AGE: 18

OCCUPATION: Student

HOME BASE: New York

HAT: Crooks & Castles

SHIRT: BAPE

JEANS: UNIQLO

SNEAKERS: Nike

KEY CHAIN: BAPE

PHONE CASE: BBC Ice Cream

COIN PURSE: Louis Vuitton

BOOK BAG: BAPE

What are you saving up for the summer? School.

What is your dream vacation? Any spot in Europe.

What sneaker style are you rocking this season? BAPE, Nike SB and Air Force One.

Who inspires your style? Kanye West, Fabolous and Big Sean.

Vote on whether this week’s subject is “Stylin” or “Wildin” below…

What is your favorite city? NYC.

What is your dream job? Rap artist.

Who is your dream date? Lauren London.

Last book read? Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo.

What is your trend proof style advice for our readers? Always switch up your style according to the occasion.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Want to be featured in our weekly Street Detail blog? Email a head-to-toe picture of yourself to: streetdetail@complex.com

Tune in to Complex.com every morning at 8 AM for your daily “Wake N’ Watch” video.

Louis Vuitton takes an average interview (?!) and makes it awesome through the power of editing. It helps that the subject is outer space, but still. Great job, handbags for everyone! [Louis Vuitton Journeys]

No more Men.Style.com? Oh wow. [Tech Crunch]

KAWS interview RE: Stages. Everyone likes hearing this man talk. [High Snobiety]

Download Nike SB’s “Debacle” Am vid for free over the next three days. [Nike Skateboarding]

The CONS CTS High in digi print is the next must have. [Hypebeast]

If the rest of these links aren’t enough, there’s always hot chicks taking bong hits. [Mash Kulture]

BRAND: Louis Vuitton (Spring Collection)
FOUNDED IN: 1854
WHY IT’S COOL: Long before ’Ye, this quintessential luxury brand has been keeping the world stylish for centuries.

BRAND: Dior Homme (Spring Collection)
FOUNDED IN: 1947
WHY IT’S COOL: Combining the expert talents of Kris Van Assche and Hedi Slimane; the former made it crisp, while the latter added a rock-star twist.
• Check out its leather high-top sneakers.

BRAND: Lucien Pellat-Finet
FOUNDED IN: 1994
WHY IT’S COOL: The king of cashmere collaborated with Murakami and most recently Mr. for its fall/winter cashmere and T-shirts collection. Be prepared to drop lots of Euros.

STORE: Colette Store
FOUNDED IN: 1997
WHY IT’S COOL: The newly revamped streetwear emporium carries the dopest books, gadgets, apparel, and accessories as well as limited-edition pieces.

STORE: Starcow
FOUNDED IN: 2000
WHY IT’S COOL: Parisian shop fuses skater sneakers and streetwear apparel into a one-stop shop.

STORE: Surface to Air
FOUNDED IN: 2000
WHY IT’S COOL: Known for its clean and simple silhouettes, this brand teamed up with adidas Adicolor and North Face Roots of Life for recent collaborations.

BRAND: April77
FOUNDED IN: 2002
WHY IT’S COOL: Denim lifestyle brand deeply rooted in new French-wave rock. A favorite amongst the hipster Parisian crowd.

BRAND: A.P.C.
FOUNDED IN: 1988
WHY IT’S COOL: Its raw jeans are a must in your wardrobe. The understated simplicity of this brand doesn’t detract from its luxe roots.

BRAND: Saint James
FOUNDED IN: 1889
WHY IT’S COOL: Nautical brand classic is having its comeback this year—not just for the Riveria anymore.

BRAND: agnés b
FOUNDED IN: 1975
WHY IT’S COOL: Originally named Agnès Troublé, this design house knows how to use patterns and florals without losing its balance of masculine and whimsical Parisian style.

After lending a helping hand to other projects like Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3, Hudson is gearing up for the release of his solo debut, Straight No Chaser, out later this year on G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam. When he stopped by the Complex office, we talked about everything from Auto-Tune backlash to how ‘Ye named his LV shoes. Read on for the full interview and to watch the brand new video for “Supernova” featuring Kanye West…

Interview by Ernest Baker

Complex: You’ve said that Straight No Chaser will have lots of Auto-Tune and it’s all over the two singles. Does “Death Of Auto-Tune” make you want to tone it down at all?

