Custom Burberry Lifejacket

This was just a fun lil project... I pinned some muslin (cheap woven cotton fabric used for finding the right amount/size of fabric) onto the lifejacket to make the pattern/template. Then, once I had the right shapes of fabric, I cut it out of the Burberry fabric and sewed it on What do you think? (sorry the two pix are kinda similar...)

i dig it! i want one! actually, i would want one w/ a louis vuitton print.

I can do that too... I can get some real LV fabric for like $54/yard. A bit pricey, but very unique I bought 1.25 yards for mine, but didn't use anywhere near all of it. So now I've got some for other little projects!

That's rockin' man. You may actually be on to something.

Kevin! You are so inventive. That is the coolest thing i have seen all day. I love it. I want a coach one! How'd you learn to sew? How does it hold up in the water? I think you are on to something. Let me know when you start taking orders.

Tori

This is a merging of two loves for me- wakeboarding and fashion. I'm a Clothing and Fashion Desgin student at UC Davis I have gotten a lot of positive comments out on the water from friends, and now to hear it here, sweet! I thought it would be pretty fun to have something that nobody else is the world does (to my knowledge at least). I actually would be down make a few; it would give me something to do during the day until classes start... haha

that is player!!!

i bought some real burberry boardshorts 2 summers ago. they were pimp. i need to have them altered because somebody stretched out the waist...and no, i didn't gain/lose a ton of weight. lol.

here's a pic from needless markup's site a while ago.

The vest is slick!
The shorts are a Parks rip off.

burberry, LV, coach? aaahhhhhh!

someone wake me up from this nightmare!

Thanks guys! I wonder what more girls are thinking haha. I like those boardshorts. I saw a pair in the SF Burberry store, but were like $300. It would really complete my wakeboarding fit though!

aw Timmy don't hate!

sorry can't help but hate on those brands that sell hideous, cheaply made items for outrageous prices claiming style and quality when people in their heads are thinking status, while the rest of us laugh at them.

I do seriously applaud your effort in customizing your vest though, that is sweeet. Just too bad that is what you chose for your fabric!

Tim- Thanks for the props first of all, I do really appreciate it. Hideous or beautiful, that is subjective and everyone is absolutely entitled to their own opinion of designer products. Quality, however, is a lot more straight-forward. It is pretty unmistakeable that the quality of the foresaid designer brands are of a higher standard in design, stitching, and finish. Anyway, can't wait to go riding tomw!

Kevin! I want one! and when you are famous...i will have a designer original....anyway, if you are down with making another one or two and the have time, let me know what it is gonna cost me and ill send you a money order and whatever else you need. and i know many of you will think this ridicuous, but i would love to have my dog's lifejacket done to match mine- thanks!

That's awesome!!! haha, I like your thinking, that is so pimp Just stroll down the dock with matching lifejackets... hot stuff fo sho. How do you want to work out the initial lifejacket; ship your existing one or should I buy one and then work on it? It takes a bit of time, but very satisfying when completed, and its sweet that I can add to my portfolio. Too bad we are not closer to each other haha. Later on, you can be a model for my wakeboarding line!

bruce banner,

you crack me up! i think what you meant to say was, that parks ripped burberry off. i mean i only say that because burberry has had that check pattern for over 50 years...

hahaha! excellent post, freeboozeforall. free booze for you!

It really is creative and original, but for my personal taste, I wouldn't be into it. I love fashion and clothes, but don't prefer to mix them with the sports I do. I wasn't into the pink LV quad someone did up for their wife on the nonwake section either. However, like you said, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I think the general population would probably be into it and you would be able to profit from it. Good luck.

Way to be honest, keep it real I didn't see that quad, oh well. I guess I just like to push the limits and go crazy.

Way to be creative! I want a vest that looks like a gigantic white t-shirt so I can look all gangsta like the drug dealers in my hood.

yeah no prob, I'll be sure to do just that fo ya, because I'm sure you totally know all about the drug dealers in yo hood.

the drug dealers in my hood dont wear shirts

but they ride bikes

Doc, are you talking about the t-shirts that hang past the knees. Kids at the school I worked at last year wore those and I just didn't get it.

i don't understand the whole super-huge clothing thing. looks f***ing ridiculous to me.

yeah, it does look ridiculous. but if their shirts hang to their knees, their pants can hang almost as low.

Or how about one with a big 8-ball screened on the back in a tribute to Kate Moss?

