HYPEBEAST Magazine Issue 15: The Foundation Issue

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ISSUE 15

FOUNDATION

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jörg Haas SENIOR EDITOR Cody Horne EDITOR Kevin Wong DESIGN Nathalie Heider Florian Hettenbach Louisa Hölker CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Arthur Bray Eddie Eng Petar Kujundzic Arby Li Robert Marshall EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Zarah Cheng Hasse Lemola Gavin Yeung Helena Yeung Madrell Stinney EDITORIAL INTERNS Phoebe Chan Benson Cheng COORDINATOR Kate Yeung COPY EDITOR Peter Suh GUEST EDITORS Josh Davis Daniel Sandison ADVERTISING Crystal Choi Charles Gorra Gems Ip Paul Le Fevre Huan Nguyen Josh Parker Jacqueline Ruggiero Tiffany Shum Blane Snyder Stephen Yu

SPECIAL THANKS Sane Benjamin Tifenn Boscher Marco Chan Vivian Chan Kenneth Chau Jonathan Cheung Edwin Choi Kenneth Deng Shiori Etsugu Kurumi Fukutsu Bruno Fulcrand-Rodriguez Kaori Funaki Aurelie Garcia Nike Hong Kong Yuri Kamiya Johnny Lam Alex Lau Brenda Lo Sophia Lotter Tony Mak Erin Norsen Saori Ohara Ragz Originale Francesca Picciocchi Andrew Pulig social/capital Christine Su Federico Tan Kanako Tsuchiya Cat Wong CONTACT magazine@hypebeast.com 12th Floor 10-16 Kwai Ting Road Kwai Chung Hong Kong +852 3563 9035 PRINTING Asia One Printing Limited in Hong Kong All Rights Reserved.

ISSN 977-230412500-0 HYPEBEAST.COM PUBLISHER 101 Media Lab Limited © 2016 101 Media Lab, Ltd.

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UNION LOS ANGELES

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THE PARK•ING GINZA

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STONE ISLAND

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KNOW WAVE

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CLOSE TO HOME

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JAKE PHELPS

078

CONVERSE

090

SKEPTA

100

RUDEBOY / ROADMAN

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NIGEL SYLVESTER

130

NEW BALANCE

140

YOSUKE OTSUBO

150

READ ON REMEMBER

160

CHITOSE ABE

174

OLIVIER ROUSTEING

182

MICHEL GAUBERT

194

GUIDE TO BERLIN

206

FOUNDATION

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7/14/2016

HBM#14-Editor's Letter

EDITOR'S LETTER

One year ago I came on board this magazine and excuse the cliché, but these last

12 months have passed in an instant. Though we do not publish HYPEBEAST Magazine on a monthly basis, we are constantly working on stories, features and leads for future editorials. It may be this constant flow of work, without noticeable breaks, that makes it feel like I became part of this publication just yesterday.

What you are holding in your hands represents a physical milestone within our editorial process. While it generally comes as a relief to be able to “close the books” on the given issue, it is always tough to make the final call on what goes in, or is to be left out of the issue. What makes the decision even more difficult is the fact that we are constantly at the center of so many interesting developments in the field of fashion, design and music, and there is always something new and exciting arising that fits our current issue’s theme.

With that said, I do also enjoy the idea of offering our view on a certain subject at a defined point in time. I see each issue of a magazine as a time capsule of sorts. And while there is the obvious feeling of instant gratification when picking up a new issue, there is also always that anticipation to be looking at something again in the future.

For the Foundation Issue, we met with BMX star Nigel Sylvester, visited New Balance and Converse in Boston, and talked to Thrasher Magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Jake Phelps. As a soundtrack for the issue, we recommend one of Know Wave's online radio shows, a mix by Michel Gaubert, as well as Grime tracks straight out of London.

While I leave you with our latest issue, I’ll rejoin the team to work on the next.

Jörg Haas

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SACAI X HENDER SCHEME CUSTOM SNEAKER

FOUNDATION

As two of the most pioneering contemporary brands hailing from Japan, sacai and Hender Scheme come together for a Fall/Winter 2016 men’s collection that boldly combines streetwear styling with refined construction. The upper is fabricated entirely from cow and goat vegetable-tanned leather, while pigskin is used for the lining. The black iteration presents a matte sheen of the obsidian leather that adds a subtle contrast to the textured nubuck seen along the collar and toe segment. Rounding off the look is a crisp grey band across the midsole. Also available in lush hues of navy, bordeaux and khaki, this Hender Scheme for sacai range costs $1,195 USD.

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GUIDE

WHAT’S NEXT With a new double-wishbone rear suspension and a lower center of gravity, the 2016 Prius is making getaways even more thrilling. toyota.com/prius 011

Prototype shown with options. Production model may vary. ©2015 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

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FOUNDATION

LE LABO “THÉ NOIR 29” FRAGRANCE SET

Known for its illustrious roster of unique fragrances, perfumery Le Labo is no stranger to constructing a truly exquisite balance of scents. Introducing the “Thé Noir 29” collection, a sensuous blend created from black tea leaves coming to fruition in an array of applicators. From the moment the bouquet meets your senses, an intoxicating sense of longing takes over. Starting with a heady aroma of earthy notes such as cedar, vetiver and musk/hints of bergamot, fig and bay leaves begin to also merge. Available in a fragrance set that combines modern aesthetics with traditional apothecary designs, the assortment includes perfume, perfume oil, a travel tube, liquid balm, and solid perfume. Individual items from “Thé Noir 29” fragrance set range from $50 USD to $950 USD.

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FOUNDATION

WAIAKEA HAWAIIAN VOLCANIC WATER

While most of us may take drinking water for granted, the simple process of hydration is something that can be improved upon for a healthier, more enriching experience. Enter Waiakea Volcanic Water, a natural electrolyte-infused supplement sourced from the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. The exported water originates from the Arctic moisture-turned-precipitation atop the highest mountain peaks in Hawaii, which flows downward and is eventually filtered by porous lava-formed pumice, thus infusing the water with rich minerals for a healthy and delicious choice. The process from origin to water source takes less than 30 days, to which the exposure provides a low nitrate level while also resulting , in Waiakea s soft and smooth taste. A 24-pack of 500ml-sized bottles is $38 USD while a 12-pack of one 1-liter bottles is $36 USD.

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MONACO LOW SHELL WHITE / SHELL WHITE

FOR MORE FUTURE CLASSICS NATIVESHOES.COM

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# KEEPITLITE @NATIVESHOES

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FOUNDATION

BARTON PERREIRA “BANKS” + CLIPS

Worn by some of today’s most influential tastemakers, Barton Perreira knows luxury. Introducing the “Banks” clip-on lenses, the eyewear brand showcases a perfect collision of classic and contemporary sophistication. The sleek wire frames encase bottle green lenses, steeped in nostalgia for the proprietary gentleman. Recalling the sun-drenched coast of the French Riviera, the “Banks” 45 and 48 models are the quintessential summer accessory for the modern man and work perfectly with these timeless clips, which retail for $150 USD.

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GUIDE

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FOUNDATION

UNION

DETAILING STREETWEAR RETAIL

WORDS BY KEVIN WONG PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIZ BARCLAY IMAGES COURTESY OF UNION

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FEATURE

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FOUNDATION

There was a time before #WDYWT, before the sneaker forums and Facebook groups, before we took to the web to tell us what we should and should not wear. Long before we “followed” the every move of brands, designers and fashion influencers, or before this concept of a “fashion influencer” even existed, people took the time to physically visit stores to explore and find their own sense of fashion.

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FEATURE

But in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s there weren’t many options aside from heading to your local mall and paying a visit to the Gap. Men’s fashion or menswear, was not the beast of an industry it is now. And aside from some scattered surf and skatewear, or clubwear as they called it in Europe, this genre of “streetwear” as we know now did not exist.

In came Union, with its carefully curated selection of brands, operating at street-level. The shop quickly became more than a destination to simply buy new fits, it became a catalog of sorts, an encyclopedia for this new realm of menswear. It became Tumblr before Tumblr – a place where fashion-conscious individuals from everywhere came to find out what was “in” and what the next big thing may be. Through time, the boutique became a trusted source globally, as a purveyor of menswear paving its own way to becoming the first streetwear store. “There were definitely stores that cater to a specific type of customer, but there was no store that was catering to streetwear as we now know it. Back then, it didn’t exist,” explains Chris Gibbs, the now owner of Union Los Angeles.

Union was founded in 1989, on Spring Street in New York City

by James Jebbia and Mary Ann Fusco. Now widely known as some of the founding fathers of streetwear, at the time they were simply friends who wanted to set up a space for fresh, mainly local brands to display. At its early stages, the shop could not be clearly defined as it did not operate within any pre-existing avenues. Chris, began at Union New York early on as a sales 021 1_20160719_HB#15_page001-064.indd 21

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associate after his then-girlfriend, now wife, landed him an interview with James Jebbia.

There were no real systems in place for the shop at the start. Union did not have any blueprints to follow. Chris explains that back then there were a few “urban stores” that carried brands like Echo and Mecca, or in New York, the stores would sell Malcolm X or Marcus Garvey T-shirts, but none that operated within the same streetwear realm. Union made its own way, a way that consisted of selecting brands from intuition and taking risks on some New York brands, but also having to turn away the massive amounts of brand that wanted in. “At the time, we were very grassroots.

Up-and-coming designer would drop off hats, T-shirts or some kind of product that they just made, and the selection process consisted of 'I like this' or 'I don't like that.’” Over time, Chris ended up becoming the de-facto buyer of the 400-square-foot shop.

As the reputation of the store grew, so did the brands it harbored.

And while there was no real distribution or inventory management set up, Union quickly became the destination for creative new brands to come get discovered. “A lot of times, by us selling these yet-to-be established designer T-shirts, it established them. We would single-handedly establish them overnight,” Gibbs recounts. Over the 20-plus years of existence, Union has been responsible for “breaking” many brands in America. For smaller brands like SSUR, 10.Deep and Social Studies, to brands that went on to become much larger like Adidas Originals, Rogan Denim and the lot of Japanese streetwear brands, it was as simple as being able to say “I am being sold at Union,” and this remains true to today.

These early brands and their products became the building blocks of what we now consider true streetwear, or as Chris calls it, “streetwear no chaser.” This refers to brands that offered the standard package of graphic T-shirts, hoodies and caps – the springboard for a new genre that quickly grew and morphed, picking up different products and styles, creating brand new trends along the way.

T-shirts were undoubtedly Union’s bread and butter, the store was home to some of the most unique – now extremely rare pieces – from the likes of KAWS and Futura. However, one of the verticals of streetwear that we would be remiss not to mentioned is the sneaker culture. Now having taken on a life of its own, the shoe game would not be what it is today if not for Union. Before there was limited edition or QuickStrike, one of the first sneakers Union carried was Made in UK New Balance 586. While Union did also offer an exclusive selection of vintage sneakers that they personally went digging for, the next notable silhouette they sold, Chris mentions, was a movement on its own – the custom-made Gucci and Louis Vuitton Air Force 1s. These custom sneakers were first found in a street snap from a Japanese magazine, and replicated by Mary Ann, using real fabric from real Gucci and LV bags they would buy off eBay. Selling the Gucci AF1s in store 022 1_20160719_HB#15_page001-064.indd 22

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earned the boutique calls from celebrities, and marked the first time Union Los Angeles saw lineups. From there on, Union began to locate, create and introduce specific silhouettes to the world from hype-less Dunks to never-seen-before imported sneakers. This eventually led to Union being the first ever Nike SB account in the world.

From limited-release clothing to limited-edition sneakers, Union was constantly pivoting to stay ahead of the game. For the Los Angeles Union store, that Eddie Cruz moved West to open, this was essential to their store’s mission, to dictate what is fresh and worthy of being deemed desirable. And as the store evolved, as did its consumers. One of the most important transitions was in offering high-low price points for products. For Union, this meant putting the skate brand T-shirts next to international brands, in particular those from Japan. Though Union has always stocked Made in UK brands – first Duffer and Maharishi, now Palace – it was the inclusion of the Japanese brands that added a new dimension to Union and to streetwear at large.

The relationship between American and Japanese streetwear is a complex one. It is not easily defined and proposes a “chicken or the egg” dilemma as nobody knows which came first. But in Chris’s mind, it all began with the Japanese buying early American streetwear which they then reinterpreted by making their own versions of the products. Later on, Union and American stores in general began eating up the Japanese brands. Chris explains that, the Los Angeles chapter of Union was really the first to begin stocking Japanese brands. Eddie Cruz, who would later go on to open UNDFTD and move Union’s footwear, began traveling to Japan often and buying brands like A Bathing Ape and WTAPS. This gradual shift to including Japanese brands at Union not only marked a new, higher-price point for products, it became a definitive point of growth within its customer base.

As the first to stock many of the Japanese brands like BAPE, visvim and NEIGHBORHOOD, the shop was not only responsible for giving these foreign brands global attention, but also for nurturing customers into appreciating quality and understanding price points. Chris tells us, “The consumer started to understand ‘Oh, I’m paying more, and this is why.’ Over time, at least for our store, the consumer has gradually come to understand product detail, craftsmanship, fabrics, and value.” Under the direction of Chris, the Los Angeles store continues to carry a range of products with the top-tier Japanese brands having consistently remained the top sellers for the past ten years.

While the shop continues to provide exclusive and highly sought-after product, Union, as it stands, does not dictate the market to the same degree as it did when it first began. Whereas back then what Union said, went, consumers, in general, are now far more educated as streetwear has continued to progress. “As streetwear matured and developed, sometimes we lost sight of it, sometimes we were ahead of 025 1_20160719_HB#15_page001-064.indd 25

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it, sometimes we had to play catchup, but we're maturing and growing with the market.” Chris and the LA shop, which opened in 1991, have kept moving with the times, and today the store’s identiy allows them to stock high fashion brands like Raf Simons alongside “streetwear no chaser” brands like BornxRaised. Getting to this point was no easy feat, and is the result of countless transition periods. The most recent of these included a shift to selling more exclusive products to stay ahead of the department stores that were moving into more trend-heavy territory. “The kids who are wearing Supreme, also really want to fuck with Givenchy. So now, we are selling high fashion. We have to find where we can fit in,” Chris reasons.

In the last year or two, however, Chris has seen the store – and streetwear itself as a byproduct – largely come full circle. Union has begun selling streetwear again as it once was, T-shirt brands. He lists Bianca Chandon, Gosha Rubchinskiy and Brain Dead among the brands that are part of the renaissance of sorts. These along with long-running streetwear brands like Palace all have a very specific, limited type of distribution, and this is the model that Union as a retailer takes notice of – along with, of course, great product. This current creative revival comes off a ten-year run that saw a relative “death of new perspectives,” and a US market that was oversaturated. “I've been waiting for the new generation of designers to offer that, there was a good five years span where we weren't really selling T-shirts in the store. Now, there is an explosion, a sort of renaissance to the early days of streetwear where there are tons of new, fresh, young brands with their own perspectives.”

Over the last two decades, Union has been the one brick-and-mortar that us streetwear fans have continued to believe in. A haven for both producers and consumers. For us consumers who have whole-heartedly trusted the shop to provide us with the knowledge of brands and the insight on trends, the most important aspect of the shop, Chris explains, is just the existence of the store itself – making products accessible and physically tangible to the public. “One of the things we hear, we will almost on a daily basis, we’ll have someone come in and they've seen a brand online, they've seen the marketing, they've seen it on Instagram, but they have never seen it in person. And nine times out of ten, they are like, “Wow, I have heard of this brand, I've seen it out there in the Internet, but I have never physically touched it. And now that I'm out here touching it myself, I get it.”

And for the producers, the shop has been a blissful departure from department stores that, more often than not, leap onto trends and brands and ride them into the ground. The contrary is true of the relationship between Union and the brands they carry. More often than not, the shop has had long history with the brands, brands that they bring in with the intention to develop and grow with, not against. Chris tell us his motive is to create an environment where labels can grow legitimately and be in existence for ten or twenty years. Now having lived a “full cycle of 026 1_20160719_HB#15_page001-064.indd 26

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streetwear” as he puts it, Chris believes Union has the blueprint for success in this industry.

As we continue seeing brick-and-mortars get shut down, with everything moving online, the newest hurdle for Union is more than staying on top of trends. Chris admits, it is one-part wishful thinking – hoping some of the market will still want the brick-and-mortar experience – but a big part is for Union as a whole to continue understanding the market and pivoting to stay relevant. “We have got lot of learning to do in the online realm.