Mr. Hudson: It’s funny, isn’t it? I wish Jay had told me a couple months ago that he was going to kill Auto-Tune. Maybe we would have mixed the album differently. I think it’s good that Jay is getting people to think. I really look up to him. He’s the boss, isn’t he? But he’s the gaffer. I have huge respect for him as an artist and I can’t even process how much of an honor it is to be on Blueprint 3. But yeah, when I saw that “Death Of Auto-Tune” I was like, “oh dear.” [Laughs] My album is going to come out around August or September here, so hopefully it won’t be too late for me to sneak a few more Auto-Tune tracks in. Ultimately, it’s just starting a debate and it’s good to have that debate.

Complex: Did you use Auto-Tune on “Forever Young,” the song you did on Blueprint 3?

Mr. Hudson: No. That would be a problem, wouldn’t it? And I think that shows that I don’t need it. And if you come to a live show you’ll see I don’t use it, I’ll sing all of these songs without Auto-Tune. It’s just a tool in the studio to make, in the words of ‘Ye, “shit sound dope.”

Complex: Speaking of ‘Ye, you’ve worked with him, Jay, and I’ve heard about you working with Estelle. These are pretty major collabs this early in your career. Are you working with anyone else that we don’t know about?

Mr. Hudson: There’s someone pretty big in the pipeline for later in the year, but I don’t want to jinx it. I’ll tell you as soon as I can.

Complex: Can you give us a hint?

Mr. Hudson: No. [Laughs] Put it this way: I love working with women. I think it’s because I spent so much time in my brother’s heavy metal band. Sweaty boys in the rehearsal room. It’s nice to just be in the studio with a fragrant lady. I’d like to work with Dolly Parton one day.

Complex: Who’s contributing to your album?

Mr. Hudson: Kanye is on two tracks. Kid Cudi is on a track. I worked with a duo called The Bullitts. One thing I learned from working with Kanye was, you shouldn’t be proud. If you want help with a track get someone in. No man is an island. You can ask people for help and they can ask for your help in return. The way he’d ring up Lil’ Wayne to help finish a verse or he’d ask me to help finish a verse, I tried to do the same thing with my album and not be proud and just say, “Look, I’m stuck with this track.” I even rang up one of my school friends, and he just came in, had a cup of tea, and we finished the verse. So there’s collaborations on the album from just a school buddy all the way up to Kanye.

Complex: Do you still work with your band The Library?

Mr. Hudson: Two members of The Library, who obviously helped shape the sound of the first album, went off and did different things, which is cool. That’s with my blessing and I’m excited about what they’re doing. The other two members are still part of the live outfit. But this record, I realized, particularly when I saw Kanye working on 808s, that it’s okay to make an album dealing with my stuff. My issues. My emotions. It ended up being a breakup album. I never thought I was going to make a breakup album, but it is a Mr. Hudson record. It’s a not a Mr. Hudson and The Library record.

Complex: Yeah, it sounds like the album is about a specific relationship.

Mr. Hudson: Yes, it is. And I would say to musicians, don’t break up in order to make an album. But if you do break up, make sure you write a record because it’s probably going to be quite an interesting, raw thing. I was working on all these songs last year, talking about all sorts of different topics, and when I broke up with my girl in December that put me in a very different headspace. So a lot of the stuff on Straight No Chaser is actually really new. I didn’t even realize how raw it was and then some of my friends at home heard it and were surprised. I was working in East London and then all of sudden I’m on a plane to Hawaii. I was so removed from my comfort zone that I think it put me in a headspace where I could just be more open and put my heart on my sleeve. And 808s & Heartbreak gave me a benchmark.

Complex: Your sound now is a lot bigger than the first album, but you’ve said that you prefer tiny venues to large arenas. With the new material coming out, do you think that preference will last much longer?