The point of the big white T-shirt is it's generic looking. It's kind of a gang thing....if everyone is wearing a giant, plain, white T-shirt...who do you arrest?

DEM FRANCHIZE BOYZ LYRICS
White Tees


Yup in my white tee [x12]

[Hook x2]
I slang in my white tee
I bang in my white tee
All in the club spitting game in my white tee
I bling in my white tee serve feigns in my white tee
•••••• throwback i look clean in my white tee

[Verse 1]

Step on the scene with some green and some hard white work
Real clean fresh jeans and a all white shirt
We all get money and we all smoke twerk
Hit the dirt one squirt will leave all yall murk
Cause im fresh in my white tee they glance at my white tee and i
Got the hat that match my pants and my white tee
Whoever that you might see
I know they got a white tee
Uncle brother sister mother dad or ur wifey
Hanes or fruit of the loom be the
Name of my white tee
I gotta change man its a stain on my white tee
Lames in a white tee i bring the pain in my white tee
Hispanic cracka ***** even yangs wearin white tee
Hit the club deep and we all got a white tee
A throw back no that hell naw it dont excite me
You dont need no throwback cause you will be set on your white
Tee you can get a circle or a v neck on ur white tee

[Hook x2]

[Verse 2]

I hit the mall in my white tee
Ooh I think they like me or they like the diamonds cause they shine so brightly
Yeah u know i how i be under my tee it the wifey
.... or tighly
For them *****s who think im soft ***** come and try me
They going to find your body
White tees in the club and while we drinking on bacardi
••••••••••••••• white tees in party
Now dont get me started gotta try bacardi
Drama we avoid it
Everyone one wear white tees cause they can afford it
Girls wear white tees, boys wear white tees
*****s in the trap now i bet they got a white tee
I wear a white tee, you wear a white tee
The next day catch me with a brand new white tee
Oh they buy clean white shoes fresh jeans
But on that boy shirt what it say not a thingg

[Hook x2]

I gotta couple throwbacks it just I choose not to wear them
White tee extravganza ***** like a foot locker sale
*****s think i done fail but my paper stacking a lot
Or you can throw back this but
Partner check my nine
And im a ghetto gangsta white tee laws gone hate ya
Street gangs with a little fame them hoes gonna chase ya
Can't exscape from this white ••••••• done covered the map
Like crack been her in the 80s and it took over the trap
Come to the hood you can find me trapping in my white tee
Standing with a full grill *****s might try me know how i be still in my white tee
Rock jeans tiger green yeah girls like me
Haters try to bite me
Some try to dislike me
Became a rich ***** and the feds try to indicte me

Yup in my white tee [x12]

(yeah, so they have a black-t version of this song too)- I don't know which came first though- anyway, Just thought i'd share b/c after i read the post about the white-t, i couldn't get this song out of my head)- download it, if only for a good laugh- HAVE ANY OF Y'ALL HEARD THIS SONG?

y'all keep on pimpin!

imagine that, a song about deviancy relating to the white tee......amazing how the music industry promotes a highly destructive sub-culture for the sake of a dollar...

lol

Booze, I notice your truck, your boat, and your wakeboard... all are white. What's up?

HS ENGLISH TEACHER. ??? OMG . Song sounds more like thuggin' than pimpin'. But then, I'm an old cracker, what would I know. LOL!

f-in hilarious.... Love where this thread is going. Gotta say that jacket is pimp. I'd be all over that. I'm thinking limited edition coach leather jackets too. Just imagine getting that fresh leather scent every time you ride.

Kevin, you're a real innovator. I think you've really opened doors here.

yeah, i taught thugs! they weren't all thugs though, but most were. learned alot about black music and culture though, which i find incredibly interesting- i sorta miss my little thugs! oh well, there is always next year!

i would have to break up craps game in the back of my classroom! by the end of the year, i had nearly 20 dice in my desk, took a few bucks off of them too. i mean, what are they gonna say, "miss hays took my money". the principal would have said, "serves you right" that taught them not to shoot dice in during my class!

Thanks Evan! It looks like I may need to start doing some Coach prototypes from the responses/demand for that so far hehe. Thanks guys.

doc oc, if you MUST know,

the burban was purchased to pull the boat, and because of thaqt it doesn't get washed as regularly as the other vehicles so white was only natural.

the boat was bought used and we liked to color scheme. thought the boat and truck complemented each other well

i got the board because i wanted a byerly and the 05's were white.

ironically, my buddy has an 05 substance/05sphynx setup, now THAT is white.

i guess it's all coincidence.