How do we transform the physical Union experience – which is technically like a social club – onto on our online site. That will be another major place where we can grow, learn and figure it out.” With this progressive mentality and openness to maneuvering with the times, it seems we will continue looking to Union to break new brands, and help define the perpetually shifting landscape of streetwear.

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FOUNDATION

EARLY STORIES FROM THE FIRST STREETWEAR RETAIL STORE

One day this dude walked in with a stack of five

onto a Hanes blank T-shirt. They were graphics.

T-shirts. He had an English accent and was like

The first thought was "we can't sell these; we

"Hey, is James here?" He was looking for James

can't take them.” The dude never came back

Jebbia. And I was like "No, he’s not here." And

to get his T-shirts. Long story short, I found

at that time, there would have been a rigorous

out a couple of years later when I first saw his

screening process for anyone to get to James

artwork, and this was way before he blew up, it

and or Mary Ann if they weren't there. So I

was Banksy. It was just one of those things.

was like “No, they are not here, you can leave a message” and he was like “Oh, I am a good

*You could have completely kickstarted his en-

friend of Mushroom’s” – Mushroom being the

tire fashion career!*

Banksy's Fashion Career

producer, and I knew he was a good friend of James Jebbia. So I was like you can leave the

How about this. I would like to think of it as

T-shirts with me, and I think I asked him to

this. I think that by not doing those T-shirts,

leave a note which I don't believe he did. I do

we helped him start his art career. If he started

know that he left the T-shirts and went on.

doing T-shirts, we probably would have sold

Later on in the day we looked at the T-shirts,

them really well, he would have kept continuing

and I'm not saying this in retrospect but even at

down that road, and he would have become

the time I was like these fucking T-shirts are the

more of a graphic artist and less of a visual artist.

best T-shirts. Like illy willy dope ideas, but it was literally nothing more than stencils with paint

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FEATURE

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Rise of the Shoe Game

FOUNDATION

I went on a to Japan. Around that time, I was really

point, this Japanese dude comes in and he sees them

into the classic Nike Dunk. That’s the shoe I wore,

and he wants to buy them all off of us for $100 USD.

that’s the shoe you could get at any Footlocker for

There’s a part of the story that was left out. When I

like $32 USD at the time. They made them in like

was in Japan, I kept on asking about the shoe, and

three colors: grey/white, burgundy/white, and a

everybody I asked would say, "This is an American

blue/white. They were all in lows at the time, they

shoe, why are you into this so much." Long story

weren't making highs anymore. I remember going to

short, and I don't remember for that shoe, but what

Japan for the first time and seeing these crazy Dunks,

we learned about it through the process of buying at

Dunks I had never seen before. Here is where it gets

Century 21 and reselling is that these were some of

a little fuzzy, I think the first Dunk to be collaborated

the first limited Nikes, they just weren't being offered.

on was the Alpha Numeric Dunk. They did their own

At that time, nobody gave a fuck about the Dunk, the

Dunk, and it was the first SB technically. The Dunks

Dunk was a dead shoe. So whoever they were made

I saw in Japan, they looked like this, but they weren't

for, whether it was a FootAction exclusive, whatever

Alpha Numeric. And they had about three different

account they were made for, they obviously didn't

colors, and it blew my mind. I was like, "Oh shit, this

sell because they ended up in Century 21. And the

is the shoe I wear everyday but in this fucking dope

Japanese were the only guys that still cared about

color.” The leather was nicer, and they were $180

Dunks. This was before the Dunks blew the fuck up

USD. Today you say "$180 USD? It sounds just

again.

about right," but you have to remember, I was used

Long story short, we had a handful of guys that would

to paying $32 USD for shoes, and I was a fucking

be willing to pay $100 USD for these, or even $150

broke student. I couldn't bring myself to spend $180

USD for these shoes, but it wasn't like this crazy thing.

USD on kicks. I just couldn't do it.

These Japanese guys came in so we figured to trade

So I came home and told everybody about these

this Japanese sneaker parallel buyer for the Japanese

Dunks that were fucking so dope but were $180

colorway Dunks. And so Joey got the number of a

USD. I think I brought like a clipping from a Japanese

manager at Century 21, and told them "Whenever

magazine of the shoe, and I was showing it to my

you get more, call me." And whenever they got new

co-worker, Joey Thompson. One day, I get a call from

deliveries they would call him and he would clean

him. Joey at the time lived in Long Island. He was

them out. And we would trade them with these

like, "Hey dude, I'm at the Century 21 Outlet here

Japanese guys who had the Argon Dunks and Brazil

in Long Island, and I think I see the shoe that you

Dunks and the Mustard Dunks. Those were what we

were talking about, and they are selling them for $32

were trading for. So we would get them, trade them,

USD. And I was like "Jesus, buy them all. Buy every

and sell them for a buck fifty. And for a buck fifty,

single one of them.” So he bought them all, brought

people thought we were fucking insane.

them to the store, and we started selling them for

It’s funny because they don't actually know what they

probably a hundred bucks, and we sold out in a day.

are buying, technically, because back then there was

Again, pre-internet, pre-Facebook, it was just word

no Google and anything like that.

of mouth, people are coming in together. At some

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It was trippy, I'll tell you my first trip to Japan for

they'd sell. But it wasn't a legitimate business. So I'm

Union LA. I'd only been there once before, I was a

coming from New York where people go crazy for

DJ, so I wasn't brought out there for Union. Eddie

this shit. And I remember we were doing really small

gave me this burner company phone, and said, “Call

orders, so I went down there and the first thing I said

this guy, Kaz, he will help you out there.” I was out

was, "We need to order as much as we can" I was

there for The Bathing Ape buy, it was my first trip out

ready to be like, "Hey, BAPE Camo? I'm going to

there for Union. It felt a little weird, but I called Kaz.

order a shitload of this stuff!" This wasn't for every

He was like "Where are you at, we are going out for

piece, but for specific pieces; and every piece, trust me,

dinner, you can come with us.” He picks me up in

they knew it was dope, they knew it was going to sell.

the middle of one of the illest typhoons I have ever

For example, I remember looking at the multi-camo

been in. I remember the hotel shaking and moving

hoodie. With most order forms around the world,

back and forth, it was freaking me out. But we went

they'll give you minimum orders or maximum

on to have an incredible dinner. Kaz Yoshida, part

orders; BAPE, on some of the articles, would have a

of Porter, picked me up. We had dinner with Edwin

maximum order of one. And all the guys at work that

Faeh and Solomae Faeh, the owners of Carhartt Work

only spoke Japanese, and I only spoke English, so it

in Progress. And I remember being out there with

was really hard to communicate. I remember trying

Misha from P.A.M. After dinner we went to this crazy

to be like, "Wait, one per size? one per color?" and

after-hours bar, and it’s still in existence, and we just

they would be like, "No. One." You can pick a large

got fucked up and had a crazy trip.

purple camo, and that’s the only thing you're getting.

So the next day I roll into BAPE and the other thing

And that was mind-blowing to me. But we did it, we

I realized when I got to LA was how undervalued it

ordered a ton of products, we fucking sold through it

was – I'm coming from New York right, you can't get

like crazy. That was officially, for me, the first line-ups.

this shit. It's only available at Recon, NIGO basically

It was for the early BAPE.

sends them stuff, and whatever they don't want,

Early BAPE® Addiction

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Here today, gone tomorrow.

WORDS BY ARBY LI PHOTOGRAPHY BY ATSUSHI FUSEYA AND DAIGO YAMAMOTO

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“Hiroshi found an interesting location and felt inspired to do something,” says Daisuke Gemma, who supports Hiroshi Fujiwara with his latest project that goes by the name THE PARK•ING GINZA. This seems like a recurring theme when you look back at the history of ventures from the “Godfather of Harajuku.” For over 20 years, he has been a trailblazer in the fashion scene, paving the way for the likes of NIGO®, Jun Takahashi and other Japanese designers, to thrive and make their own marks on the world. Still, to this day, the Japanese designer is involved in a multitude of projects such as his body care label retaW, his label uniform experiment in partnership with SOPH.’s Hirofumi Kiyonaga, his collaborations with NikeLab by way of fragment design, and countless others.

Everything he touches turns into metaphorical “streetwear gold,” leaving fashionistas and streetwear enthusiasts scrambling to get their hands on a Hiroshi Fujiwara-blessed product.

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For many, a retail store is the ultimate culmination of what a brand represents; it provides brands the opportunity to showcase all its ideas, dreams and creativity at one single point. Therefore, it comes as a reversal of the status quo when a brand and its image is created completely based on its retail location. Hidden beneath the Sony Centre within a decrepit car park lies the inspiration that sparked the idea for Fujiwara’s THE PARK•ING GINZA. The space is unconventional to say the least, and the opportunity itself pretty much came out of nowhere as Daisuke explains, “We weren’t looking for a new space. This guy working for Sony came up to us and told us a French restaurant in their building was closing. He asked if we would be interesting in doing something there.” Most would have guessed the logic behind this project was derived along the same thread of Fujiwara’s past temporary concepts such as the POOL shinjuku and Chicken Kitchen. However, it really all started with the POOL aoyama, when the Japanese designer decided that a brand can be conceptualized and built from within, literally. The difference between the POOL aoyama and THE PARK•ING GINZA, Daisuke explains, is that “the POOL aoyama was more of a concept store and more to do with lifestyle. But for THE PARK•ING GINZA, we wanted to make it an interesting crossover, you know, with different types of people. That’s all we wanted.”

In today’s fashion climate, this type of spontaneity rarely occurs in

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a time of careful planning and excessive marketing efforts from brands.

Such is the nature of how Fujiwara approaches his work with such improvisation that even his right-hand man was kept in the dark about the POOL aoyama’s move. The reality lies that the fickle nature of today’s consumer calls for fast-flowing ideas and craves for something new every day. Exploring how a spontaneous idea operates in the contemporary world and the fashion industry, we take a look at how a brand can be built from within.

The starting point for THE PARK•ING GINZA as a brand was from the location’s raw natural state of deterioration and Fujiwara used it to provide a mood board in shaping everything for the establishment.

“There was no reference. It’s all instinct,” says Daisuke when asked about what influences THE PARK•ING GINZA. Aside from a cafe that existed in the ‘70s – where Hiroshi actually used to hang out a lot – everything was conceptualized using the decomposing yet inexplicably beautiful state of the original environment. Raw cement walls and cracked tiles add a cold touch to the exposed ceiling that features dangling electrical cables and protruding pipes, all of which helps create an extra sense of ominosity to the atmosphere. Of course, difficulties inevitably arise when you’re working with such a dilapidated space and as much as you want to keep the environment in its natural state, it was not as feasible as Hiroshi and Daisuke envisioned.

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“We wanted to somehow keep the spirit of the building, so we very carefully chose what we were going to keep and remove.”

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The next piece of the puzzle is with the product that THE PARK•ING GINZA offers. Similar to the POOL aoyama, a plethora of merchandise can be described as tasteful, sophisticated souvenirs that are exclusive to the location. Tees, sweatshirts, and accessories that feature simple graphics logos are displayed throughout the space and while some would say the store offers nothing noteworthy, a visit to the location shows the uniquely intangible sensation attained when entering the space. Sales staff are not pushy, you don’t necessarily feel the urge to buy anything, but yet as a visitor, you feel honored to have been able to check out the location. Knowing how important this is to today’s consumer, Daisuke adds, “Similar to the POOL aoyama, we want THE PARK•ING GINZA to be the place where people hang out. We’re not only selling products, we’re offering a spiritual concept. Hiroshi Fujiwara has managed to create an almost cult-like aura around his work because perhaps all this may once again be temporary, the goods you see on one day probably won’t be there the next, and who knows if the store will still be there a few months down the line. Daisuke further adds context to how the Japanese designer operates using this temporary theme: “We haven’t thought about the future and don’t have any plans yet. But if something good comes up, we’d probably move. It’s all about doing the best thing.”

Further exploiting the Japanese craze for collecting and fueling its product cravings, collaborations with brands are also part of the concept, just like the POOL aoyama, which adds another layer to the limited nature.

Labels such as OFF-WHITE, C.E, and UNDERCOVER are frequent collaborators and it’s to no surprise that many designers are lining up to work on collaborative capsule collections with Fujiwara. OFF-WHITE’s special collection for THE PARK•ING GINZA was materialized via Virgil Abloh’s appreciation for what the Japanese creative does; Daisuke gives us some insight into this. “Virgil looks up to Hiroshi and respects him like he’s god. Hiroshi was like ‘Virgil is really into cultural things like music and art, so let’s work with OFF-WHITE.’” However, it’s not just collaborations on products that occur with the brand’s partnerships, AMKK’s floral project at the now defunct the POOL aoyama was an installation that served to enhance the impermanent complexion of the business. The trend here seems to be if Hiroshi likes it, he’s going to do it and not think about anything else. Daisuke offers a soundbite straight from Hiroshi’s mouth, “It’s so f***ing cool, let’s do it.”

It’s uncommon to see how a designer can operate with such unconstrained freedom. However, with countless years of experience within the industry, he understands what the culture is yearning for and comprehends the importance of change in order to innovate. The notion of retail is changing at a pace no one can keep up with and by building the brand based on a location – which evokes a certain emotional connectivity – it’s a perfect solution to the volatile habits of the clientele.

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Even though Hiroshi and his team base their decisions predominantly on what they’re feeling, they’ve knowingly or unknowingly stumbled across an area in fashion that works for them. From its former time as French restaurant to a ramshackled space, THE PARK•ING GINZA now stands handsomely with two floors, full of different sections that include a record shop, cafe, guest pop-up and more. Only time will tell if and when Fujiwara decides to close it and move on to the next thing, but the main point is that, right now, it’s perfect for both the consumer and himself. To think how a decaying location can serve to not only provide inspiration but to be the product is hard to fathom, yet if it stimulates a creative awakening, why fight it?

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NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

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Stone Island

WORDS BY DANIEL SANDISON PORTRAITS BY NICK GRIFFITHS IMAGES COURTESY OF STONE ISLAND

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Long before Drake was attending Wimbledon, before A$AP Nast and Travis Scott’s online war of words, and before Supreme and Nike were adorning their sought-after wares with the iconic compass patch, Stone Island was important.

Founded in 1982 by cerebral and fabled Italian designer, Massimo Osti, the ultra-technical outerwear brand spent the best part of the next three decades capturing the hearts and minds of subcultures all over the world. From Milan’s affluent and outlandish Paninaro movement to Britain’s football casuals and various aspirational, working class youth tribes across Europe, Osti’s brand would become the uniform of a dedicated and diverse, fashion-conscious following. Now some 30 years later, after some mild flirtation with the brand in the ‘90s, it would appear that hiphop and American streetwear has finally woken up to Stone Island.

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The world has changed a lot since 1982, but we have a very strong identity,” explains Carlo Rivetti, creative director and president of the Ravarino-based institution, “We have never pursued change, we have anticipated it. We have evolved. Somehow from the ‘80s everything changed but nothing changed. The philosophical approach to the collections, the drive to break boundaries and always go beyond is the same.”

From a lesser man, such a bold statement would seem absurd. So few brands can afford a slow evolution. The hunger and desire for hype within an increasingly saturated market simply won’t allow for it. The jovial Rivetti however, commands respect like few men in the industry. His competent and confident steering of the brand, from heritage favorite to streetwear must-haves, has been managed with the cool-headed nonchalance only an Italian could manage.

“The interest of young people has increased a lot in recent years,” says Rivetti. “It is something that we strove for. The drive came from looking at my sons. I realized I had to talk to their generation, as I didn’t want my brand to get old with me. By speaking to more people, we increased our fan base, but the important aspect is that we have no desire to change our language; we don’t need to adapt. In our first 30 years I always said that I would never collaborate with another brand on apparel pieces. This is where we are strong and I felt that I would only lend technical knowhow to the collaborator. Then Supreme came along.”

Now three collections deep and showing no sign of letting up, Stone Island’s relationship with New York streetwear goliath, Supreme, has marked a turning point for Rivetti’s brand – one that he had slowly but surely edged towards, but had yet to commit to. Until another elder statesmen of the industry helped him take the leap. “I’ll never be able to thank James Jebbia enough,” claims Rivetti on his conversations with the reclusive Supreme founder. “I discovered a brand new world. To open yoursealf and your company to a different reality is very interesting. I truly believe that cultural diversity is a value, and I say this as an Italian and European whilst the continent struggles with a refugee crisis.

