Streetwear is so hype right now. Thanks to sites like High Snobiety, Honeyee — and jeez, even this one — wild graphics and even wilder collabs have become as venerated as the celebrities that like to be spotted in them.

But what's brand to do when bold prints and bright colors, once considered so daring and original, start weaving their way into the mainstream? If you're Daniel Pierre and Kareem Blair, creators of respected streetwear line Lemar and Dauley, that question has one answer: Stay the hell ahead of everyone else.

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These days, you can hardly round a city block without coming across wheat-pasted, stenciled and sticker-bombed walls. With artists like Shepard Fairey and Banksy getting plenty of attention for their street art, there is an “artist” you’ve likely encountered but for whom fame remains elusive…until now. Brooklyn designer Grotesk is calling out the original kings of NY sticker art as the folks behind the “stuck gate” stickers. The yellow and black rectangular notices are adhered to metal gates and offer help to shopkeepers with malfunctioning gates. They are a part of the New York City landscape, and Grotesk collected them over several years of walking around the five buroughs. Empire Gates and crew will finally achieve a small dose of glory when on September 15th, 5BORO Skateboards will release this tribute skateboard and t-shirt.

UNIQLO has never been afraid to inovate the shopping experience (think: UT Loop, grid playground and the concept t-shirt store) but this time they are adding a robot to their stores. Yep, you read right a robot named Wakamaru. Designed by Toshiyuki Kita and engineered by Mitsubishi, the robot can make eye contact with you, have simple conversations and help you shop for some Japanese animation t-shirts. But there is a catch, the robot is being described as neither human nor machine. The only thing we can think of that fits that catagory is robocop, which could end up to be a huge PR problem for UNIQLO if anyone saw Robocop 3. Look for Wakamaru to make his/her first appearnce at the Soho store in NYC sometime in the second week of September.

It’s finally September and unfortunately that means it’s time to “Fall” out of Summer. Get it? Sorry. Anyway, the best part about a new season is the onslaught of spanking new collections that some of our favorite brands are set to unleash. Amongst the array of apparel makers making our autumn a little more bearable are the talented designers at Pop Junkie. The Santa Barbara based clothing creators have come up with quite the autumnal assortment of tees, totes, jackets, clocks, and even pillows that are sure to make your seasonal adjustment period just a little more comfortable and a lot more stylish. If you’re still jonesin’ for summer they even have some of their past designs on sale for as much as $10 off. Check out their website and see it for yourself.

Aardman Animations‘ Wallace and Gromit have been recruited as spokesmodels for a series of advertisements for luxury lifestyle store Harvey Nichols. Some of the designer clothes featured in the posters and magazine ads include an Alexander McQueen suit, a Dolce & Gabbana shirt, a Giorgio Armani tie, a Paul Smith scarf and Ray-Ban wayfarers. Nick Park, the Oscar-winning duo’s creator, quipped that “Wallace isn’t exactly known for his street-wise fashion sense; he usually shops at Tank-Top Man.” Harvey Nichols chose the pair as the faces of a new store they are opening in Bristol, where Wallace and Gromit were created.

This, of course, isn’t the first time that cartoon characters and toys have decked out in fashion store finery. Back in 2005, Kidrobot produced a set of Huck Gee’s Skullhead figures exclusively for Barneys. The 12-inch designer toys were outfitted in a collection of threads by Marc Jacobs, Jil Sander, Dries Van Noten, Rick Owens Lab and Duckie Brown. Someone send a memo to Tyra Banks for a new reality show starring toys…

Perhaps we owe it to the age of connectivity or a new generation that are working hard to get the world to notice, but we are starting to hear about obscure fashion and design brands from China. Companies like Warrior have enjoyed years of success in China with relatively no exposure outside of the country. A brand revival project titled Project Re:born is hoping to change all that. The current focus of the project is an old brand called Huili, and the limited edition collection includes a pair of kicks sporting a Chinese colorway, a toy figurine, coffee-table book and a retro blue tracksuit. All the pieces look great and capitalize on the current hot trends. We’re excited to see what else they have in store!

Hot Air Brand brings you geometrically, and sometimes erratically-patterned streetwear, inspired by man’s mellowest attempt at defying gravity: the hot air balloon. Everything from the color combinations to the illusive slants and curves within each pattern makes for unique gear, each with an unusual design layout. Hot Air is afloat! Be sure to check them out.

Jesse Hora has never ceased to amaze us by consistently producing eye-popping illustrations, and the Spear Collective member has a steady track record when it comes to wowing us with artistic ability. His latest site update keeps that streak intact by adding some superb apparel design work including his sweet Jail Break design for Clandestine Industries and Summer Shades tee for Warner + Reprise Records. Check it out for yourself, we’re sure you’ll want to soak up his creations and make them your very own.

