about his sartorial statements. It's difficult to know where to start with his new Dipset style manifesto, what with all the distressed denim, red leather and silky fringed LV scarfing (scarves are the new bandanas) all up in the visual montage. It's safe to say though that only Jones and Juelz could ever tackle a look that's one-part Floyd Merriweather and one-part Mother Teresa, with the same kind of gusto. The rest of the Byrdgang (Cobe) might be better advised to leave that one well alone.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with FADER 39 coverstar and sartorial genius Rick Ross about his new album Trilla, set for release on March 11th. But instead of asking him the same old questions about producers and collaborators and lyrical content, we wanted to know how Rick stays so fly, and dude OPENED UP FOR REAL. He talks about his vintage Cazals, Miami style, his "breast area" and a few minutes in, shows us his tattoos. All of them. And it is magnificent. We now see Ross in a whole new light, honestly, and we hope you will too. (Video by Joe Angerone)

Gilbert Arenas rolls out the beginning of his sneaker opus this month, a 20-piece limited collection of kicks which he will be sporting on the court throughout the season. If your familiar with his blog, then you won't be at all surprised by the awesome random energy of his new line—there's a sneaker dedicated to his two kids, another to Benihana's Hibachi grill, one really dope pair designed by FADER homies Undrcrwn and another that pays homage to his 8-hour-a-day X-box habit. FADER contributing style editor extraordinaire Mobolaji Dawodu paid Gilbert a wee visit when he was in town last month, and here's a little sampler of what went down in their style tete-a-tete.