Supreme is in another very unique way, a true product brand, with very strong ethics and an unbelievable capacity to speak to young kids. It is a cultural movement. You understand the stature of an entrepreneur by the quality of the people he chooses to surround himself with. James and myself are very different but share some core values. We do not compromise on product and we decided to confirm the first collaboration after seeing the product.”

With an unparalleled archive, a dedicated following, and a commitment to engaging with younger audiences, it seems that Rivetti and Stone Island can only go from strength to strength. Its formula for success, however, must remain intact and unchanged. Otherwise, like so many brands before it, collaborations will result in a watering down of values, quality and ultimately, desirability.

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“The concept of a collaboration is not enough, even with an authentic brand like Supreme. In the first years, our garments were something never seen before. The research in fibers and textile, treatments, garment dyeing technique have always being the main themes for us. They were in the ‘80s and they still are today. This is something intrinsic that has remained unchanged over years. I see my company as an amazing car. For me it's just like Formula 1: the pilot is critical, but if the car doesn’t work properly there is a problem.”

Having joined the brand just a year after its inception, seeing it grow from Massimo Osti’s vision, through the design stewardship of Paul Harvey and into the multicultural, multi-operational behemoth that it is today, it is refreshing to see that Carlo Rivetti is showing no sign of slowing down. Behind the impossibly blue eyes and the beguiling contrast of a mask of facial hair and a ubiquitous, room-warming grin, lies a brain still full of ideas, innovations, and the secret ingredient that Rivetti insists is the key to his and Stone Island’s success: “The key word is passion” he explains. “First of all the passion for the product. And passion for what is surrounding us.

I see it inside and outside the company. Ours is a kind of club where we share the same values. We are friends, mates at the stadium supporting the same flag.

A few years ago my people introduced me to a German gentleman who owns a wardrobe of 1,200 Stone Island pieces. My first question was ‘Why?’ He replied ‘because the products are beautiful and because I share the ethos of the brand.’ It was one of the most beautiful sentences I've ever heard. And this kind of thing is the reason why the whole team at Stone Island and I carry on working with the same passion. I cannot disappoint these people.”

It is with that stroke of Italian melodrama that Carlo signs off our interview. From somebody else, from another brand, it may have seemed contrived and forced, but from a man who has poured his heart and soul into Stone Island it was endowed with an all-too-rare sense of honesty. With Carlo Rivetti, Stone Island is still in good hands. Believe the hype.

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CHANNELING CULTURE WORDS BY KEVIN WONG PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIZ BARCLAY IMAGES COURTESY OF KNOW WAVE

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A five-foot-long mixing board complete with countless swivels, dials and controls. Gleaming silver and black dynamic mics hanging directly above precisely positioned seats. Walls lined top to bottom with thick soundproof padding, and of course, the bright red light of the patented “On-Air” sign.

This is not the setup of Know Wave radio.

Instead, the radio platform at the moment has no permanent space, existing only online. Its transmissions come only from pop-up locations including galleries, retail stores and homes throughout. The longstanding station has actually been evicted from three separate locations in the last two years – not due to any lack of resources or ability to sustain, as you may imagine.

Rather, their humble spaces continue to be inundated with flocks of energetic youth and creatives, for which they simply can’t contain. It comes as no surprise that having 30-40 kids hanging out and playing music is not met with welcoming arms in any neighborhood.

However, much of the issue can be attributed to the simple fact that what Know Wave radio is doing is unprecedented, and a bit difficult to comprehend.

“For the most part neighbors and police departments don’t understand what’s happening, so we keep getting evicted, and because of that it keeps us moving,” Aaron explained with a subtle annoyance in his voice.

What’s happening is that Know Wave is (digitally) providing a space for creatives from all different fields and backgrounds – fashion, art, music and design – to produce and collaborate, to create, and have their work be seen (or heard). By now Aaron Bondaroff, along with his partners Al and Mills Moran, understand the transient nature of their radio platform, and have embraced it, continuing to keep the show going three years strong with portable setups from around the world. But in order to continue their mission in providing a vessel for youth culture, they remain persistent in scouting fitting locations to continue building this living, breathing creative community. Their latest beacon of hope, which undoubtedly took a bit of digging, comes in the form of a 50,000-squarefoot church in Detroit, Michigan. This vacant cathedral will be the latest home to both Know Wave radio broadcasts and contemporary art exhibitions from its parent gallery and collective, Moran Bondaroff.

The support system and backbone to Know

Wave, Moran Bondaroff, is the collective brainchild of Al, Aaron and Mills – and is what started it all. The gallery first began under the moniker OHWOW in 2008 in New York, where Aaron and Al fortuitously met while just “hanging out on the streets.” For Aaron, the journey into the art world came as a natural progression. Where “Downtown Don” once used clothing brands like Supreme and aNYthing as vessels to communicate ideas and promote culture, he now represents some of the most acclaimed artists including Lucien Smith, Daniel Arsham and perhaps the gallery’s most prized account, the entire estate of fabled American photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe. Even now, nearly a decade in, Aaron confesses he is still astonished at where their unconventional paths have led them.

Bondaroff and the Morans have no formal training or education in art. The guys all agree that the gallery was really birthed out of passion, and they are convinced this is what separates them from other establishments within art and culture.

Since his days co-founding cult streetwear labels, Aaron explains he has always worked off feeling and intuition, making all that he undertakes both spontaneous and untraditional. The gallery, to them, is a way to not only bring artists’ work to the world, but also to give it life – to integrate it into society, within the community it exists and beyond. However, the well-established traditions of the art world require a standardized formula, systemically and cosmetically.

The white box, the exhibitions, the collectors – proper gallery etiquette.

Understanding this several years in, the trio wanted a way to drive their ambitions even further. The solution came in the form of an internationally broadcasted Internet radio station. The Internet provided a fully institution-less platform not bounded by customs, traditions, or a past to measure from. The radio provided an entirely open-source outlet, with unlimited reach for which artists and individuals from all different realms could contribute and be a part of. “That’s the thing about Know Wave, it kinda breaks down the walls of politics for us. We get to work with artists that we don’t represent, all the creative people that we like but don’t do gallery business with. That’s how Know Wave came about, it was like how can we still keep this thing fresh and be spontaneous.

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The station began out the basement of Aaron’s home in Los Angeles, with a small core group of people, close friends for the most part. Fast forward three years, Aaron and Al’s spontaneous little project has literally become larger than life – physically outgrowing any space they attempt to inhabit, and attracting creatives from all over the world contributing to remote shows broadcasted from Los Angeles to New York, London to Tokyo. The most impressive aspect of the massive growth of Know Wave radio is that it has been 100 percent organic. “The gallery funded the project. We’ve wanted to keep as much outside support away as possible, so we can have trust with the subject who volunteer their time to be involved.”

This means no marketing. No advertising. Al tells us about the number of brands that have wanted to sponsor Know Wave, and give them X amount of money to run the station. He has had to reject each and every offer, however, in order to keep the station what it was from the start. “It is important to keep it brandfree and let it live and grow organically based on what we can grow with it.”

It is difficult to imagine anyone turning down heaps of money, but at this point, the guys are actually fighting to keep the station smaller, believe it or not.

Their reason being that they want to give it some time to develop and grow in quality not quantity. Aaron and Al understand that even more so today, in this shortlived social world, things get blown out of proportion too quickly, often times before it has even been given the fair chance to be fully actualized. “How can I protect an idea and nurture it to its full capacity, that’s the hard part,” Aaron confesses. Staying small must prove to be extremely difficult at the moment, with the amount of talent and noteworthy names joining in on the broadcast – A$AP Mob, LQQK Studio and Richardson to name a few.

These big names, however, are really just friends.

Friends, and friends of friends, as they say. While the Know Wave community itself has become quite large now – with countless contributing guest and hosts – the people they decide to work with are just based off of real-life relationships. “This word community is almost cliché, but it’s really the truth,” says Al. “It’s about having faith in community. Aaron’s got like 20 people around him, those 20 people have their 20 people; there

is a lot of faith in the core group to invite other people in.” This approach has been indicative of the Know Wave brand from the start, “Starting from the ground up” both Aaron and Al continue to harp on almost in unison.

A distinguishable air of excitement passes through their collective voices when speaking about the bigger picture intentions of Know Wave. Driving culture – part of the worldview that they all share – and providing the proper platform for it. “I’d rather take chances with new homegrown ideas, and give people opportunities and keep it within arm’s reach.

That’s what this thing is about,” Aaron tell us. Aaron has helped provide not just a platform for new artists – like Onyx Collective, a group of young jazz musicians – but also opportunities for them to connect with the community. He tells us about the fateful collision of the 20-year-old musicians with artist and art collector, Brian Belott – who is more than double their age – and their collaborative work on a new album. “The lines get really blurred now with entertainment, fashion and art.

We use Know Wave as a bridge between great people and new ideas.”

This grassroots approach in staying devoted to the community is the allure of Know Wave radio, and staying close to the ground allows it to continue to evolve with what is happening around – shifting, moving and adapting to what comes its way. With an emphasis on finding the youth that are out making things happen, Aaron explains that this is innate in them. “It’s what we know, this is all I know; I came up through the street as a kid. Meeting other creatives, finding other characters, whatever, everybody can contribute to each other. Teaming up and trying to put our mark in culture and in history.” And that is precisely what Know Wave has done. Often broadcasted during art and music events like Art Basel, or on location directly inside clothing stores and art galleries, each unique episode provides a snapshot of the exact place in time within our culture. Through the years, as the locational reach of Know Wave broadens and the amount of episodes multiplies, the bed of a cultural archive has spawned. And while this may not have been the initial intention of Aaron, Al and Mills, they have embraced it and taken the responsibility on wholeheartedly, with future generations in mind.

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But forget the future, the far-reaching radio shows are already, in real time, making a direct impact on the youth. “I get daily emails of kids from Australia, or wherever, asking for a specific download link from three-year-old episodes. How are people finding this?” Al exclaims, while holding back chuckles.

The continual uptick of streams in the last two years is still astonishing to the guys – hundreds of thousands of downloads and plays. “We are really getting to culture worldwide and not just in LA or NY,” Aaron says in an astonished tone. And while the expansion has come with its fair share of struggles, the outcome of what Know Wave provides reigns supreme. “A lot of people, a lot of problems, but then something will happen and it’s worth it. Some kid, there’s no traffic lights in front of his house, no garbage pickup, but the fucking guy is streaming our program, and he is connected to what’s happening. It’s moments like those where you are like, alright this has to live – this has reached way beyond what we’re seeing in our little bubble of production.”

It is apparent that the guys have yet to fully comprehend all that which Know Wave has become, but continue to be pleasantly surprised by it.

Very, very big is what it has become, and it does not take much digging to see its global reach. In the past year, its logo can be found almost everywhere, circulating throughout the Internet and in the streets – stretched across chests and foreheads. The reach of Know Wave-branded T-shirts and caps have undoubtedly matched that of their radio broadcasts. Its presence swiftly swept through the fashion world, the products now found in most touted shops, Supreme and Dover Street Market. If the extent of the merchandise is any indicator of the radio station’s growth, Al and Aaron’s intention of keeping Know Wave small seems physically impossible. But Aaron is not too worried. Their uncompromising approach to staying organic and rooted in the community, as Aaron explains, is all that matters.

“There is no way to control growth, but as long as the spirit stays true, as long as it’s supported by something that has some backbone and substance then I’m not worried about it.”

This seems to be the only formula for a sustainable growing project. If organic is real, organic is lasting.

Know Wave as a radio station and a brand seems to be in good hands with Aaron and the guys. “Maintaining the

genuine feeling and being able to still create environments and opportunities for each other, it comes with the spirit. It’s what I care about and I like to genuinely be a part of this thing. It’s fun as you get older, you get more historical legends like I was there for that, man I was there for this, I saw that go down; I put that together. That to me is success in so many ways – seeing people grow from that.”

Aaron, Al and Mills will definitely see a lot of that.

When asked what they see for the future of Know Wave, they answered: “Live shows, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

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CLOSE TO

HOME

Photographer: JULIAN BERMAN Stylist: MICHAEL MARTIN DEL CAMPO Model: SALVATORE ZUMMO

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T-Shirt: VINTAGE "AGNOSTIC FRONT" TOUR T-SHIRT, Pants: ISSEY MIYAKE

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Jacket: VINTAGE "BONES" JACKET T-Shirt: VINTAGE "DANZIG" TOUR SHIRT Pants: ISSEY MIYAKE

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Cardigan: NEEDLES, Shirt: VINTAGE "THE CURE" T-SHIRT, Pants: FAITH CONNEXION, Shoes: FRAGMENT X CONVERSE ONE STAR

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Bomber Jacket: VINTAGE BOMBER JACKET, T-Shirt: VINTAGE "LUSH" T-SHIRT, Flight Suit: FAITH CONNEXION, Shoes: DR. MARTENS

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LOOKS

– Q&A

JULIAN BERMAN

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am predominantly interested in portrait work,

My name is Julian Berman. I am a 24-year-old

though I have been doing a lot of business work

photographer based in Los Angeles, California.

lately, which is fun for a change. I like to apply

How did you first get into photography? And what

the same premise and shooting style whether it be

is your camera of choice?

shooting a Southside Chicago rapper or a CEO

I first started shooting photos in high school. I

business mogul from Middle America. I feel that

took a class in 10th grade on a limb not knowing

this change in scenery or subject matter is import-

what to expect. I was more interested in the

ant to keeping sanity and maintaining freshness in

mechanics and technicalities of it all, coming from

your work.

a childhood based around computers. Working

Take us behind this shoot, what was the concept be-

analog cameras, Photoshop, external light setups

hind it and who did you choose to work with?

– that’s what intrigued me. The first camera I

The shoot was great because it was a small crew,

fell in love with was the Hasselblad 500cm, a

just a model and stylist, the way I like it. The

medium format film camera from the ‘70s. I was

wardrobe was styled by Michael Martin Del

shooting my friends, skateboarding, anything and

Campo, and modeled by Salvatore Zummo. We

everything.

are all friends so in the end it was very laxed and

By now, you’ve shot countless artists and celebritie

did not even feel like work. The wardrobe was a

for a variety of publications. How did you first

few pieces pulled from Faith Connexion, as well as

get your start?

our own personal collections. We photographed

I had no expectations of ever becoming a pho-

the piece in the Arts District of downtown Los

tographer. It was merely an elective course, but

Angeles, in this wonderful brick building occupied

I quickly became obsessed. I guess my career

by our friends at 3sixteen who were generous

“started” as I was taking a lot of photographs

enough to let us use the space. Conceptually, we

of Tyler, The Creator and the rest of the Odd

just wanted to keep it very youth-oriented and

Future crew. I had actually met Tyler on the

close to home. Often enough you’ll see fashion

HYPEBEAST message boards back in 2008 and

pieces or lookbooks that are not really relatable.

we just became good friends. My days consist-

Obviously some of these vintage pieces are going

ed of running around Fairfax and just shooting

to be harder to find, but for the most part, the

endless photos. As they began to quickly grow, it

outfits are very realistic and something we would

went from shooting photos on the street, to the

consider wearing ourselves. It was important for

studio, to magazines, to album covers. It is still all

us to feature vintage pieces that we were genu-

so surreal to me. From there, I just expanded into

inely interested in. We are living in an era where

the world of editorial, shooting for various other

the “band tee shirt” is not even about the band

publications and clients.

anymore, but instead about who wears it, and that

What do you enjoy shooting the most?

is just mega corny. We chose artists and musicians

I love working in hip-hop, or shooting musicians.

that we are all (model, stylist and photographer)

They have so much character and personality that

genuinely interested in and actively listen to.

every shoot is vastly different. More than anything,

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From the Mag Himself Opinions on Skating’s Most Opinionated Magazine

Words by Josh Davis Photography by Tobin Yelland

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Seminal skate magazine Thrasher was founded by Eric Swenson and Fausto Vitello in 1981, and has always represented a sense of incensed opposition to the status quo – within the skate industry and outside of it. So of course, as a skater, it was jarring to catch the magazine repped by models and fashion pundits outside at presentations in early 2016. While the magazine was originally started as a platform for Swenson and Vitello to promote their skate brand, Independent Trucks, Thrasher has since transcended its original purpose to become the most influential skate magazine in the world. In a similar way that The New York Times has a writing style that is literally copied by writers and editors around the world, there too exists a Thrasher-style of skateboarding, though no definitive handbook exists.