Mr. Hudson: I wouldn’t say prefer, I just think there’s a charm to small rooms where you can high five the people at the front and the back without going too far from the stage. I love doing club shows. I love that tight sound. But Kanye told me, “You can do this if you want. You can fill these big rooms. Do you wanna have a go?” And I was like, “Uh, yeah.” Because it’s not very often in life that you get offered these things. It’d be stupid not to give this a shot. So we made an album that would work in those spaces and those big rooms with, as he exaggerated, 500,000 people a night. It’s ambitious, but yeah, this time next year I’d love to be over here playing for arenas. That’d be amazing.

Complex: You recently told the Twitter world that you were at the Drake shoot for the “Best I Ever Had” video, can you tell us any details about how it turned out?

Mr. Hudson: I would probably get told off if I did, but I can tell you that Drake is a really cool guy. I was just, A. touched that he knew who I was, and B. he was like, “we should do something together.” What’s his phrase? “Go in?” Is that what he said? We should go in, as in, go into the studio. I was like, “cool.” I had just gotten off the plane. But yeah, it’ll be a fun video.

Complex: Are you in it or were you just on set?

Mr. Hudson: Nah, I just popped my head in to say hi.

Complex: You also said you wanted to start Good Boy Entertainment as a sort of tongue-in-cheek response to Bad Boy Entertainment. What would your media empire include?

Mr. Hudson: For starters, my office would be on the ground floor by the receptionist so I could see everyone going in. I wouldn’t be up in the penthouse. I’d probably end up doing really kooky stuff that didn’t sell too well.

Complex: A clothing line?

Mr. Hudson: See, I think I’d do accessories more than clothing. I’d do shoes and bags and things like that.

Complex: Well, you’ve already gotten a start in some ways with Kanye’s Louis Vuitton shoe. Did that take you by surprise or did you already know he had a shoe coming out named after you?

Mr. Hudson: No, I didn’t. We were in Paris for fashion week. And I know nothing about fashion, but I’m starting to learn from hanging around the G.O.O.D. Music family because they’re all really into it. Don C, Ibn Jasper, and everyone. The Pastelle guys. So we were in the Louis Vuitton HQ and one of the guys jokingly looked at the bunch of shoes and said, “Oh, this is the Mr. Hudson,” and I tried it on. Then at dinner Kanye said, “You know what? I am going to call that the Mr. Hudson.” We all thought he was joking, but…

Complex: He wasn’t.

Mr. Hudson: He wasn’t!

Complex: Do you have a few pairs yet?

Mr. Hudson: No, I can’t afford that. I’m not going to spend £1000 on a shoe. Do you even get two for £1000?

Complex: So Kanye’s not going to slide you a pair?

Mr. Hudson: I think I get one pair, which is excellent, and more than enough. You can only wear one pair at a time. I haven’t even gotten my Yeezy’s out of the box yet. I’m terrified of spilling something on them. They’re bigger than me as well.

Complex: You didn’t start off as a hip-hop artist, but having the Kanye affiliation has kind of thrusted you into that world…

Mr. Hudson: I’m not a hip-hop artist and I wouldn’t claim to be. It’s something I only started getting into five or six years ago. I was into it as a kid but then I got into the whole Brit Pop, guitar music thing. Following bands like Blur, Oasis, Radiohead, and that whole scene. But I make beats and my whole approach was more informed by the values of hip-hop. I wanted to have some fun and I saw the guitar scene as a bit stiff and stale with everyone wearing the same stuff and not really being ambitious. But I see the values of hip-hop and I could just relate to it more. I looked at Andre 3000 and Kanye and they were having so much fun and I wanted to be involved in that. So I was hanging out at the record shops in London and the clubs I would go to were all hip-hop clubs. How I came out in London the first time around was from the hip-hop world, as much socially and culturally as musically and they were giving me props.

Complex: So as coverage increases, do you follow yourself in the press much? Are you the type to Google yourself everyday?

Mr. Hudson: It depends, man. If I’m in the studio twiddling my thumbs or doing a mix, I’ll do it. But when I’m busy living, no. And the more that’s happening the harder it is to keep track of it. With press, at the moment I’m thinking, you’ve either got to be thick-skinned and read everything or nothing at all. Not that I’ve had any haters really, apart from a couple keyboard warriors online, but in the future I might just live my life and not watch that too much.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR MR. HUDSON’S “SUPERNOVA” FT. KANYE WEST

MR HUDSON [FEAT KANYE WEST] – SUPERNOVA from MrHudson on Vimeo.

