Fantastic piece in the New York Times detailing ways in which Japanese designers are appropriating urban imagery as camouflage:

On a narrow Tokyo street, near a beef bowl restaurant and a pachinko parlor, Aya Tsukioka demonstrated new clothing designs that she hopes will ease Japan’s growing fears of crime. Deftly, Ms. Tsukioka, a 29-year-old experimental fashion designer, lifted a flap on her skirt to reveal a large sheet of cloth printed in bright red with a soft drink logo partly visible. By holding the sheet open and stepping to the side of the road, she showed how a woman walking alone could elude pursuers — by disguising herself as a vending machine.

Read the rest of the article here. Or just keep scrolling for some quick fix images, taken from the slideshow.

My car spends most of its time in Montreal. It would like to come with me to the London flat, but carry-on restrictions these days… [pause for groans of disgust, mostly from the author]. While Montreal is a stellar city, so is its bike and car theft rate. So for those of you who would rather not take my unintentional route of making your car less attractive to thieves (a technique I recently employed, also known as “slamming your shiney black Jetta into a brick wall”), these stickers are for you.

Created by the superb British designer Dominic Wilcox, the stickers offer a quick and easy DIY downgrade to the attractiveness of your ride, be it two or four wheel. You can order yours here. And while you’re there, check out the rest of his work. Good stuff.