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Under legendary Editor-in-Chief Jake Phelps, the magazine has earned the nickname “The Bible” amongst skaters, referring to its judicial role within the community – its hallowed pages are where skaters are made into legends, or satirized into obscurity. Every good magazine has one issue that can’t be missed. In fashion, that would be Vogue’s fall fashion issue. In skating, Thrasher’s annual “Skater of the Year” issue is the mustread news of the season: the magazine celebrates the skateboarder that has most accurately embodied its de facto mantra of “Skate and Destroy” over the past 12 months.

Unlike the fashion industry, which rewards the popularity of a label – like who’s been seen in it, and its number of appearances in editorials – “Skater of the Year” can’t really be quantifiably justified. There’s a reason why certain skaters will never win the award, despite performing the most technical maneuvers – style. As skating becomes increasingly framed as a sport (it’s on the verge of being included in the 2020 Olympic Games), a skater’s approach or body language becomes their defining characteristic among peers. Thrasher’s preferred style has the most parallels with hardcore punk movement of the early ‘80s: the skater takes fundamental tricks and executes them while moving faster, in places no one has done them, and, perhaps most importantly, makes it look difficult. “I’m not gonna give the award to some Johnny-come-last-month, flavor-of-theweek guy,” explains Phelps. In the case of this year’s winner, Phelps says

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he picked Anthony Van Engelen for “services rendered” – in other words, dues paid over a 10+ year career.

Skate companies produce videos as a kind of marketing tool – and although lengthy, big budget productions are still the gold standard; shorter, more frequent releases are currently the norm in the YouTube age. Some people that win “Skater of the Year” only appear in one largescale video per year, if that – which renders the award a measure of quality versus quantity. Within the magazine itself, you might notice that Thrasher dedicates valuable page space to telling the backstory behind every featured photo; that’s because the unseen battle of skateboarding – trying a trick for hours, sometimes days, before pulling it off – is ultimately what garners respect. And the rhetoric surrounding “Skater of the Year” is almost entirely founded on how hard they worked. After all, they’re the legends who performed tricks for which there are no shortcuts. In other words, Thrasher’s highest, most emblematic honor isn’t reserved for the “best” skateboarders – it’s for the inimitable ones.

Phelps insists that “No one can tell the magazine what’s cool,” and accordingly, Thrasher has been generally consistent in its aesthetic and attitude for its 35-year existence. “Anybody can cover a hard trick in the Mountain Dew contest,” says Phelps. “We don’t cover all that crap.” With the advent of online media, the magazine finds itself relying on key verticals – web videos and social media, in addition to independently-hosted

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contests – to remain popular amongst skaters. And thanks to that combo, Thrasher is dominant, aside from the pretense that comes with being “The Bible.” But lately, the magazine’s unapologetically brazen voice has been boiled down to a sort of formula by people looking to leverage skating’s cool factor. Mix a skateboard with long, unwashed hair, sailor tattoos, metal music and some nasty “bails,” and you’ve got the non-skater’s idea of Thrasher. In skating, the Thrasher brand is personified through Phelps, as depicted in Willy Staley’s excellent profile for The California Sunday Magazine in March 2016. Phelps is credited as developing what would become Thrasher’s overarching narrative. It’s a complex, antiestablishmentarian worldview informed by years of living outside the law in a drug-addled, pre-tech San Francisco. But Thrasher has also been interpreted by VICELAND, which adapted Thrasher’s annual “King of the Road” competition for TV this year. Historically, K.O.T.R. has either been distributed as a DVD with the magazine or released on Thrasher’s website – but on TV, it feels like watching a highlight reel of Jackass stunts with contrived narrative and explanation dubbed on top. It’s more “extreme” and “wacky,” in a painfully tolerable way. And Thrasher being tolerable, or widely acceptable, is also what opens up the door to it being misinterpreted.

Wearing the Thrasher logo has also been made into a fashion statement by various outlets this year. W Magazine proclaimed that “It’s official: you no longer need to own – or have any idea how to ride – a skateboard to embrace skater style.” Racked furthered that conversation with an article titled “The Cult Skate Mag Beloved by Rihanna and Ryan Gosling,” which gave its readers a primer on what Thrasher is. Then, Vogue published “How the Thrasher Tee Became Every Cool Model’s Off-Duty Staple.” The narrative across these platforms had a common thread: explanation – as if magazines and readers are preemptively arming themselves to combat any criticism of appropriation. And while it’s true that no one can control who’s wearing Thrasher T-shirts, it takes more than reading an article by a fashion writer to understand the skater’s experience – which is what the gear represents. “We don’t send boxes to Justin Bieber or Rihanna or those fucking clowns,” says Phelps, advising people to justify their fashion statements on the streets. “The pavement is where the real shit is. Blood and scabs, does it get realer than that?”

Brands naturally want to grow and spread their influence – that’s simple logic. But Thrasher isn’t a brand, exactly. It’s a magazine that, at best, loosely represents a brand of skating, and the role of a media outlet is to represent the voice and interests of its audience. If you’re just getting into skateboarding, Thrasher’s website and magazine are excellent places to start learning about the culture. But really, you have no reason to care about its contents if you’re not worried about its specifics. Now, I’m not

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saying that you have to skate to wear a Thrasher shirt. But I do worry that models and actors – who, by the way, need to protect their likeness to earn a living – wearing the magazine’s gear belittles what Thrasher stands for. And really, if you’re a skater that thinks the fashion industry is corny, imagine the embarrassment in wearing the same shirt as some jock fresh off of a Calvin Klein shoot.

Personally, I still like to think of skateboarding as a subculture – although Phelps, the O.G., doesn’t necessarily think of it as sociologically.

“It’s just skating,” he says. “The best people I ever met were skaters. You skate, I skate – that’s great.” But as we’ve seen with other cases – whether it’s voguing from Harlem’s drag scene in the ‘80s, cornrows, or even the sneaker community – subcultures are increasingly becoming common culture. And as that happens, it also becomes increasingly crucial to acknowledge and engage with the roots of whichever nuance is at hand. Culturally, we love skateboarding when Lil Wayne and Rich the Kid have it in their videos, but hate the actual act: which is really just a stylish way of putting yourself in harm’s way. Thrasher is important because it offers up an ideal of what a skater should be – resourceful, resilient, blasé – and also glorifies the physical and mental fight involved with skateboarding. So ultimately, wearing the Thrasher T-shirt empathizes with the skater’s battle. And like the magazine’s own “Skater of the Year” award, you should earn the right to wear one.

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Fusing Together the Stories Then and Now

Words by Eddie Eng Photography by Renee Neoh Images Courtesy of Converse

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“This is where we keep the archival pieces, and where you’ll meet Sam.” As we round the corner of the undecorated back halls of the Converse headquarters in Boston, it was underwhelming to imagine that this is where we’d be seeing the origins of a company that dates back to the turn of the 21st century. No fancy embellishments, or digital signs and glorious showcase displays. Just a lonely hallway that led to the archive room.

Everything felt out of place at first, but what we found upon arrival changed all of that.

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A tall, bushy-bearded man opened the door and greeted us as Sam Smallidge, Converse’s archivist and historian who would continue for the next 30 minutes explaining the key highlights of the All Star’s life. Along the walls was a meticulously laid out timeline of the birth, development and evolution of the Chuck Taylor All Star, with magazine print ads and antique photographs perfectly spaced out and pinned to 90-degree angles (Sam used all clear thumb pins, no exceptions). Set on the table in front were the corresponding samples and prototypes of the Converse All Stars in linear fashion — the setup must have taken a team to execute to this level of attention and precision. And before we could even approach the grandiose display, Sam begins pointing out the origin of the sneaker, naturally starting all the way down the 30-or-so-foot table. Sam confined to chronicling the technology, features and usage of the All Star each point in time through history, until reaching the silhouettes we see available today.

As we learned about the shoe’s lineage — one that saw basketball’s admission into the Olympics — Converse’s involvement in sports and in war time efforts led the Chuck Taylor to be seen more as equipment than a casual shoe, at first. As Sam went on, we began to feel a disconnect from how we would be introduced to an all-new revamped take on the classic silhouette. The original All Star’s history is deeply rooted in basketball and respectively it’s an icon of sportswear that has helped to shape the game itself, but “modern” Chuck Taylors are a lifestyle sneaker, and incredibly rare to find a pair on the courts across the world. It wasn’t until we hit the 1970s that the gradual shift from sports to casual occurred, with all colors and materials we’ve come to expect now. We would later learn that this gradual shift is of great importance to the overall story being told.

Back at the main headquarters — a colossal 10-story, beautifully open office building tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Boston — we’re once again given a “tour” of sorts that points key sights within the workspace, specifically noticing the reclaimed wood taken from the wharf outside that make up the wooden structures, furnishings and ornaments within. Was this another metaphor for the Modern; old products remade to serve a newer, better purpose? Nevertheless, the second part of the unveiling is in the company of Bryan Cioffi, VP and creative director of global footwear.

As our interview started, Bryan picked up a 3D-printed replica of the All Star 1920 we had seen previously with Sam. He explains its significance; “Let’s bring to bear all the most exciting innovations of that time to one sneaker, and that’s what the All Star 1920 was. It was the flagship, the most important, most innovative basketball sneaker that came out that time.” Having experienced the entire archive, it was easy to comprehend this fact. Bryan went on to design the groundwork of their newest shoe.

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niques and materials and rebuilt the sneaker from the ground up.” It was clear Bryan was passionate about the newest materials, but just as obvious was his conviction to convey the essence of the Converse brand and its basketball history.

As our eyes danced from the 1920 replica to the new All Star Modern, Bryan’s tone shifted, from more an educational standpoint to that of a fan, or an excited parent. The core black and white models laid out subtle and sleek, yet its HTM branding — the first time the trio Hiroshi Fujiwara, Tinker Hatfield and Mark Parker were to design and create a shoe outside of the Nike brand — brought about elements of details that would highly prove technical and incredibly cool. Gone are the materials found in Sam’s archive; the now Modern’s incredibly lightweight circular knit made up of a single piece of Hyperfused technology upper gave the familiar sneaker a new feel while retaining its patented shape. Its new Phylon outsole meant no longer having a heavy footprint, but instead included “indents” of the original All Star sole patterning at the ball and heel as an ode to its iconic model.

Slowly noticing more and more under Bryan’s tutelage, everything started to become clear to us — the All Star Modern is not meant to be a replacement for the original All Star, it’s meant to exist as a homage to the past, and a leap towards the future.

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“We want [our audience] to know we are listening to them and progressively studying their lives and trying to get into their heads,” Bryan stated while adjusting his posture. “We are making these for them. We want to make really welldone products.” His speech and rhetoric is that of a storyteller. He prides himself on knowing exactly what the past can bring to the table, and from it, shape the future from the lessons learned. “The one thing we won’t do is be random.

You see a lot of random product on the market right now and it’s like ‘oh cool a single item story.’ We’re building a real big brand umbrella and we want everything to have a nice cadence and flow to it. Even if it’s completely new, it has to feel like Converse.”

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The stories that Converse once told in the early 1900s laid out the foundation for a performance-aimed market that called for a basketball sneaker that could also be worn conveniently all day in comfort. The story Converse is telling now is of a lifestyle sneaker that can be worn all day in comfort and in style. What if the tables were turned, and Converse had started off lifestyle and became a performance shoe? Would its outcome have been any different? Probably, since hypothetically the modern day performance sneaker incorporates all the key elements of its lifestyle predecessor sneaker. This design flow thus proves the strength Converse has with its design ethos, which is that modern doesn’t simply mean renewal or change — it signifies progression with history in mind. It’s walking forward while carrying the past with you. It’s reading a book while keeping a finger tucked between the pages where you first left off. Converse never intends to forget its past, or deny its origins — this weighs true with all their collections, and the All Star Modern succeeds to convey this.

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WORDS BY ARTHUR BRAY

PORTRAITS BY KEVIN WONG

SKEPTA

Rewriting Records

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“First class bro, UK shit, London shit,” said Skepta confidently as he lifted his eyes from the microphone to a sea of fans in Tokyo’s Harumi Port – a shipping terminal responsible for much of the city’s imports, and on this warm summer evening, the arrival of a cultural ambassador. The crowd screamed in hysteria, and the 33-year-old rapper, real name Joseph Junior Adenuga, draped entirely in black, took a second to breathe, bathing in his triumph. His mission was complete.

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It was the eve of the launch of Konnichiwa, Skepta’s fourth studio album (named after him and his little brother's affinity for Japanese culture and grime’s early influences), and the Tottenham rapper stands assured and sentimental for the first time in front of a Japanese audience. “Whether it’s computer games, language, fashion or lifestyle, my brother [Jason’s] whole life has been into everything to do with Japan, so we sat down and came up with this title. Initially we were going to make a whole 8-bit computer game-type album. As time went on, different people came to collaborate, so the sound changed slightly, but it’s still an homage to grime as we know it,” said Skepta after the show, backstage, ahead of the album’s Boiler Room listening party in Shibuya. “I played a lot of computer games as a kid. Since I can’t play the piano or any instruments, I would always have a melody in my head that was stalking me. If you play Tetris for eight hours straight, the tune just sticks to your head.” As children of the ‘90s, grime linchpins have long drawn sonic elements from Commodore PC systems like Amiga, in addition to soundtracks from the likes of Street Fighter and Shadow of the Beast. Such samples make up the backbone of grime’s enigmatic productions, one that has prevented the genre from reaching a mainstream audience since its inception in the early 2000s. Hence, for an independent album filled with raw, 8-bit influences to hit number one on the iTunes charts – not to mention swathes of foreign fans chatting along to every belligerent British slang-riddled rhyme some 9,500 km away from its hometown – is not just another accolade, “We’ve gone full circle” Skepta mutters pensively.

But how did this genre, esoteric and niche at its core, reach this point?

The ebb and flow between subcultures and mainstream is an inevitable part of the evolution of new domains. Dick Hebdige's book, Subculture: The Meaning of Style summarizes this course in three steps. First the fledgling movement is frowned upon for its counterculture existence, then it undergoes what Hebdige calls a phase of “moral panic” in which it is blamed for a part of society's inadequacy. Finally, the group then integrates into popular culture after having been rehashed in a digestible form for the public. While this analysis is applicable to many subcultures between the ‘60s to the ‘90s – that use style to form symbolic resistance – for grime, the genre underwent an additional crease, revisiting mainstream in an unfiltered form with Skepta at its helm. To get a firm grasp of how grime reached mass appeal, one must first understand its origins.

Classified by British music editor Joe Muggs as “mongrel music,” grime began life in the UK underground scene as a DIY, self-motivated movement that consisted of a melange of the UK's musical subcultures including garage, jungle, house, dub, drum 'n' bass and reggae. “London's a multicultural city,” said Skepta. “It absorbs cultures from all over the world, so it’s natural for grime to incorporate Jamaican rudeboy slang and dance elements. It's our version of hip-hop told from the council estates.” For the nascent grime scene, Bow-bred MC Dizzee Rascal's 2001 Mercury 102 3_20160719_HB#15_page077-116.indd 102

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Award-winning Boy in the Corner was the genre's first milestone, and it championed the nation's heart with a heavy helping of homegrown beat and rhyme.

Grime was the antithesis of its forerunner, UK garage's club-friendly odes with their glitzy scene, epitomized by club knights who indulged in champagne, cocaine, Moschino and satin button-downs. Grime was anti-trend, and departed from the awards, ceremonies and garage charts in dance magazines. If garage was a spillover from '90s house euphoria and provided a sugar coat to the turmoil from inner-city struggles, then grime was the bleak and honest expression of London's working class. The name pulled the genre from its lavish roots and smudged it in filth and crime, orchestrating the perfect backing track to the merciless tower blocks of Britain's capital. Among the first releases to be labeled as grime were eskibeat, 8-bar and sublow, genres which culled their names from the lyrical track constructions and bone-chilling samples used to create lo-fi, eerie beat patterns.

Grime took the attention off the dance floor and placed it on center stage. It introduced the rise of the MC. In past British genres, cohorts of DJs would headline acid house raves or reggae soundclashes, yet here the MC was put on the pedestal. After all, a framework crafted from drum ‘n' bass’s fast tempo only paved the way for the MC's quick, punchy bars.

As seminal grime crew Roll Deep's DJ Target mentioned on his 1Xtra Stories documentary, “It’s a 140 BPM type of life,” describing the genre as fast-paced, anxious and always progressive. While past genres would see a separation between the performer and the audience, grime MCs take stage as the orchestrator, and the crowd as its orchestra. The crowd's energy is crucial to the overall performance, which in turn depends on the MC's ability to curate a session to keep ravers on their toes or listeners locked onto the radio.