When you’ve got offices both in Los Angeles and Copenhagen, all style bases that matter are covered. That’s Rubber Duck’s explanation for having addresses on two continents in the northern hemisphere, a justification that’s working ’cause their line of Miami sunglasses is turning the right heads. It’s got the classic Wayfarer-inspired shape in hot colors, but the tint on the shades updates ‘em so they’re not so bland ’80s, which we agree has too far outlived its resurrection. Rubber Duck’s also got some interesting basic drugstore tennis shoes that come adorned in solid to plaid colorways that while holler back to your elementary-school days, could become a fave and a new classic. We’re not against that.

The warmth is played out, suntans have lost their sparkle — even mojitos have abandoned their minty appeal. We’re ready to swap sweat for sweaters, and — as said item is among our favorite of apparels — we will welcome fall with our arms wide open and covered in shit.

Oh, hold on; La Merde, we mean. Covered in La Merde. And for you saucy bilinguals out there, yes, both words do mean the same thing, but La Merde also happens to represent a decidedly un-poopy clothing company based out of Portland, Oregon. They specialize in a breed of very outstanding hoodies — dapper, well-cut, rockstar/fop- hybrid things — that make me want to crawl straight out of summer and into the embrace of boy hovering just under room temperature.

Browse the upcoming collection here, and do your best not to lose your merde over the linings, details, and overall street sense that make this collection of toppers worth trick-or-treating in. You can’t shop on their site, nor is there a dealer list to comb through, so what the heck? Just shoot them an e-mail to get a jacket to carry you through 2009.

In the most literal use of the term, “designer plush toy,” German teddy bear makers, Steiff and fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld have partnered to produce a limited edition bear in Lagerfeld’s own image. The bear comes outfitted in a familiar black and white suit with sunglasses and rhinestone initialed belt buckle. Steiff’s trademark “button in the ear” (devised to thwart counterfeiters) will also be present. Steiff toys are known for their quality materials and craftsmanship. Founder Margarete Steiff’s mantra was “Only the best is good enough for children.” However, at a cost of approximately $1,500 per bear, it’s unlikely these toys will go into the same chest as any Yo Gabba Gabba plushes. The teddy bears are limited to an edition of 2,500 and will be launched at Neiman Marcus stores this September.

When I was a child, I saw an episode of That’s Incredible where they tested Timex’s claims. The watch company, which has been around for 50 years, had a famous slogan: “Timex: takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’.” They put the watch through its paces and (for the most part) it came out perfectly able to tell time. Timex was, in many ways, the G-Shock of yesteryear. It’s an everyday man’s watch that you could wear to the jobsite and not have to baby it or worry about it getting scratched or banged against the sink. In what seems like perfect retro timing, the company has recently reintroduced their Timex 80 watch. Available in both plastic (my favorite) and metal versions, the watches have time and date features and, of course, that infamous Indiglo backlight. The straps are the exact same color as the face for a uninterrupted visual loop around your wrist. To round out the package, they come in cushioned slide boxes. Get yourself a Timex 80 and a Casio calculator watch and you’ll be set!

Justin Melnick is an avid photographer, digital artist, and has spent time oversees in the Middle East. All of these influences have come together in his latest project, titled Arm Me, Melnick imagines — quite vividly — what Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Pucci, and Chanel would add to standard ammunition. The exhibition starts September 2nd at Gallery 385 in New York City. The outcome is a compelling statement that questions how we — individually and as a nation — spend our money, contrasting the abundance of weaponry with the scarcity of high-end luxury goods and some pretty amazing imagery.

Each week, JoshSpear.com explores the latest projects by top creative professionals in the Behance Network and highlights a few that are pushing the edge of creative industry. Josh Spear also serves as an Adviser and Guest Curator for the Behance Network.

In the past, the dapper Dutch apparel makers at Ontour have provided us with some deliciously wearable duds. This time around they’re proving that their attire can be downright addictive. Their fall/winter ‘08 line, Cosmic Crack Ontour is the product of a collaboration between the brand and fellow Eindhoven native Cosmic Crack (aka Crackrock), a botanical artist with quite the array of work under his belt. The co-founder of BetaMaxxx made the designs using a variety of different methods, none of which included direct computer imaging. Each particular piece tells its own unique story through design, whether referencing the architectural infamy that is North Korea’s Ryugyong Hotel or just playing on some people’s penchant for being clad entirely in tinfoil, every tee and/or hoodie in this collection has a deeper meaning beyond shapes and sizes…and they look pretty sweet too. See for yourself by downloading their lookbook.

Our old friend MWM (Matt W. Moore) got a nice push last week for his soulful geometrics when L.A.’s REVOLVE Clothing featured 16 new pieces from his Vectorfunk series at their flagship store. REVOLVE boasts a synchronized online and physical store, allowing shoppers to request clothes online which become available in the store the next day. We didn’t get a chance to head out there, but you can check out photos of the event on MWM’s blog and REVOLVE’s online store.