The Academy LB Featured in American Express Commercial

The Academy, local apparel artisans and friends of the site, has been featured in the latest American Express small business commercial.  

I recently spent some time with The Academy at the Unique LA show in downtown Los Angeles. The motif of the show was locally manufactured, one of a kind product, art, food, and drink. The Academy's forward thinking garment stylings coupled with in-booth manufacturing embodied the essence of the show and stood out from the rest. The company's frontman, Vizal Samreth, could be found hammering rivets to construct one-off belts for customers on the spot.

Witnessing the show gives one hope for the return of artfully crafted, high quality, designer manufactured products. With all that in mind, please enjoy the American Express small business commercial featuring The Academy and Vizal Samreth himself (the commercial ends with a shot of him):

Visit The Academy store in Long Beach at 429 E 1st Street and visit their website for updates and their product selection.

-Benjamin Denzinger

The Academy World Citizen Series

My friends at The Academy in Long Beach always aim to defy the norm of apparel design and manufacturing. With locally sourcing materials, manufacturing in Los Angeles, and always working on unique, culturally significant projects; The Academy stands out.

Staying consistant with this philosophy, below are the details on their latest release:

World Peace Day Shirt by The Academy

Celebrating the September 21st observance of World Peace Day, The Academy is releasing our tropical prints inspired World Citizen Shirt series.

The indigo blue floral prints celebrates humanity's unity by incorporating the world's flowers into an updated version of the classic 'Hawaiian Shirt'.

The camouflage floral iteration turns the notion of disguise on its head. Originally designed for clothing of war, this camouflage design blends the world's flowers together in an ironic acknowledgment of Peace.

World Citizen, made in Los Angeles by The Academy. $68. More information on the shirts and purchasing information can be viewed on  The Academy website.

Urshuz Launch Party

Last Saturday I attended the event debuting Grant Delgatty's Urshuz brand. In an era where the norm of fashion is to immitate, Urshuz utilizes its unique modular design to innovate and push the boudaries of what is possible with footwear. The shoe's design allows the consumer to mix and match a variety of shoe uppers with an equally diverse selection of soles. 

The Urshuz launch party consisted of a demo area (where individuals could mix and match different styles and test out the Urshuz attachment system), a DJ playing tunes on the upper desk, tasty food, and excellent people. The hosting venue for the event was The Academy clothing boutique in Long Beach. In addition to their awesome apparal assortment; The Academy is decorated with mid-century antique furniture, electronics, and soft goods that are available for purchase.

Urshuz will be available for purchase on their website at the beginning of September. They will also be featured in several Urban Outfitters stores (for web purchase as well) and other assorted clothing boutiques in the United States and Canada. Take a look at the images from the event and pick up a pair of Urshuz.

Urshuz display inside The Academy

Shoe wall with Urshuz LEGO artwork

Aerial view of the event

Assortment of Urshuz uppers and soles

Demo table for assembling Urshuz

Examples of Urshuz packaging

More Urshuz

U-Rings used to attach uppers to soles are replaceable

U-Ring tool to attach uppers to soles is integrated into the sole

Quote by Grant

Me and Grant

Grant and his creation

Vintage California flag sold at The Academy

I would like to end with a quick message from Grant about the event and Urshuz:

"thanks to all those who came out and supported us at the launch!  I was very pleased with the turnout, and was encouraged with how much enthusiasm the brand received!  It's been a long road to get here, but I am excited to see what the future holds for Urshuz!  Cheers everyone!  G."

Urshuz Launch Party in Long Beach

In an earlier post, I mentioned that my previous Van's boss, Grant Delgatty, is launching his own footwear brand called Urshuz. The release of Urshuz is rapidly approaching so the Urshuz collective is throwing a launch party in Long Beach. The event will be held at The Academy clothing store on Saturday, August 13th. Come check it out for music, food, and good design.

Urshuz from ROS-B on Vimeo.