Through intelligent wordplay and quick wit, grime's candid expression gave agitated youths a platform to flex their thoughts. Suddenly, every other hooded, ski jacket - wearing teen who had a PlayStation console which doubled as a production startup kit, a bag of drug-ladled hustle stories, and a chip against the law was an MC. “We started making music on PlayStation 2 with Music 2000 and on Nintendo with Mario Paint, nearly 15 years ago. Me and JME would always try and one-up each other,” said Skepta in reminiscence. Grime was born in a generation with technology, hence from the start the format was digital. With many youths latching onto their first cellphones as a tokens of independence, it was only natural that much of the burgeoning sound stemmed from the ringtones of Nokia 3310s and the like. “People at school used to come up to me and ask me to make them ringtones on their phone,” said rapper and producer JME in an interview with Noisey. “On Nokia, it was second nature. I could make a song without even paying attention, but I remember the baby Ericsson 104 3_20160719_HB#15_page077-116.indd 104

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flip phones had a little ringtone thing on them too. I had to pay more attention with these phones because they were harder to work with.” A quick skim through Konnichiwa and you’ll find an odd familiarity in the start of tracks like “Nasty” and “That’s Not Me” as digital alert notes are repurposed by creatives far from the grounds of Cupertino. Often created on a cracked version of Fruity Loops or Reason, instrumentals split from the atom of 2-step and were simple but aggressive, uncanny but sharp, inflicting irresistible head-nods and crowd-frenzy rewinds. “Ten MCs in a room, one microphone, with everybody wanting to say something they made up a few days ago just to see everyone else's reaction – that's grime,” said JME, Skepta’s brother and founding member of the duo’s Boy Better Know imprint.

Those without the spitfire enthusiasm and hunger needed for clashing on early platforms like Wiley’s Eskimo Dance raves, Risky Roadz or Lord of the Mics would fall off the radar. Yet regardless of stature, the music opened a new dialogue in 21st century disillusionment. It reflected the views of British youth who aside from close CCTV monitoring were neglected by the top of Britain's layer cake. As the scene grew, it began to cause public harm, with many drawing comparisons between grime and pre-Thatcher punk. Hebdige’s prediction of it undergoing a phase of “moral panic” prevailed. Night clubs and venues enforced a “No Hats, No Hoods” policy in safeguard of the public who were agitated by the subculture.

Helmed by creatives who are discontented with the establishment, both grime and punk are sonic assaults created by a social sector that suffers from alienation, and in turn challenges norms and politics. In Novelist’s “Street Politician,” the South London MC rhyme in defiance: “Yo, always thinking fuck these feds. They don't give a damn about the mandem. Who's criminals? Us or them? They hate us and we can't stand.” From the start the genre had a vexed relationship with authority, initially appearing on the airwaves of illegal pirate radio stations. Rapper Lethal Bizzle's “POW” was dubbed the unofficial song of the 2011 student protests, making headlines in The Guardian which questioned how the track went from “grime-scene scapegoat to righteous rally cry.” More recently, in Skepta's hit “Shutdown” (a track inspired by the cancellation of 2015’s Just Jam at the Barbican in scaremonger of “public safety”), the Boy Better Know MC rhymed openly about his discontent with the police who disrupted his performance at an illegal party in Shoreditch.

Encountering Hebdige’s third step, grime’s growth would lead to it being contrived, with various disingenuous stabs at the mainstream that never allowed the genre to blossom fully in its purest form. Dizzee Rascal's 2008 Ibiza poolside party LP Tongue & Cheek resembled few of grime's roots (apart from the heavy British accent). Similarly, Chipmunk's 2009 platinum selling I Am Chipmunk departed from the artist's clashing past with hi-res panning videos and poignant R&B features. By the turn 105 3_20160719_HB#15_page077-116.indd 105

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of the century, many MCs from grime's pioneering group Roll Deep had made the full transition, constructing club anthems that painted an inflated picture of success including a fascination with jewelry and women.

Even Skepta's “Wearing My Rolex” confirmed that the once subversive, underground sound could be reconstructed by music executives and sound engineers to become a cash-cow formula. The genre that had seemed invincible suddenly felt phony. Its failure to gain appeal outside London, let alone Britain, alongside the decline of pirate radio, was only reflected by the scene's lack of original output. “At that point, a lot of rappers moved to the U.S. and embodied the rapper lifestyle because we grew up on Biggie and Tupac, but the money [grime MCs] make is never as much as theirs so you end up looking stupid. This is where we get lost training our fantasies,” said Skepta. The once senseless comparison between grime and U.S. hip-hop was starting to become a reality. The imitations to appease the masses watered down the once untouchable genre, speeding up the process for it to run its course. If Skepta’s 2009 Microphone Champion was a leap to approachable bassline and funky productions, then by 2011's Doin' It Again, little was left of the genre's menacing roots, with R&B-featured numbers like “Rescue Me” and “Cross My Heart” doing rotations at West End clubs and on the UK chart. No wonder many people said that grime was dead.

Then came the turning point. In April 2012, Skepta released a video from his personal YouTube account dubbed “Skepta - #UnderdogPsychosis no.1.” The video remains the only upload in the account's four years of existence. It featured the British rapper slouched on a sofa with his hood up, in introverted thought. Fans described the video as “the deepest and realest video in the scene,” as a distressed Skepta started the candid vlog with a recollection of how the British school system prevented him from excelling despite his good grades. This left him searching for other channels of expression. The 25-minute video narrated Skepta's experience being looked down upon by Britain's upper class, and dissected the looting of 2011's London riot. It also touched on the racism he witnessed in British society. The deep but uplifting note showed a side of the rapper away from the chart-topping braggadocious music videos. Moreover, this awareness would play a formative role in his career, putting grime on the map as another form of urban music to be reckoned with.

Later that year, Skepta dropped the Blacklisted mixtape, a release which he described as his “midlife crisis album.” Packed with emotion and self-reflection, in “Somebody's Everything” he even called himself a hypocrite. A far cry from his late '00 releases, the artist seemed to be in a state of reflection. In an interview with independent magazine Crack, he noted: “Between 2012 and 2014, I felt myself become real, I focused on being Junior rather than Skepta. I didn't have to think about who I was... I'll always love Blacklisted. I listen to it and realise that's when I 106 3_20160719_HB#15_page077-116.indd 106

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became a man.” Skepta's output stayed muted for a while, and then in March of 2014 he dropped a quick verse to the remix of fellow Tottenham MC Meridian Dan's “German Whip,” and in the same month released a new single “That's Not Me.” What was a freestyle at first became an anthem heralding the alleged return of grime. The track showed a Skepta comfortable in his own swagger. In an interview following the release, Skepta told HYPEBEAST “I know who I am in this world. When I’m in the States I’m fully kitted in Air Maxs, tracksuits, and a curved peak. I come through with my Sports Direct and JD Sports swag; you get me? I’m looking like some ASBO kid and shocking people. I want to spread my culture and have people accept grime as just another form of hip-hop.” Aside from taking the soundwaves of his hometown London, the track also had a knock-on effect in the U.S., and for the first time without the help of mainstream cosigns. “That's Not Me,” which became the hit single on Konnichiwa, reintroduced grime to the States via a raw and impromptu freestyle session on underground radio Know Wave with New York rapper Wiki from Ratking, whose battle rap demeanour matched Skepta's no-holds-barred approach to rhyme-saying.

“Wiki is from New York but to me he is grime. He's got the attitude, the focus on the bars.” said Skepta.

The rest is history. Without the overdone lamination of yesteryears, Skepta cemented himself as the harbinger of grime's worldwide appeal.

Waving the flag for his nation and bringing with him a slew of artists who would otherwise live under the radar, Skepta rallied “30 goons” which included Novelist, Kept & Konan, Fekky and Stormzy for Kanye West's “All Day” performance at the 2015’s Brit Awards. Anchoring the cross-Atlantic love for grime, he also brought Drake out to a Section Boyz show in East London. Skepta reminisced about a conversation with Virgil Abloh during Paris Fashion Week. “He was telling me about how I can bridge the gap between America and England, since our music is both at the same tempo.

At the level he’s on, it was so positive and refreshing to talk to. He really powered me up and I walked away inspired by his words. I went home, had a good think and this tune came into my head, which became ‘That's Not Me.’” At a new level, Skepta's maturity as an MC, and to not let the scene’s past feuds effect the bigger picture is also reflected in releases on Konnichiwa. He told BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ Semtex in an interview: “I'm fully supportive of everyone from London, any ends. If you have a banger, I'll retweet you fam.” He continued: “We need to focus on creating songs not clash tracks. Making music for DJs to play.”

With a global audience now grabbing every word he raps, Skepta continues to evolve the genre with unlikely pairings. In Konnichiwa's “Lady Hit Squad,” he notes “I work for my hometown, London, and the world so I try to put everything into consideration when making music. That's why I

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“I know who I am in this world. When I’m in the States I’m fully kitted in Air Maxs, tracksuits, and a curved peak.

I come through with my Sports Direct and JD Sports swag; you get me?”

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Photography by Zaaman Abbas, Nico Adomako, Imran Ciesay, Vicky Grout and Florian Hettenbach

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brought the legendary MC D Double E alongside A$AP Nast in a song. I've also featured a Chinese artist called Fifi Rong.” He continues, “Since I'm so left-field, to have Pharrell on the album and have him give certification is a blessing.” Regardless of who’s vouching for grime’s revival, one can’t help to think that the thick accent, lack of Lex Luger trap beats and catchy hooks may prevent it from living past its phase in hip-hop. Yet Skepta assures us that this isn’t a worry in sight.“If you are still saying you can’t get past the accent, then you are very behind. It’s about the energy,” Skepta told DJ Semtex following the release of Konnichiwa. Similarly, in a Boiler Room roundtable, longtime grime DJ Logan Sama concurred “if you asked Kanye West what his opinion is on a D Double E’s ‘Practice Hours 2’ freestyle, it would be based literally on the track. But that’s not what grime is about; you need to put him at the back of Eskimo Dance with 2,000 people in the front, and D Double spitting those bars, then he’ll give a proper opinion.”

With Drake even going as far as tattooing BBK (abbreviation of Skepta’s label Boy Better Know) on his arm, there’s no denying grime’s appeal in the U.S., let alone worldwide. The cosigns and collaborations with commercial stars could possibly dilute grime’s core elements, which is grounded in the fierceness trained from battle rap circles. Like its bass-fueled brother genre, dubstep mutated from the dingy basement sound to cheesy, arena-filled EDM. Could grime again succumb to commercialization?

As his tour manager ushers us on from backstage following his jam-packed Japan debut, we slip in one final question before a cohort of nylon tracksuits mob through. What’s next? “Greatness. There’s no point saying these numbers to us anymore, we’ve seen them. It’s what we care about or nothing. As a grime artist, we MC to clash. We’ll just keep murking.”

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– Q&A

VICKY GROUT & JAKE HUNTE

Tell us about yourself and how you became a photo-

streetwear. It has and always will be part of the city.

grapher.

I knew the styling was right when everyone on set

VG: I’m a 19-year-old photographer from London,

was gassed with the Stone Island looks that I had

and I shoot mostly music and fashion. I've always

pulled together. I also used foreign brands such

had an interest in taking pictures and creating

as Our Legacy, which has had a massive impact on

visually appealing imagery, but it wasn't until I

the menswear scene, largely because of its level of

was 17 that I started photographing select raves

sleekness. James Long and Liam Hodges are also

I was going to (mainly grime) before I really

great go-to brands, they never fail me.

Can you tell us a bit about the location and why you

found my passion for what I do. I predominantly

chose this area in London?

photograph music, underground mainly, and you’ll catch me at most festivals, concerts and

VG: As Jake mentioned, the concept for the shoot

raves with my camera. I tend to shoot a lot of live

was a ‘90s rudeboy look mixed with a more con-

stuff, as well as portraits for a lot of British artists.

temporary roadman style, which also pulled from

However, artist editorials are my favorite thing to

current streetwear brands. I picked Thamesmead

shoot.

as the location because I wanted the boys’

Can you explain the styling for this shoot and why

characters to appear authentic, and I wanted to

you selected these brands?

JH:

place them somewhere where you'd expect them

The styling for this shoot was my interpretation

to be lurking.

of the London rudeboy/roadman. I tried to use

What was it like shooting at a housing estate?

strong streetwear brands that have influenced

JH: Well, during the shoot, the police were called on

London’s culture, both in the past and present.

us because a resident in the estate thought we were

Stone Island will always be associated with

being “antisocial” and causing trouble. It was a

London, from football hooligans to today’s

pretty eventful day in a very gray area.

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Rudeboy/ Roadman

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All Clothing: STONE ISLAND

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Sweater: JAMES LONG, Pants: JAMES LONG, Footwear: NIKE

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JEREMY - Coat: STONE ISLAND, Pants: STONE ISLAND, Poloneck: NORSE PROJECTS ADRIEN - Coat: CARHARTT, Pants: CARHARTT JUNIOR - Sweat: STONE ISLAND, Dungarees: STONE ISLAND, Footwear: NIKE

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ADRIEN - Gilet: OUR LEGACY, Hoodie: STONE ISLAND JEREMY - All clothing: MAHARISHI

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ADRIEN - Jacket: OUR LEGACY, Pants: OUR LEGACY, Sweater: LIBERTINE-LIBERTINE, Footwear: NIKE JEREMY - Jacket: RUTH PETERSON, Hat: RUTH PETERSON, Pants: OUR LEGACY

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ADRIEN - Jacket: CARHARTT, Dungarees: CARHARTT

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ADRIEN - All Clothing: LIAM HODGES, Footwear: NIKE JEREMY - All Clothing: LIAM HODGES, Footwear: NIKE

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JEREMY (left) - Jacket: JAMES LONG, Pants: JAMES LONG, Hoodie: STONE ISLAND, Footwear: NIKE JUNIOR - Hoodie: NATHALIE BALLOUT, Pants: NATALIE BALLOUT, Gilet: OUR LEGACY, Footwear: NIKE JEREMY (right) - All Clothing: LIAM HODGES

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Photographer: VICKY GROUT Stylist: JAKE HUNTE

MODEL CREDITS

JEREMY BOATENG JUNIOR VASQUEZ ADRIEN KYUNGU

CONCEPT

FLORIAN HETTENBACH ESTHER EHEBLY

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Nigel Sylvester HANDLING THE RIDE

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In the case of many action sports, the threat of selling out lives in an athlete’s pockets, preaching a rhetoric that implies money and sponsorships compromises individuality. Personal assertions of rebellion and authenticity lay in the foundations of sports like skateboarding, BMX, motocross and many others.

They are not your typical organized sports played on green pastures with clean chalked lines and towering floodlights. Instead, fearless children take their respective apparatus to the paved streets or dirt trails of their neighborhood, putting their lives on the line for the beauty of completing a complex trick the likes of which no one has ever seen before. Because there’s rarely a dedicated arena for these action junkies to practice and perfect, society looks at them as a nuisance: playing in the street, inconveniencing everyday citizens commuting to and from work.

The irony is that while you’re scoffing at pro B MXer Nigel Sylvester as he weaves past your air-conditioned Uber on Madison Avenue, nearly spilling that double-mocha-what-the-fuck-whatever, he’s living the dream his Grenada-born mother always prayed for: a lucrative, impassioned career for her son.

Nigel’s mother moved to America at the young age of 20 in search of a better life, so it took some convincing for her to be supportive of her son dropping out of college to pursue his love for BMX. You see, BMX – like most action sports – is dominated by white faces, and therefore scarcely represented in black communities around the world.

It’s simple logic: if you don’t see someone that looks like you, or comes from where you come from, being successful at something – no matter the job – it won’t appear to be a viable career path.

But that never bothered Nigel. Even when he was being mocked by his peers as he hit the stairs of his Junior High School in Queens for having a hobby more appropriate for white suburban kids, his bike became his safe haven. It was his escape from the impoverished world that surrounded him, and his truest form of self-expression. He has often referred to the world, especially the streets of New York, as his canvas and his bike the paint brush, brushing up steel rails and over yellow cabs.

He grew up carving the streets of New York solely as a freestyle rider, appearing in videos rather than competitions. And he still does to this day,

every day at that. Yet he’s often labeled a sell-out: too mainstream or commercial; a puppet for brands. He’s sponsored by household names like Nike, Sony, Beats

by Dre and Casio G-SHOCK, among others. He’s been seen everywhere from the red carpet alongside Pharrell Williams to ESPN the Magazine’s Body Issue. Each and every time Nigel appears on YouTube or Instagram, however, self-proclaimed purists belittle his accomplishments, assuming he’s just in it for the money and face time.

