Happy Monday and the first day of NEW YORK FASHION WEEK: MEN’S. I’m looking forward to seeing SANCHEZ-KANE and WILLY CHAVARRIA. There’s a wonderful interview with HEAD OF STATE designer TAOFEEK ABIJAKO, who is applying to fashion school while showing his second collection at NYFW… The image, story, and cult of RALPH LAUREN has always brought into question values of authenticity in the American landscape. Today the company might be viewed as a dusty empire, yet it has plans to dig its way out of decline and showed a steadfast collection last season at RALPH'S GARAGE. The story of the LO LIFE crew has had particular resonance in recent years—it's the story of who is included, who is left behind, and who seizes the dream outside sanctioned lines—all rooted in aspiration and the potent appeal of the American dream. MELVIN BACKMAN examines RL CORPORATION's complicated relationship to the Lo Life legacy. What does that relationship mean for streetwear today? Can Ralph Lauren catch up to this cultural legacy or will it form a crucial divide? At what point do retro reissues look like pandering to a commercial moment for streetwear?... I enjoy the excitement and ritual of the SUPER BOWL and couldn’t help thinking about the role uniforms play in the NFL universe. Uniforms signal team affiliation and give players a kind of superhuman presence on the field, armored in an exoskeleton of padding, polyester, and precision-fit helmets. And they're big business. They're made for instant recognition on the field and the screen, with concern for practical performance sewn and woven in. And like any enthusiast culture, there is exhaustive research and cataloguing being done on NFL uniforms, with no detail too small. UNI WATCH and the GRIDIRON UNIFORM DATABASE track the history and development of NFL garb... Briefs: Software eats retail from DOUG STEPHENS... DOVER STREET MARKET opens in BEIJING.