CLICK HERE TO BROWSE COMPLEX’S SNEAKER VAULT!

If you like to plan your outfits 8 months in advance, check Louis Vuitton’s Ready To Wear Spring 2010 collection. [WWD]

G-Shock calculator watches are now available. Get your nerd on. [Need Supply]

The LeBron 7s look sick. [Flight Club]

If your question is, “How many times will they re-retro the Air Max 95s in the O.G. colorway?” Nike’s answer is, “As many times as we damn well please.” [Kix and the City]

Ever wonder what Hiroki Nakamura of Visvim sounds like? Here’s a video just in case. [High Snobiety]

AGE: 18

OCCUPATION: Student

HOME BASE: Brooklyn

HAT: BBC

SWEATER: BBC

BELT: Louis Vuitton

JEANS: ORISUE

WALLET: Louis Vuitton

SNEAKERS: Nike SB

Who/what inspires your style? Kanye West.

What city/country has the best style? Milan.

Who has wack style? Soulja Boy.

What trend do you want to see die? Skinny jeans.

What is your favorite brand? Louis Vuitton.

What’s the item currently in your closet you most regret buying?
Nike Dunk SB Marshall Amps.

Vote on whether this week’s subject is “Stylin” or “Wildin” below…

What is your dream job? Working behind the scenes for Marc Jacobs.

Who is your dream date? Adriana Lima.

Last book read? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

What is your trend-proof style advice for our readers? Don’t wear anything too flashy, showing labels is mad old.

Want to be featured in our weekly Street Detail blog? Email a head-to-toe picture of yourself to: streetdetail@complex.com.

Louis Vuitton x Comme des Garcons business card holder. This thing is obnoxious as crap, but perhaps there are more products on the way? Two banger brands, something awesome this way comes. [Cliff Edge]

Geeks goin’ nuts with this Photoshop Invisibility T-Shirt. [Gizmodo]

Dunning technical golf clothes. It’s getting warm, get the paper out. [Valet]

While everyone’s going nuts over the Yeezy’s, save some paper and the waiting in line by copping the RT 1. [Sneaker Files]

Lightning misses this time around for Lanvin’s new footwear collection. Up to you. [Slam x Hype]

Loopwheeler is gunning to be the new Ampersand T. [LW News]

If you thought you’d only be able to see what trends were popping overseas by checking Kanye’s blog, think again. Check out the trends that Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, and Junya Wantanabe are betting on for next season…

1.Tech and lux navy fabrics, oversized scarves, and turtlenecks.
Louis Vuitton

2. Tailored coats in tech fabrics, monochrome looks in muted colors
Lanvin

3. Wool Fabric
Lanvin

4. Quilted Fabrics and Patchwork
Junya Watanabe

5. Lux Lapels
Burberry and Bottega Veneta

Sure, people are psyched on the Louis' that 'Ye just showed, but don’t forget that the Air Yeezys will drop months before the LV joints ever touch concrete. That said, we figured we'd show you the specifics (that we know) about each shoe and ask which crazy-hyped, crazy-limited and crazy-dope sneaker you're most pumped about. Hit the jump to see the tale of the tape and vote.

NIKE AIR YEEZY

• Number Of Colorways: 3 ( Rumored to be dropping April, May, June)
• Inspired By: Space Shoe/Jordans
• Availability: Likely extremely limited, with a rumored 1,000 per colorway only at top-notch Nike retailers like 21 Mercer Street
• Retail Price: We're guessing somewhere between $200-$250

KANYE’S LOUIS VUITTON SNEAKERS

• Number Of Colorways: 5
• Inspired By: Large flap jacket seen in the movie Dune
• Availability: Louis Vuitton flagship stores around the globe
• Retail Price: Probably around $400+, although Kanye has gone on record as saying the shoes are “reasonably enough priced…and you get more bang for your buck.”