It’s a weird, all-too-common double standard for action sport athletes. Whereas athletes from the major sports, such as basketball, football, and soccer are worshipped for the deals they sign and products they endorse, skaters, bikers, and the like are expected to maintain that air of rebellion and irreverence until the day they die. Allowing large brands to infiltrate the sport with money and influence goes against the very essence of these sports, which is being true and authentic to yourself and your game.

But that’s all Nigel has ever done, because he has to. There’s an entire generation of young, urban kids of color that look up to him, idolizing everything he does, from his grit and dedication to his creative vision and entrepreneurial expression. These kids see themselves in him; from the streets he reps to the clothes he dons, his success is tangible and motivating.

With every trick he lands and every video he uploads, Nigel is elevating the world of BMX. It’s not necessarily about getting more eyes on the sport, but rather getting the sport to pay attention to more athletes, especially the misrepresented ones. Best of all, he’s doing it his own way, challenging the traditional school of thought and what it means to be successful.

Nigel doesn’t care if you think he’s a sell-out, deviating from his true self, because he’s a man from the streets, determined to break the mold through his unconventional success.

We recently sat down with Nigel weeks before heading to Japan to film the latest installment of his GO! video series. Here, the 28-year-old athlete opened up about his mother, mentor Dave Mirra, dealing with the critics, and much more.

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RM

NS

Do you think of yourself more as an athlete, artist or entrepreneur?

At this point in my career, I relate to each one of those things. I believe in order for me to truly be successful, I have to not only be an athlete first and stay true to the bike, which is who I am at the core, but I also need to create, develop, and express my other interests and curiosities, all while building my brand. The internet has changed the landscape quite a bit and it’s forcing creatives such as myself to be multidimensional, and think beyond the traditional expectations that athletes once had. That's a challenge I embrace.

How were you able to secure your first endorsement deal before turning pro?

I turned pro right around the time that the internet started

to change our daily lives and Myspace was king of the then social media hill. We felt that shift in the BMX industry – kids bought less DVDs and consumed most of their BMX content on digital video platforms. I have never really been into riding traditional contests… I preferred making video parts and creating cool little visuals. YouTube was the perfect outlet for that type of self-expression. In addition to filming video parts that were exclusive for DVD release, which my sponsors funded, I would also do YouTube videos with my homies: 13thWitness, Glenn Milligan and Levi Maestro. That later manifested into videos I would do with brands. I was able to build an audience quickly because I put my content in places that were easily accessible both domestically and internationally as well.

What changed for you going from riding as a hobby to it becoming a full-time occupation?

Everything changed! I went from riding a somewhat decent bike with hand-me-down parts to always having a fresh and up-to-date two-wheel beast!

The feeling of having a new bike became regular

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but also served as motivation, and I’ve always worked hard to maintain that position. That goes for clothes and sneakers too, at 18 years old those are some of the most important things in life – keeping your gear proper that is. I think even more important than those things is that I finally had the ability to travel the world and make money to support myself. The recognition from my peers and people all across the globe was awesome, but the independence and self-progression felt even better.

What was it like being called up to Mirra Co. by the legend and your idol, Dave Mirra? What was he like as your mentor? What qualities did he ingrain into you?

Dave Mirra had always been an idol of mine from the very first time I watched him ride in the X Games.

He was a killer on the bike, of course, but he was also so much more. He transcended BMX in ways no one else could. He put BMX in places where society wasn’t used to seeing it, but he did it in a way that made them accept and appreciate it. I grew up in an all-black neighborhood and everyone in my ‘hood knew who Dave was, he used the bike and his ability to cross cultural barriers to the point that his skin color didn’t matter. It was about the actual talent and the doors he was able to smash down with it, i.e. “Got Milk?” ads, MTV Cribs, several TV commercials, etc. Things like that really impressed my entire crew and I. It showed us that the bike could possibly take us out the ‘hood and create opportunities for our future.

What's it like working with artists that you once looked up to?

I’m a firm believer that collaboration is one of the purest forms of progression, two minds are better than one and it’s been great having a mentor like Pharrell. I have so much respect for what he has been able to accomplish by following his heart and doing what felt right to him even if that meant going against the grain or being defiant at times.

Prior to us meeting he played a role in my life without even knowing it. Growing up in my neighborhood you didn’t see many people in influential positions supporting bike culture. When I saw P riding BMX bikes alongside other bike riders in his music videos, it gave BMX riding a unique cosign

that it never had before. Today, we are working on Brooklyn Machine Works together led by Joe Avedesian and I hope our work is able to provide a similar type of reassurance to other kids around the world.

After a decade of being a pro rider, from your perspective, what are the major problems that athletes face within the industry?

Even in modern day times BMX riders are still misunderstood and underrepresented, especially the pros who go out there and kill it. I feel the industry needs to do a better job at highlighting its top riders, similar to how other sports like basketball and baseball uplifts and rewards athletes who kill it in their own right. The BMX industry has set so many lame standards and brainwashes riders to think less of themselves. I feel it doesn't only set us back as a community but also gives the wrong impression to the rest of the world. For me it has always been “FREESTYLE” BMX and I’ve understood that as riding your bike the way you see fit.

Not a right or wrong way. I receive a lot of love but also criticism from my industry and I feel that’s just because those people refuse to act with an open mind and embrace other ways of thinking. For me approaching a trick or a project is all about the process, and preparation is key.

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Still

Made

in

America

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“Going left, when everyone else goes right” has been an implicit motto of the Americanbased “110-year-old startup company” since its transition into the footwear market in 1938. Established in 1906, New Balance Arch Support was founded in Boston, Massachusetts by Englishman William J. Riley, a then 33-year-old waiter and new settler in the United States.

WORDS BY MADRELL STINNEY IMAGES COURTESY OF NEW BALANCE

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Before the company became the flag-bearer for tech-forward, understated athletic footwear that it is today, New Balance first manufactured arch supports designed to improve comfort for local employees of non-desk professions. The inspiration behind the arch support’s three-point design and the brand’s namesake, derived from Riley’s observation of a chicken’s perfect balance made possible by its three-pronged claw. The arch supports became such a hit among workers, that in 1927 New Balance’s insoles sold for $5 USD – the price of a new pair of shoes. Even early on, New Balance prided itself on creating products of the highest quality and making the customer’s needs its first priority, not letting steep price tags hinder its ambition.

With thoughts on expanding, William J. Riley hired businessman and future business partner Arthur Hall in 1927 to act as the company’s traveling salesman, selling products firsthand to customers from door to door.

Rather than relying on ostentatious marketing ploys to sell its products, Riley understood the importance of establishing a line of trust between his company and customer base, and it would be this intimate shopping experience, coupled with New Balance’s unmatched craftsmanship that would help the company survive America’s Great Depression.

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its footwear line to boxing, tennis and even baseball, producing cleats for Massachusetts’s own Major League Baseball team, the Boston Braves. The next several decades would see New Balance garner quite the reputation within the sports world, however the success did little to taint the company’s morality. In fact, New Balance would launch an “Endorsed by No One” campaign, vowing to let its superior products be the selling point, rather than the popularity of a sponsored athlete – a mantra it proudly stands by to this very day.

After the passing of William J. Riley, Arthur Hall sold the business to his daughter Eleanor and son-in-law Paul Kidd in 1954. Arch supports continued to remain New Balance’s cornerstone until the couple developed the revolutionary Trackster, a ripple-soled athletic shoe offered in a variety of widths for a better fit – the first of its kind. The performance sneaker was adored by many track and field athletes, and cross-country college teams from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston University and Tufts University even made the Trackster its official shoe. However, with marketing only being carried out through word of mouth, the Trackster’s soaring popularity soon languished and sales began to plummet. Eleanor and Paul Kidd went on to sell New Balance to the chairman of the company, Jim Davis, on April 18, 1972, the day of the 76th Boston Marathon.

Wasting no time, freshly appointed owner Jim Davis enlisted Seattle-based creative consultant Terry Heckler to help New Balance revamp its image. The company even went as far as considering changing its name but was convinced to do otherwise by Heckler & Davis. Instead, the man who had shortly before partnered up with a band of coffee-loving entrepreneurs from Seattle to create one of history’s most ubiquitous logos – you may know the corporation as Starbucks today – would do just the same for New Balance with the creation of the five-point “N” logo. Jim Davis & co. quickly applied the logo to one of its newest manufactured runners, the 320 model, and introduced it to the market. The suede and nylon blue sneaker, with its signature rigid full-length sole, would help New Balance garner a level of success it previously had yet to achieve. The now performance-focused label would launch its first apparel line in 1978, in addition to opening its first European factory in Tralee, Ireland just one year later. Fast forward to today, New Balance manufactures footwear in Europe and Asia, and is the last major athletic shoe company to do so in the United States.

We caught up with New Balance’s Strategic Business Unit Manager for Global Lifestyle, Chris Davis, son of owner Jim Davis, to discuss what needs to change for the company to produce more shoes stateside, pivoting from its “Endorsed by No One” philosophy, the expansion of the brand’s lifestyle aspect, and more.

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How does this family aspect play into the actions of the New Balance brand and the brand identity itself?

We love to think of ourselves as a 110-year-old startup company led by the values on which we were built. Being private allows New Balance to embrace the underdog role going left, when everyone else goes right. Because we are not publicly traded, we have the ability to take more risk – risk is in our DNA. We are the only brand to still make sneakers in the United States and the United Kingdom. We are probably the only major brand who owns some of our own factories. This is a result of our ability to be fearlessly independent. The privately owned nature of New Balance really allows us to focus on our company culture, creating amazing products and truly focus on building a timeless brand. Our goal is never to be the biggest but to have best product, be the best with social responsibility, and connect with the global consumer on an intimate level. Product is king. This will never change at NB. That, I can promise you.

The brand's approach to Made in the USA over time is commendable, however, the competition in the market makes it difficult to sustain. What needs to change in order for New Balance to produce more of its sneakers in the USA? Simply put, no matter how hard it is, or how expensive it gets, this brand will never stop making shoes in the U.S. Ever. This is one of the most defining elements of who we are. We have generations of families who have worked in these factories – that have made people’s lives better. I had the privilege of being able to work in one of our factories every day for three months. We are always looking for ways to increasing our domestic manufacturing capabilities, no mattear the economic conditions of the world. Our

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Made in USA collection will always have premium-crafted product. However, we are also driving innovation and technology in our domestic factories, preparing for the next wave of Made in USA icons from New Balance.

As a product of athletes misrepresenting the brand, New Balance had an "Endorsed by No One" philosophy with campaigns such as "Ma and Pa Balance." In your own words, how do you think this affected the perception of the brand at the time, especially within the younger crowd?

"Ma and Pa Balance" were meant to be a satire and be portrayed in a funny way. In a time where athletes were overwhelmingly in the news for controversial, extracurricular activities, we didn’t want to attach our brand image to a personality who could damage

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everything that our brand represented. It goes back to being fearlessly independent and leading with character.

We had the confidence to not endorse athletes at the time, because we didn’t think it was right... So we didn’t.

What changed that made you guys decide to get back into being endorsed by athletes in 2010?

We felt like it was the right time. All of our New Balance athletic ambassadors must donate time, product and money to charity. It’s written in their contracts and it’s part of being a member of the New Balance family.

We firmly view our endorsed athletes as partners and ambassadors. Whether it is a world-class sprinter, footballer, baseball player or tennis star, we like to think that we represent each other. New Balance represents the athlete just as much as the athlete represents the brand.

We expect our athletes to lead in the community even more than they do on the field. Marketing is a reflection of brand values, sports marketing is no different.

Explain how the lifestyle aspect of the brand changed/ grew with the J.Crew collaborations in early 2000s?

The collaborations between New Balance and J.Crew represent the epitome of Americana, in my mind. If we don’t feel uncomfortable, we aren’t doing the job. Creating this partnership and series of special projects with J.Crew was an industry disruptor and the first of its kind. Many other brands and retailers have followed suit. I wouldn’t say that that the New Balance or J.Crew brands changed or have grown as a result of these special projects. I would say that we brought out the best in one another.

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What does New Balance look to gain by collaborating with lifestyle brands/stores/personalities such as wings + horns, Concepts, UNITED ARROWS and Ronnie Fieg & KITH to name a few?

We are a brand that was built on specialty retailers.

Relationships with partners like these are what has built New Balance into the global brand that it is today. We have a saying internally: “Keep specialty special.” Whether it’s working with Deon and Rhett from Concepts, our friends at mita and UNITED ARROWS, Paul Ruffles from size?, Ronnie from KITH, or Sarah from colette, these individuals are not only our partners, but truly understand the nature of New Balance.

We make one another authentic in different ways.

With brands like Nike and adidas constantly at the forefront of innovation, is there added pressure to continue progressing in the athletic footwear market?

We were the first major footwear brand to sell 3D-printed shoes this past April surrounding the Boston Marathon. We continue to invest in this area and you will continue to see new things from our brand in these uncharted waters. We believe 3D printing is the future. I think you will also see some amazing footwear coming from NB at the upcoming Olympics on world-class sprinter Trayvon Bromell.

We have the utmost respect for all of our competitors, but we will continue to remain true to our roots.

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YOSUKE OTSUBO

The Vintage Denim Authority Words by CODY HORNE Interview by SAORI OHARA Photography by DAIGO YAMAMOTO

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For decades, indigo denim defined American culture. It was a wardrobe staple for countless blockbuster Westerns and movies, which inherently increased its demand all over the world. Prior to the denim industry’s slew of successful labels such as Wrangler, Guess and Calvin Klein to name a few, its supply to foreign countries was extremely limited. Outside of the U.S., people went to great lengths to get their hands on a pair Levi’s®, making it a status symbol in certain cultures. During the ‘70s, it was common knowledge among Americans traveling through Europe, that if they brought an extra pair of jeans with them, they could be sold for a sizeable profit to desperate kids behind the “Iron Curtain” (the former Soviet Union).

Even Japanese youth in the ‘80s were fascinated with American jeans and leather bombers, and Mexican heroin dealers in the ‘90s valued the 501® as a form of currency due to its implied wealth and American connections, underlining the profound allure of Levi’s® denim.

Growing up in Japan during the ‘50s and ‘60s, Yosuke Otsubo – one of today’s most renowned denim aficionados – was also captivated by American denim. Currently the head of Levi’s® XX Asia (a division that includes premium lines such as Levi’s® Made & Crafted and Levi’s® Vintage Clothing), Otsubo discovered a passion for denim as a teenager during the late ‘60s, after moving from his hometown of Kagoshima City to Miyazaki City, Japan. Interestingly, he learned a lot about Californian lifestyle through the lens of SURFER Magazine, which brought about his interest in indigo denim. According to Otsubo, while no one in his town was interested in the sport, that didn’t stop him from being an avid surfer. At the time, the only tangible connection he had to a culture that he associated with was a local jean shop. “I would go there almost every day to chat with the good looking sales clerks,” chuckled Otsubo. “I would see Levi’s® 501® there and it was like a shining star to me.” It wasn’t long before he copped his first pair, “A 1966 model with a round top block,” which marked the first of many denim purchases from the “treasure hunter,” one that Otsubo reminisces about to this very day.

Fast forward several years to a 21-year-old Otsubo, who finally fulfilled his dream move to Los Angeles, California. Upon his arrival, he explored various career paths, initially learning how to grade

diamonds at the Gemological Institute of America, to working for several Japanese store buyers, before taking a leap of faith into the unknown.

Before collecting vintage denim was popular, before a pair of Levi’s® 501® from the ‘50s could be listed on eBay for $8,000 USD, the market landscape was very different. When Otsubo started trading denim, he would pay $10 USD for his finds at vintage dealers, dry good stores, thrift shops and flea markets, and would sell them for $20 USD to buyers in Japan – today, the same items would sell anywhere between $3,000 USD to $5,000 USD. In just over a year, Yosuke developed an uncanny eye for detail, sometimes spotting valuable pieces on unknowing pedestrians.

“That’s how I bought a few pieces, from people on the street,” Otsubo explains. He would unashamedly haggle with passersby for the clothes off their backs, offering up to $100 USD per item, which was a considerable amount for denim back then. Identifying subtle details that added significant value such as the more valuable big “E” on the red Levi’s® tab versus the small “e,” selvage edges, leather patches, and concealed copper rivets became second nature to Otsubo as he developed considerable knowledge on the Levi’s® catalog of products.