(Message edited by madchild1 on September 23, 2005)

"I guess it's all coincidence."

Suuuuuuuuuurrrre it is!

I think you should paint your boat, truck and wakeboard all Burberry plaid to match those bangin' trunks, playa!

gay

i 2nd notion of gay ,stupid kind of fun for the readers or a one time deal but if your wearing this full time its solidifying my notion that this sport is way to much showing off and going circus then a cool non mainstream core sport...too much bling the last few years...

i say bring back orange vests and poles behind heavily weighted ski boats

so no more progression for the sport?

Anyone seen all the plaid snowboard gear this year. Plaid is where it's at. Kevin's idea is original, but I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't pop up from one of the manufacturers next year. Just watch.

Give the guy a break, that is totally awesome dude, way to be creative. Bill, I've got some orange keyhole lifejackets like what Wally where's in Detention that you can have, I think you'd look really cool! If you don't like his style then don't buy one if they start mass producing them.


It would look cool if you put the burberry in sections on the new all white Jet Pilot vest.

Look, he asked for feedback both negative and positive. He has gotten both. Some like it, some don't.

lol @doc "8-ball in honor of kate moss" !!

kevin so you think if they took off the 5k plus in stereo equipment ,the uneccessary Stainless steal and other no essentials from these 50k-100k so called wakeboarding boats that it would slow down the progression of the sport???

the same goes for all the fads we are seeing in clothing, pimp slide shoes,carbon handle ropes,winches,lcd lights, and weird usless expensive rope winders etc etc??

so your saying that the boards/bindings from 4yrs ago sucked and no current big tricks can be hit with them??

i personally like some of the new gear but some of the bindings and most of the new boats with the huge price tags are not needed IMO to progress the sport..the sport is progressed by learning new tricks and spreading the word and really its the pros who are doing most of the new big tricks and i can say they could do the same tricks behind boats from the early 90s with lots of ballast and a pole with a 97 board and binding setup..

really all i was saying is a lot of new blood in the sport who are buying the majority of this new stuff is doing it to show out...I think too much is put into whos got the best looking and most expensive stuff for show...

IM not aginst all of it but its just a trend im seeing of late...

BTW sorry for hijacking your post bro.....

No worries, and I understand what you are saying. I love to show off, its just my personality. Understandably plenty of others don't and follow a more "back to the basics" attitude. Of course people can go huge and nail pretty much the same tricks on older boards and boats with no tower bling.

Yes I was looking for feedback, positive and/or negative, thanks everyone for being honest

whats core is that kevin did that himself. took it upon himself to show his personal style.

it would be lame if it was some mass produced thing.

on the other hand, I am not into designer stuff. sort of anti-designer actually. but you can't really knock the guy for doing that himself

I do agree with you though bill, too many people buy the stuff to show off. same reason I am anti-designer. but if a guy pimps out his boat, with accessories he fabricates himself, you can't disrespect him. Just think about the wake monster from wakeboarding magazine back in '97.

Interesting exchange! Kevin, I initially was ambivalent about the look, but I admire you for your creativity, and have even more respect for you after reading your mature and thoughtful responses to the criticism. Bill, as an old-schooler, I agree 100% with your angle, the silly, superficial, alarming trend where "bling" high-posting takes precedence over actual riding, and yes it often appears to be those newer to the sport that take this to the extreme. But to me, that is not what this particular thread is about. IMO, Kevin represents the opposite, as his thing was total DIY, which is a foundation of true core punk (NOT corporate crap that has mostly taken over). Obviously, plaid is the next trend. First skate, then last year in Burton's line, now more widespread snow, even Watson has plaid wakeboards this year. But Kevin is at least slightly on the forefront of the trend, and he combined it with a bit of a hip-hop reference. Two years from now, probably HL and or LF will be hawking plaid gear, and all the sheep will be buying, flashing, still not riding seriously, and looking like clowns. THOSE will be the people that your criticism should be directed toward. Kevin is ahead of this and he's simply doing what is proper for his chosen career, which is a fashion designer. If he is able to channel this same thoughtfulness and energy into bigger projects as he develops, I'm guessing he'll do pretty well for himself.

Kev, big ups. I love your idea, and as novel of an idea as it may seem to most, I support it. I don't claim to be a hardcore rider by any stretch of the imagination. I do, however, enjoy fashion and wakeboarding so I see no reason for me, personally, not to combine the both. On land, on water, in the air, whatever, I wanna look original and not have the same old stuff as everyone else... and I think a custom lifejacket fits into that catogory. Peace y'all, stop hatin.

oh, and i just couldn't resist posting this......forgive! smeeeeeeeegal!