If you don't want to wait until February to cop some of the Stephen Sprouse for Louis Vuitton collection, grab some of the accessories that just became available online. [eLuxury]

Don't catch feelings about the LV overload, but Consequence posted this video of Kanye West pridefully showing his new white-on-whites. [SoleBLVD]

Check out all the Martin Margiela spring/summer -9 sunglasses that Aaron Reid will write about using words like “swag”, “fresh”, and “dope”. [High Snobiety]

BBC/Ice Cream doesn't need you to like them anymore, they have another whole batch of cone-munchers that are psyched about the January releases. Check the Tuxedo jacket. [Hypebeast]

Unfortunately, the skateboard project isn’t the first slip in the downward spiral in the recent history of the Louis V brand. Read on to see more recent moments in the fall from grace by one of the greatest brands of our time…

SKATEBOARDS AND RE-USING STEPHEN SPROUSE? Come on.

• Here’s a photo of the Stephen Sprouse x Sgayteboard P. and the Louis bunch. Dear Louis: You can’t fuck with skateboarding unless you skate, and Pharrell doesn’t count. The Stephen Sprouse collection is dope, but you guys already did this! Come on guys, you’re supposed to be the best in the world, not re-hashing concepts from 2001.

YOU GUYS CAN’T KEEP THE PRODUCT COLLABS UNDER WRAPS?

• Kanye is a live wire, and collaborating with the Louis Vuitton Don is always going to have the blogosphere going nuts. New information surrounding his simple-but-classy sneaker collab with the luxury brand surfaced on a site called SoleBLVD yesterday, adding LV to the ranks of the rest of the sneaker world. We always think of LV on another level from normal sneaker brands who can’t control leaks, but maybe…

RAPPERS PICK YOUR SHOP FOR A PUBLICITY STUNT BEAT-DOWN

• Louis Vuitton has a history of suing artists for using the brand to promote themselves (T.I., Da Brat, Brittney Spears), which is a strong stance from brand management. But if execs want to keep the petty celebrity drama away, they need to protect the door a little better. Rapper Jim Jones beat down Ne-Yo and Ne-Yo’s road manager in the 5th avenue NYC Louis Store on Christmas eve, and it’s all over the Internet. Not a good look for anyone involved.

YOU USED KEITH RICHARDS TO PROMOTE YOUR BRAND

• Hey guys, the Mikhail Gorbachev ads were a nice touch, but Keith Richards? He looks “weathered” and cool in this ad, and the whole “Life is a Journey” thing is dope, but remember the “I snorted my Dad” shit? Oops.

LOUIS VUITTON TV COMMERCIALS?

• We’re not going to lie, these commercials make us want to buy LV gear. But guess who watches TV? Fat chicks from the Midwest, Jersey trash, and the rest of ignorant America. Is this LV’s target? Just because you show the ads in cool movie houses and during “intellectual” programing doesn’t mean that the people watching these commercials aren’t scarfing down Munchie Mix and Mentos.

GoonieGooGoo ballin out at the lv store

MaxBiggavelli @ amalgamdigital oh yeah and buy a pencil they so waaaaaaaavy

*DISCLAIMER: This is fiction. We made it up. Come on, people.

Kaws makes poop toys on a stick for you or your dog. [Honeyee]

Supreme warehouse sale in both L.A. and NYC, this coming Wednesday. Click on “news” for the flyer and buckle down for the shit storm. [Supreme]

You know what Mr. Margiela? You crazy. But your sneakers are dope dope dope. Damn they’re expensive, though. [Aloha Rag]

Goodenough x G-Shock. Yawn? [High Snobiety]

The Yeezy’s aren’t even out yet, and Kanye is already letting the Loius Vuitton collab breathe. Talk about headaches over at the swoosh. [SoleBLVD]

As part of the lawsuit, LVMH claimed that 90% of the LV bags and Dior perfumes sold on eBay are fugazi, while the online auction site was content to rake in the money. Tiffany has a similar case against eBay pending in the U.S., which got us thinking about some of the most entertaining online frauds in recent memory. Check out a few classic bogus auctions after the jump.

The guy who tried to sell his imaginary friend.

The Romanian town of Dragasani, whose main source of income was eBay scams.

The Australian went to jail for selling three people the same gold nugget.

UPDATE: Diddo hit us up saying aren’t an official collabo with Gucci and LV, but are a conceptual art project. Check his site for more info. www.designergasmasks.com

[Click on an image to view full size]

[DVICE]