Eventually, Otsubo moved away from collecting, but still remained within the realm of high-end denim. “I am doing my dream job now,” beamed Otsubo when asked about his current role at Levi’s® XX. “I have a voice to say what we should introduce, what we should invent, or reintroduce from our archive. That means knowing what the consumers are looking for.

How to dress is much more important nowadays, and knowing the scientific details and meeting the expectation of the consumer is something that I enjoy.”

Without a doubt, the leap of faith that Otsubo took over 40 years ago has paid off, laying down the foundation for a highly successful career in fashion.

Inspired to learn more, we sat down with the legendary denim whisperer in Tokyo, where he’s currently based, to learn more about his transition from collecting denim, his view on Japanese denim, and of course to reminisce about his days in California.

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CH

YO

What is it about vintage denim that makes it such an enticing item for you to collect?

Indigo denim is like a second skin. It really becomes part of your memory, your experience and what you do. Denim is one of the most unique clothing materials, and it’s an interesting tool for expressing yourself.

How does Japanese denim compare to American denim?

I have a lot of respect for Japanese denim, especially from our denim mills. They’ve studied the techniques of Levi’s® and other authentic American denim brands, which is why they’re able to replicate authentic historical archive pieces down to the cotton yarn and dying process. They even recreate and reuse vintage selvage denim machines.

In your opinion, what specific factors make denim "quality" and well-made?

The cotton is very important. How it’s weeded by shuttle weaving techniques is key. Last year, we celebrated “The Golden Handshake” with Cone Denim, who’ve been producing our fabrics for over 100 years at their White Oak facility. It’s interesting, you know, their cherry wood floor shakes a little bit when the machines go back and forth, and that’s how the 501® fabric gets that amazing result.

When hunting for sought-after denim, how does Southern California in the mid-to-late ‘70s compare to the present day?

It was a dream to have lived in Los Angeles for 29 years.

In the mid ‘70s, nobody was looking for collectable vintage denim pieces. It was so easy for me. Every morning, I would go to my bank, withdraw cash from my savings account, stash it in my socks and go shopping all day. I did that for little over a year.

I was able to purchase a lot of deadstock denim like Levi’s® 501®, 505s and jean jackets. Soon after, a lot of people started to do this, so the dealer charged more and more. That’s when I stopped hunting for denim.

Do you have any memorable stories from your days of searching through dry goods stores, thrift stores, flea markets, and sidewalks that you can share with us?

There was one time my picker, who goes to the thrift shops and other places to buy vintage denim for me, called up and said, ‘Yosuke, I won’t be able to deliver the 501® this week because our car broke down.’ At the time, I had a few Citroen DSs, so I let the guy pick one of them. I told him ‘I want you to take my car and pay me with the vintage Levis 501® you have.’ And that was it, the deal was done. I remember, he picked the one with a white exterior/red interior and a red ragtop sunroof. He had a little kid, he needed a car, so it really worked for the both of us.

What’s the most valuable piece in your vintage denim collection?

For me, it’s more about sentimental value. The smallest jean jacket in my collection has a fantastic story to it. This 1950s Levi's® Type 2 jean jacket for 3-year-olds. I purchased it around 40 years ago when I was in my 20s and dreamed that one day I would have my own baby – I waited until I was 50 years old [chuckles]. Now, this particular jean jacket has traveled all over the world. First, it went to my friend’s daughter, Daisy, in New York. Next, it went Los Angeles to Alfredo Settimio, designer of THE GREAT CHINA WALL. His son used to wear this one. I said to them do whatever you want, wash it; trash it, whatever memory you can add onto it. And then when my daughter was born and I called everybody and said, “My baby is born!

You have to return the jacket.” So it’s traveled all around the world.

What was it like transitioning from being an independent collector/exporter to working for an international brand?

I definitely have a dream job. Seven years ago, the senior vice president of our company called and said, “Yosuke, we are putting together a secret project, [Levi’s®] XX. We want to restart Levi’s® Vintage Clothing, one of the best brands we have to offer.

Forty-two years of archives, history and American culture.” It took me 5 seconds to decide I was in.

And that’s how I joined about seven years.

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I enjoy not only being a denim head and collector, I love introducing what we have done in different eras.

I have more than 100 years of the history to work with, and we are setting trends this way.

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Rea dOn reMember

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Coat: DR.FRANKEN, Pants: TOGA VIRILIS, Shoes: YOAK

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Sweater: VAINL ARCHIVE, Pants: ETHOSENS

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All Clothing: TOGA VIRILIS, Cap: C.E, Shoes: BUDDY

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Shirt: C.E, Pants: ETHOSENS, Cap: C.E, Shoes: YOAK

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SHOHEI - All Clothing: WACKO MARIA TOMOYA - All Clothing: HUMANMADE, Beret: PRASTHANA

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Shirt: NAME., Pants: ALMOSTBLACK, Belt: ETHOSENS, Shoes: YOAK

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Bandana: WACKO MARIA, Coat: DR.FRANKEN, Shirt: WACKO MARIA, Pants: TOGA VIRILIS, Shoes: YOAK

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Bandana: WACKO MARIA, Shirt: WACKO MARIA, Pants: TOGA VIRILIS

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Headband: HUMANMADE, Cardigan: TOGA VIRILIS, Long Sleeve T-Shirt: C.E, Pants: VAINL ARCHIVE

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LOOKS

Photographer: SHOTA KIKUCHI Stylist: KENICHI HIRAMOTO

MODEL CREDITS

SHOHEI KAMBA TOMOYA KAGEYAMA

HAIR & MAKE UP

MASAKI TAKAHASHI

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CHITOSE ABE WORDS BY GAVIN YEUNG PORTRAITS BY KEVIN WONG IMAGES COURTESY OF SACAI

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“I’m happy to be able to express myself not just in my clothing, but also an idea. If the customer can feel it, I’m very happy too,” said Chitose Abe of sacai on a cool but dry spring night in Seoul.

The idea that she spoke of stood in front of us in physical form – a store space composed of two cubed volumes jutting out of a brownstone facade, intersecting each other at an acute angle. The latest milestone in Abe’s 18-year journey, sacai’s first store outside of Japan and second standalone store internationally is the most complete manifestation of her creative vision thus far. And what fans that creative vision has won – from veteran fashion critics Sarah Mower and Suzy Menkes, to the undisputed emperor and empress of fashion, Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour, sacai has become one of the foremost labels representing Japanese fashion in the relative dearth of progressive cult brands following the DC Boom movement of the late ‘80s.

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Born in 1965 as Chitose Sakai in Japan’s landlocked Gifu Prefecture, Abe grew up ensconced in her mother’s work as a seamstress at a Western-style tailor shop. A vivacious child, Abe had spent her formative years taking what she learned from her mother and applying her knowledge into making rudimentary clothes for her dolls. It was no surprise then, when in 1975 as a typical fifth grader glued to the TV, Abe watched as a Suntory whiskey commercial featuring iconic fashion designer Issey Miyake played on the screen. Without being aware that fashion design was even a legitimate profession, the little girl knew with a certainty belying her mere 11 years that a fashion designer was what she would become. Despite the four decades that have since passed, Abe says, that selfsame conviction has never once wavered.

After graduating from a trade school, Abe moved to the bright lights of Tokyo to pursue her dream, first with a two-year stint as a designer at a major apparel conglomerate, before joining the famed Rei Kawakubo-led COMME des GARÇONS atelier at the height of the bubble economy in 1989 as a pattern-cutter. “It was the only way to get into CDG,” explains Abe. “I took that job, but I was still really determined to design.” She would discover, her position still afforded her creative freedom as she was responsible for seeing a concept through into the physical realm. It turned out to be an opportune time, as Kawakubo recognized Abe’s talent and drafted her to help launch an eponymous affiliate label for Kawakubo’s protegé, Junya Watanabe. It was also during this period that she met fellow pattern-cutter and future husband Junichi Abe, who would eventually found his own label, kolor. The couple eventually married in 1996, and in typical Japanese fashion, Abe decided to forgo her own promising career after eight years at COMME des GARÇONS to become a housewife and give birth to their daughter, Tohko. Cut off from her passion and the bustle of the atelier, she recalls this period of transition as being the low point of her life.

So, in 1999, she continued with her ambitions by founding sacai from her living room with a small knitwear collection. “I couldn’t really make 100 styles since I had a baby to take care of, so I started from three styles.”

Abe’s cautious and pragmatic approach has since defined her label’s slow-burning success: sacai’s menswear line only launched in 2008, and the label was a relative unknown – an industry secret, if you would – right up until its first fashion show was held during Paris Fashion Week in 2011 to critical success, a full 13 years after its founding. She also controls 100 percent of the company, consulting with her design team on every meticulous detail as well as personally dealing with the less glamorous aspects of running a company, from inspecting the company accounts to managing her staff payroll. To this day, Abe still makes a point to try on every piece of each collection herself to ensure that her designs are, above all else, wearable – although that at times entails going through over 350 different styles each season. “At the end of the day, clothing has to be worn by somebody else,” 178

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she says with unfettered clarity.

While some may characterize this behavior as obsessive and more befitting of a solitary and antagonistic creative genius, Abe is the picture of geniality in person. Petite in stature, she arrives at our interview swathed in a metal-studded sheer silk scarf and an oversized top embroidered with ‘Paradise Garage,’ in reference to the cult ‘80s-era New York City nightclub.

Speaking with a singsong chirp, she is warm and approachable with none of the haughty hesitation that designers of fame usually present.

Indeed, she is a study in a balance of contrasts, both as a character and by extension of her brand. Her choice in particular to name her label ‘sacai’ – essentially a slight modification of her maiden name, Sakai – is both a conscious break from Abe’s Japanese heritage, a separation of her personal and professional selves, as well as a grateful nod to it. She has said in the past that being born in Japan has no overt influence on her works. However, sacai’s designs betray Abe’s status as a COMME des GARÇONS alum in their controlled clashing of otherwise disparate elements. Cue cable knit sweaters cut through with shirting panels, a military trench coat sublimating into delicate lace sleeves, a sleek moto jacket barely restraining a burst of shearling ruffles. Abe has made her name through subversive and unexpected ways of juxtaposing old and new, hard and soft, masculine and feminine. “I’m not trying to make it really complicated,” she explains when asked about the use of these abstract notions. “I always want to be different from others. Every detail has a meaning behind it – in the end it may look complicated, but for me it all makes sense. That’s why somehow it looks really complicated, but it becomes like that naturally.” The sacai menswear line similarly translates these principles with surprising ease, and for its Spring/Summer 2016 line Abe chose to pair floral and fern prints with tartans, while putting frills down the arms of flight jackets and storm flaps on otherwise tailored jackets.

For all its boundary-pushing and experimentation, however, sacai consistently remains grounded and wearable, and therefore marketable.

Blessed with a rare combination of a keen aesthetic and business sense, Abe understands the need to balance both design and sales to ensure the growth of her brand. “People are expecting ‘sacai’ but at the same time I want to do something people don’t expect,” she says. “There’s the new sacai, but typical sacai pieces always help sales, but it still has to be kind of new to people.

That’s the balance I’m always looking at. If I do something too crazy, I follow those pieces with the more commercial ones. If you go too far, who wants to wear that?” Abe’s level-headed approach has paid its dividends, and thanks to a few early risks that have since paid off, sacai has remained profitable and continued to expand throughout the years, helped in large part in the beginning by word-of-mouth referrals among international buyers.

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the Japanese fashion scene through collaborative lines with her alma mater COMME des GARÇONS, close friend Hiroshi Fujiwara and his fragment design imprint, as well as Hender Scheme. Her joint collection with NikeLab was particularly effective in gaining admirers in the world of streetwear, effortlessly merging Nike’s Windrunner jackets and fleece sweaters with billowing lace ruffles, cable knit detailing and flowing pleated dresses that would have previously been unfathomable. Throughout all of this, sacai has remained inimitably hers, avoiding the dilution that so often happens with frequent collaboration. “Our brand is global now, but we choose our partners very carefully,” she explains, going on to emphasize the importance of subtly guiding the customer’s experience of her brand. “Obviously, we know what’s selling in stores and what people are expecting from us. But at the same time, I still shop, I’m still determined to be different. I will still show to the customer what to try, what is ‘sacai.’ [Balancing design and sales] isn’t easy, but that’s my job.”

Given Abe’s all-seeing approach to sacai, it’s perhaps no surprise that what started as a meager knit collection has since expanded into three main lines, four international flagship stores, and accounts with over 200 retailers worldwide. This happens, of course, alongside raising a teenage daughter, which can be considered a full-time job unto itself. But surely the key to such phenomenal creative success must lie beyond her arsenal of a tempered approach in business, avant-garde design sensibilities, and spades of girlish charm? To this she simply answers, “I try to understand what’s going on, and from that, I design something new.”

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“People are expecting 'sacai' but at the same time I want to do something people don't expect.”

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Olivier Rousteing Reshaping Fashion’s Aristocracy

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WORDS BY CODY HORNE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY OJOZ AND KEVIN WONG

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As far as French couture goes, the level of hype surrounding Balmain in recent years is unprecedented. Once again, its recent Spring/ Summer 2017 menswear unveiling at Paris Fashion Week saw creative director Olivier Rousteing and his star-studded front row steal the show. The Parisian house has set a new standard in the fashion world by enlisting the biggest celebrities in Hollywood, namely Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and just about every member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan to don the venerable label. Moreover, the groundbreaking impact of recurrent support from the aforementioned via social media has made Balmain virtually untouchable, especially in the eyes of our millennial generation.

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Even Rousteing and Balmain’s combined 8.5 million Instagram followers pale in comparison to that of its global ambassadors – who have a staggering half-a-billion followers collectively. At first glance, this phenomenon appears to be a mere byproduct of a young, self-obsessed designer’s fixation with popular culture. However, upon meeting the passionate 30-year-old, we were able to better peel back the intricate layers surrounding a rejuvenated house that is catalyzing change in fashion’s aristocracy. In 2011, Balmain’s decision to appoint a 25-year-old black designer to its helm sent shockwaves through the fashion capital. Since his promotion, the French designer has single-handedly transformed Balmain into a polarizing force, by featuring RiRi as the face of the house, solemnizing the marriage of Kimye in an ad campaign, and proclaiming Kim Kardashian as his modern-day muse. “Balmain has become a name that has no boundaries and it is known everywhere. My dream is that it becomes timeless,” said Rousteing, before momentarily pausing his trail of thought to cautiously pluck a piece of lint off the shoulder of his double-breasted velvet jacket. He continued, “I am inspired by people and music, people that make the Balmain Army. I want to make it clear that I am genuinely friends with these people. I see their vision, they see my vision, and there’s a lot of powerful advice that we share.” Of course, Rousteing is referring to his clique of famous models and personalities that not only appear on the catwalk, but also by his side during public appearances.

In spite of cynics who question his ambition to create a lasting brand, Rousteing continues to post “behind-the-scenes” images of his glamorous life as a creative director. “I’m sharing my universe. I’m inviting people to see my vision and my aesthetic,” he explains. His digital life, admittedly, is a careful curation of images – like most of us on Instagram – rarely revealing the arduous time spent working over sketches, struggling with proportions, or addressing his sales board, but includes selfies with his celebrity “besties” without fail. “I want to share my cover shoots. I want to show people how much I work. I want people to know when I party with Rihanna or when I kiss my mom. If you don’t share, fashion is going to die,” he asserts, this time angling his carefully-tended eyebrows and cheekbones towards us as a point of emphasis.

While Rousteing’s social media activity continues to divide the industry, there is no denying the success it has brought to Balmain.

Financially speaking, the house is performing extremely well amid the global economic turmoil, increasing its profit margin each year since Rousteing took charge. It has even been reported that a Qatar-based fund is set to splash out over $550 million USD to purchase the booming label, which speaks volumes about the young designer’s ability to effectively steer an entire fashion house through tumultuous times.

Having succeeded Christophe Decarnin – the first designer to truly have a positive impact on the house after the passing of founder Pierre Balmain in 1982 – the budding Rousteing was always bound for scrutiny.

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In response to the criticism, he explains the house as he sees it. “I think the power of Balmain is actually being young and new. As you know, it was built in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and they’ve gone through many designers. Balmain has never been a house where there was a famous, strong designer. They believed in Christophe, and it was kind of the same thing with me, taking a risk and believing in new talent. I was also working very hard when I was with Christophe, and [Balmain] could see how I deserved the job because I put my life and soul into the brand.” While Decarnin’s rocker-chic aesthetic laid the foundation for Rousteing to express his complete vision for Balmain, it is rarely praised by fashion critics who often prefer minimalists like Yohji Yamamoto or avant-garde deconstructions like that of Rei Kawakubo.