If everyone starts asking for these things then the originality that you so desire is gone. Personally the last thing I think about when I get behind the boat is if my vest looks like everyone else's. If the thing floats me when I fall then it has served its purpose.

Also, don't think you are original if you carry around stuff from name brand "designers" such as burberry, LV, coach, etc. They are not original, they just have good marketing

im surprised by your response melissa. if i recall correctly, you usually fall into a more accepting camp when it comes to people expressing their individuality. or perhaps i've been projecting that on you given your profession.

---

quote:

If everyone starts asking for these things then the originality that you so desire is gone.

---

in essence true, but she did say "custom vest." are we really expecting these to be as ubiquitous as black? kevin would have to sell a ridiculous amount of them before they became anything more than a boutique item.

---

quote:

Personally the last thing I think about when I get behind the boat is if my vest looks like everyone else's. If the thing floats me when I fall then it has served its purpose.

---

it's safety purpose sure, but why should it be limited to that? the point isn't whether or not the jacket is safe, it's about how it looks.

fashion, flair, style - these are elements that are considered in addition to pragmatics like safety. much like adding a grab and/or tweak once you learn the basic trick.

i can't see why so long as you're not undermining the original function of an object there'd be anything wrong with making it more aesthetically pleasing to yourself.

Mellisa-
Judging from the response in this thread, I don't think all too many people will be placing orders. That is not what i am thinking when I am behind the boat, that is what I am thinking when I look at it hanging in my closet....I think, "I am so glad that I have such a kickass lifejacket" pretty much......but........I don't even have the thing yet. Kevin, do you want me to order that double laminated fabric?? Lemme know.


And Timmy-
As far as carrying stuff from coach ,which is the only "designer" label I rock regularly, its a personal thing. It reminds me of my grandmother (god rest her soul), she loved it and gave me lots of pieces. I love her, so when i wear a c scarf on my head, or a c bag on my arm, It reminds me of her, and they type of person she was, and that makes me happy. Its a personal/sentimental thing.

regardless, to each his own. coach rules!

also keep in mind i make no claims to being fashionable, having any style whatsoever, or anything along those lines.

I do claim to be logical and practical though.

Kevin, I look forward to seeing any more projects like this, even if you are utilizing materials that I don't particularly care for. keep on keepin on!


(Message edited by timmy on September 28, 2005)

oh, and also, another plug for coach--- their craftsmanship leaves nothing to be desired. I still use bags from ten years ago, they are very relsilient (sp?) and of highest quality. shameless plug , i know, http://www.coach.com

I have a few coach bags and I agree, they've lasted me a long time and continue to look great. Now.. LV.. definitely not my thing.

Tim, LOL....... I am the antithesis of logical and practical

(Message edited by wakelurker on September 28, 2005)

Melissa- I don't mind if the originality decreases if a ton of people think my creation is awesome and want to sport it. Christopher has a great point, saying I'd have to make and sell a lot for it to even make some kind of noticeable difference.

Tim- I'm not claiming Burberry is original, just the application. Thanks again for the props man. I'll probably have some free time to get to work on some other fun stuff

Kevin, my post was not directed toward you or your creativity, which I have already mentioned in my first post on this thread.

Kevin,
I Love it! I could wear my Burberry jacket along with my Burberry purfume while I ride.. I'm coming up your way in a few weeks, I might just need to drop off some cash for an order.

beth, which burberry do you wear??? My fav it burberry brit. if you haven't had a chance to test it, check it out.

not to sound too metrosexual...but i wear brit for men. it smells good, but that doesn't matter......all that matters is the ladies like it!! woohoo!!

nice choice boozy

Victoria,
I wear Brit, I get so many compliments on it and I dont give myself a headache because its not too strong...

Sorry guys, but it had to be done. This thread has degraded from something somewhat related to wakeboarding, to something that should be discussed while giving each other makeovers and watching teh Lifetime movie of the week.

-Steve

steve, it's not gay, it's just not too related to boarding anymore...boards do that---all the time.

Steve, as a practicing lesbian your comment really hurts my feelings!!!

OK now I like where this is headed. Victoria go on tell us more.

just kidding y'all!!! I LOVE MEN!!

but still, i don't think it is nice to call stuff "gay"--- i think lame would be a better adj.

You tease.