With that being said, it is not Rousteing’s body of work that has rubbed fashion’s elite the wrong way, it is the way in which he garners attention that they perceive to be vulgar. However, by building a narrative around his work via social media, the house is now seemingly immune to criticism. It has created an intimacy that permeates through Rousteing’s designs, and voids the opinions of critics in the eyes of its admirers. “It is a revolution in fashion. What I mean is, if you have money, you can make sure that you’re in a magazine. But social media is about having a relevant name and being significant with your content. It’s all about storytelling,” acknowledged Rousteing as he took a moment for a portrait shot, instinctively pouting and sucking in his cheeks. He took a sip of his Diet Coke and effortlessly carried on. “People want to see more. They don’t want to wait six months for a campaign anymore. That’s so old-fashioned.”

Nevertheless, accomplished fashion commentators continue to label Balmain’s 21st-century approach as a threat to the traditions of French couture, urging that it has no place in a long-established industry. While there is legitimacy behind this reservation, romanticizing about fashion’s immunity to change is evidently a bullheaded way of thinking. The harsh reality is that fashion-conscious consumers are heavily influenced by trends that are fostered by celebrities – we see this time after time on our online counterpart. And like all modern-day businesses, fashion houses have to adapt to the market in order to survive. In turn, it was only a matter of time before a social media-savvy creative director entered the space. And by breaking the mold of a traditional creative director, one that remains behind-the-scenes, Rousteing has forged a symbiotic relationship with the house that has seen him go on to become a global celebrity in his own right. “It happened so naturally. Social media helped me become the face of Balmain, but it was not planned. Once it happened, that’s when I started to believe in it,” he revealed. “I’m the one who took the risk to play with pop culture, and to be more controversial. So, if the writers want to kill someone, I prefer that they kill me over Balmain because I have a lot of respect for the house.”

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The brand’s “globalization” has been underpinned by shrewd decision-making under Rousteing’s stewardship. The once exclusive house has expanded its international presence, opening up flagships in London, New York and Macau, all of which are extensions to its historic Parisian base located just off the famed Champs-Élysées. Furthermore, strategic collaborations with Swedish fast fashion giant H&M and most recently NikeLab underline Balmain’s confidence in Rousteing’s global ambition.

And while critics may view the one-off collection with H&M – which also has designer partnerships with Karl Lagerfeld and Alexander Wang – as detrimental to the image of high fashion, especially after the global feeding frenzy that ensued, there’s no question it has strengthened the brand’s global demand.

In just over five years, Rousteing has laid down a blueprint, for instant success for Balmain, all the while disrupting the entire culture that surrounds it. Regardless, we should not ignore the fact that he’s overcome significant challenges to achieve his dream of being a creative director, and how he is inherently a role model for many young, aspiring designers. While Rousteing idolized the likes of Gianni Versace, Christian Dior, Cristóbal Balenciaga and Karl Lagerfeld while growing up – making him aware of the ideals that form the bedrock of high fashion – it’s not going to stop him from doing things his way.

“I’ve had to fight so many things, and it hasn’t been easy. That’s why I believe in myself. And if you don’t, that’s fine.”

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Michel Gaubert

FOUNDATION

The Sound of Fashion

WORDS BY HELENA YEUNG PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIEN BOUDET

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FOUNDATION

Fashion was once simply preoccupied with clothes, and shows were merely a preview of what was to come. It worked well for the editors and buyers of that era, but as the digital world continued to permeate every aspect of our lives, the general populace was increasingly given access to the exclusive world of high fashion. What was once a simple runway with several looks has now become a huge spectacle, and the show’s set design is as important to the brand as the clothes themselves.

But often an afterthought to the plethora of visual stimulation, is the music that models Stomp down the runway to. Solely privy to those in attendance, the soundtrack is essential to a designer’s vision.

As Dior Homme’s Kris Van Assche once said, “A fashion show is like a movie, and the music is the words.” But more often than not, as the designer is preoccupied with the clothing, another mind swoops in to curate the perfect soundtrack to the event.

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FOUNDATION

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Cue Michel Gaubert, a veteran DJ who curates music for almost all of the biggest fashion shows from Chanel, Dior to Louis Vuitton. Officially anointed as “sound director,” Gaubert got his start in music during the seedy and hedonistic club days of Paris in the ‘70s and ‘80s. He’s survived some of the wildest nights, and managed to emerge with a sharp sense of humor and impeccably cool taste. It’s no wonder that the affably lighthearted Frenchman is fashion’s go-to for the perfect soundtrack to their clothes.

Gaubert has always loved music, saying “I started DJing when I was 14. I was probably the only kid in my school who was into vinyls!”

Fast forward to 1978, and Gaubert’s musical interests led him to become a buyer at an independent record store named Champs Disques. It was here where he met longtime friend and close collaborator, Karl Lagerfeld.

Gaubert went on to DJ at Palace, a Parisian hotspot frequented by the likes of Thierry Mugler, Kenzo Takada and various other fashion influencers. In the 1990s, Lagerfeld asked Gaubert to curate the music at his eponymous label’s show, and the rest was history. This then led to stints with the Lagerfeld-helmed Chanel and Fendi shows, and now, the two work together on over 10 shows a year as Gaubert continues to blur the lines between his love of fashion and music.

Over his career, Gaubert has amassed tens of thousands of CDs, vinyl records, and a MacBook with hundreds of thousands of songs. His understanding and appreciation of fashion allows him to choose sounds that perfectly complement a designer’s vision. “Everyone I work for is different, and has a different point of view. So each project is new, but there are no rules! Sometimes I’ll choose over 40 songs, or sometimes I’ll use only four.”

While Gaubert’s role sounds like a dream, the illustrateur sonore (as he likes to call himself) has one of the most important jobs in the industry, and it takes some serious thought. “I would say the goal is to be different each season, without losing the brand’s identity.” This requires Gaubert to study the brand’s archives; learn about its reputation and story, all while adopting the designer’s vision for the season. “When you are at Céline or Chanel, the music should sound like it makes perfect sense when you hear it with what you see, regardless of what it is.”

He also has to be updated on the latest music in addition to keeping in mind a huge library of tracks from decades past. Currently, Michel is obsessed with Milan-based artist Emannuelle’s “Italove,” an infectious Italo-influenced dance tune, but he laments that a hard part of his job is taking an unbiased stance on the music he discovers. “Sometimes I don’t like the song, but if it fits the mood for the show, I’ll use it.” He’s also living proof that you can find stellar tracks anywhere you go, “From the web, from stores, straight from the artists or even [my] promoter friends.” While it’s intuitive for him now, he has truly mastered the craft of translating visions into songs, tapping into the feel and attitude of 199 7_20160719_HB#15_page173-220.indd 199

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FOUNDATION

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different tracks and transcending the boundaries of vision and sound. His sixth sense has earned him a reputation as fashion’s music expert, and he regularly curates playlists for Paris’s colette among a myriad of other outlets, all helping solidify his insider status.

Aside from Gaubert’s impressive résumé of fashion shows, the effervescent personality loves expressing himself through memes and quirky photos. He blasts them to his 191,000 Instagram followers, a vast number considering his behind-the-scenes role. From vintage fashion photographs to provocative stills, his feed serves as an inside look into his fascinating mind. Although Gaubert maintains that his Instagram feed is easier to curate than music playlists, his social media presence is a big part of his brand, and allows him to reach out to lesser-known musicians and fans alike. It also helps him stay in touch with trends while he’s jet-setting across the world for all the hottest fashion shows and parties.

Despite his decades of experience and his name as fashion’s musical genius, there are still designers he hasn’t met, and shows he hopes to work on one day. “Miuccia Prada, Marc Jacobs and Donatella Versace all have very specific visions. I’m very curious, so that makes their exclusive worlds even more exciting to me.” But as fashion shows become even bigger and more influential, Gaubert’s role will only continue to grow. When asked about how the industry has changed since he started his career, it’s only fitting that Gaubert answered with a musical reference –

“It’s harder, better, faster and stronger!”

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FOUNDATION

THE ROLLING STONES / SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL LOU REED / WALK ON THE WILD SIDE ROXY MUSIC / IN EVERY DREAM HOME A HEARTACHE KRAFTWERK / AUTOBAHN EDDIE KENDRICKS / MY PEOPLE HOLD ON T. REX / CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION DAVID BOWIE / ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SUICIDE DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES / YOU KEEP ME HANGING ON SOFT CELL / SEEDY FILMS PRINCE / CONTROVERSY

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MICHEL’S “FOUNDATION” PLAYLIST

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FOUNDATION

GUIDE TO BERLIN

WORDS BY OLIVE DURAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAHAHM CHOI


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With a population of three-and-a-half million people – the most ethnically diverse in Germany – a truly unique history, and a booming nightlife, Berlin is the modern-day epitome of a cultural capital. Everything that exists within the metropolis exhibits the cities liberal mindset, including the wide range of shopping and culinary experiences that cater to an eclectic assortment of interests and tastes. And for the times when you need a break from the bevy of concept stores, vintage shops, restaurants and cafés, Berlin’s tranquil parks and breathtaking gardens allow you to take a step back from the city’s constant bustle.

With the help of our friends at BEINGHUNTED., we put together a list of locations, from all corners of Berlin, that make the city worth paying a visit.

PAUL’S BOUTIQUE SODA BOOKS AL PASHA COMME DES GARÇONS POCKET SHOP ARKONAPLATZ MÄRKLIN SPIELWAREN

THE STORE BOTANISCHER GARTEN LUIBAN PAPETERIE ROGACKI DONG XUAN CENTER TWO AND TWO

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Oderberger Strasse 47 10435 Berlin

PAUL’S BOUTIQUE

FOUNDATION

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While Berlin has numerous vintage shops and boutiques, secondhand streetwear and sneaker store Paul's Boutique has maintained its iconic status for over a decade. Located in the heart of Prenzlauer Berg, the store is filled with streetwear gems such as vintage Supreme and WTAPS, as well as sought-after sneakers that streetwear heads will appreciate.


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Another Mitte must-see is Soda Books, a magazine and bookshop that holds all the best reads.

What makes this particular shop so special is that it maintains fair and reasonable prices, while still offering its customers ample space to sit and read peacefully. For the non-German natives, have no fear, this store is home to many international selections as well.

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Weinbergsweg 1 10119 Berlin

SODA BOOKS

GUIDE

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AL PASHA

FOUNDATION

Sonnenallee 77 12045 Berlin

NeukÜlln’s thriving neighborhood provides many surprises, including delectable, yet affordable restaurants. Al Pasha, located on the famous Sonnenallee street, provides a refined selection of signature Lebanese dishes, as well as some of the best hummus in Berlin.

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Next door to the COMME des GARÇONS BLACK SHOP, COMME des GARÇONS Pocket Shop is the sister concept store home to an eclectic range of accessories, perfumes and light apparel. The minimalist store provides a remarkable shopping experience within the intimate inner city neighborhood.

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Linienstrasse 115 10115 Berlin

COMME DES GARÇONS POCKET SHOP

GUIDE

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ARKONAPLATZ

FOUNDATION

Arkonapatz 10435 Berlin

At the northern border of Berlin, located in the district of Wedding is the acclaimed Akrona Platz surrounded by cafes on an open green square. The flea market is only walking distance from the historical Mauer Park. Be ready to stumble upon plenty of retro furniture, accessories, clothing, vinyl, books and East German vintage items.

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If you are looking for that special one-of-a-kind souvenir to take home, look no further than Märklin Spielwaren. This traditional German toy store was around before any massive chains existed. While it is a destination most won't bother stopping by, this is the place to find those time-honored trinkets and iconic model trains. If you are a boy from the pre-‘90s era, this store will fulfill your childhood dreams.

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Wilmersdorfer Str. 157 10585 Berlin

MÄRKLIN SPIELWAREN

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Torstraße 1 10119 Berlin

THE STORE

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Underneath the private members’ club of Soho House Berlin is an open shopping space, aptly dubbed The Store. Located in Mitte on the cusp of the shopping street of Torstrasse, The Store’s modern decor compliments a well-curated collection of luxurious goods. In addition, customers can choose to eat, drink, or relax at any point while they indulge in the latest clothing and accessories from noteworthy fashion designers.

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One of the more non-conventional locations on our lists is the Berlin Botanical Garden located in South West district of Dahlem. This highly recommended landmark boasts an array of over 20,000 plants, and is said to occupy some of the most important greenhouses and horticultural exhibitions in the world. Due to its historical background, unique flowers including the flora of Africa, Australia, East Asia, the tropics, and the Mediterranean can be found all year-round.

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Kรถnigin-Luise-Str. 6-8 14195 Berlin

BOTANISCHER GARTEN

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Rosa-Luxemburg-StraĂ&#x;e 28 10178 Berlin

LUIBAN PAPETERIE

FOUNDATION

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For all those obsessed with stationary, we’ve got just the place for you. This cozy shop in Mitte, stocks a unique blend of agendas, post cards, pens and papers. If for any reason you are unable to make it out to Luiban Papeterie, we recommend a visit to their new web store, where the entirety of their in-store selection is stocked.

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Established in 1932, this traditional German food market offers up an authentic Berlin experience.

With a large stand-up dining area, typically filled with Berlin natives, be prepared to sample an assortment of cheese, sausage, meat, fish and vegetable. The Western Berlin district of Charlottenburg, where Rogacki is located, also allows one to walk around and taste some of the finest German beers.

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Wilmersdorfer Str. 145/46 10585 Berlin

ROGACK I

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Herzbergstr. 128-139 10365 Berlin

DONG XUAN CENTER

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Located in the Eastern Berlin neighborhood of Lichtenberg, this Vietnamese market has a wide range of products and services to browse through. With its great selection of exotic fruits, vegetables, meats and spices – predominantly from Southeast Asia – as well as accessories, electronics and more, one should prepare themselves for a vast shopping excursion. Furthermore, the dining, massage and spa amenities round out an experience unlike anything else in Berlin.

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The vibrant district of Neukölln is one of the reasons why Berlin is renowned for being multicultural, and its incumbent café Two and Two embodies this welcoming spirit. Its name originates from the owners, Eri and Tose, who are from Tokyo and Paris respectively. These ambitious entrepreneurs have put their creative minds together, building a space that serves authentic French pastries and food to customers while they shop for Japanese stationary and delicacies, as they choose.

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Pannierstraße 6 12047 Berlin

TWO AND TWO

GUIDE

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DIRECTORY 3SIXTEEN 3SIXTEEN.COM

LIBERTINE-LIBERTINE LIBERTINE-LIBERTINE.COM

BALMAIN BALMAIN.COM

KNOW WAVE KNOW-WAVE.COM

BARTON PERREIRA BARTONPERREIRA.COM

MAHARISHI MAHARISHISTORE.COM

BUDDY BUDDYHAPPY.COM

NEW BALANCE NEWBALANCE.COM

CARHARTT CARHARTT.COM

NIKE NIKE.COM

C.E CAVEMPT.COM

NORSE PROJECTS NORSEPROJECTS.COM

CONVERSE CONVERSE.COM

OUR LEGACY OURLEGACY.SE

DR. MARTENS DRMARTENS.COM

THE PARK•ING GINZA PARK-ING-GINZA.COM

ETHOSENS ETHOSENS.COM

PRASTHANA PRASTHANA.JP

FAITH CONNEXION FAITH-CONNEXION.COM

SACAI SACAI.COM

FRAGMENT DESIGN FRAGMENT.JP

SCHOTT SCHOTTNYC.COM

HUMANMADE HUMANMADE.JP

STONE ISLAND STONEISLAND.CO.UK

ISSEY MIYAKE ISSEYMIYAKE.COM

THRASHER MAGAZINE THRASHERMAGAZINE.COM

JAMES LONG JAMESLONGUK.COM

TOGA VIRILIS TOGA.JP

JD SPORTS JDSPORTS.CO.UK

UNION LOS ANGELES STORE.UNIONLOSANGELES.COM

LE LABO LELABOFRAGRANCES.COM

WACKO MARIA WACKOMARIA.CO.JP

LEVI STRAUSS & CO. LEVISTRAUSS.COM

WAIAKEA WAIAKEASPRINGS.COM

LIAM HODGES LIAMHODGES.CO.UK

YOAK YOAKTOKYO.COM

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