Transcription
Every brand needs, like, a hit. Like, one thing that it's known for, or like, the takeoff item. It can be annoying, but it's like, it gets the ball rolling, and then you can, like, play with it. Being entrusted with Nike to sort of reapproach 10 different icons, I took that, like, as like another major design project. Not like a sort of, "Let's just color them up and put them back out into the market."
Let's almost think about it like a student would, you know? I still feel like I'm a perpetual, like, kid at school. And that's, that's the first thing that I wanted to deliver because when I was a student, all that I wish I knew now is that one person would have told me, like, one, like, ounce of advice. There's all these sort of shortcuts that you can take. And so that's what this literally, this whole presentation is about. These red slides are cheat codes, basically. If you can answer them, you, uh, you basically give yourself a cheat code. And that's like the sort of 2.0 of these talks that I'm using. And it's things that I've had to learn.
I basically work at a feverish pace in a self-serving way just to find my signature, like, what's my DNA? Every architect, designer, artist that I look up to, you know, whether they were doing period paintings or buildings, in their early career to the end of their career, there's basically a through line. So what I would challenge you in your work, no matter what, is go back. You know, go back to when you were, like, that, your earliest memories, or the way that you thought to organize something, the way you thought to organize your closet, or what colors were your favorite back in that sort of, like, early rationale before you sort of learned too much.
You also have to have mentors, like dead or alive. You have to sort of connect with some body of work or someone who formulated a thought and an aesthetic, and then build yours upon that. What most people won't tell you is that the people that you look up to didn't invent it themselves. You know, everyone has this sort of, like, I call it, like, getting your brain reprogrammed. Like, once you sort of learn a thought process, you can actually see yourself in that and add to it. And so obviously, I have a mentor. I have a sort of thought process, an aesthetic that I love. But then once you learn the, the ethos of why the estate, why you love the aesthetic, you dig deeper, and then you know how to turn the wheel left or right. So it's important, you know, that's why I often reference things of not ashamed at sort of recognizing these great moments before us. But take anything and add it to the year 2017. It should be different. It should feel like we can collectively agree on it. And that's what I, that's what I focus on.
In a number of projects, being entrusted with Nike to sort of reapproach 10 different icons, I took that, like, that's like another major design project. Not like a sort of, "Let's just color them up and put them back out into the market." Let's almost think about it like a student would. I think it's important not to be precious. That's what this whole thing is. Like Nike, another dream project for me. And I was like, "I have to hit this out of the park." And all the architecture kids can sort of catch a vibe. A lot of this is like model making. That's where the, this is at the same time that I came up with that whole putting sculpture on a bag. Which that was like just me finding sort of new space. And that's when I was like, you know, a shoe is in a shoe to me. Like, I'm not approaching it as a shoe. And I think maybe that's why I found a little bit of like open space is that I was just looking at, like, an object.
I always thought if you worked linearly, then you have no room. You know, do opposites. It just feels better. But then that space in between gives you sort of a new experience that you can apply and problem-solve. That's why I think I work on so many things at one time. I couldn't just do one project like day in, day out. I think it's actually not healthy.
One of the greatest lessons that I've learned in building sort of like my sort of career path and like streetwear or fashion is, in an ironic way, is like being very concise. You know, I think because your life, especially like a young life, it's like absorbed by like things that you've been into like very passionately. And then, you know, when you start a brand, you can often try to like whip them all together in one big story. But it also, it surprisingly takes less for a brand concept. The less it is, the stronger it is, the more focused. The more you know, when your brain starts drawing parallels between say, like Olympics, uh, Tendo, and anime, then it can start to get a little bit like fuzzy as to like, what does the brand really mean? You know, like the biggest trick in design that I use is just like hyper focus and then repeat. You know, make one thing, and then it's like a template.
Streetwear, in a way, like isn't fashion. You know, like, there's an ironic debate that could be had about fashion and streetwear. You know, one of the same? They're very different. I think for your concept, well, of course, quality is what you're trying to achieve. But it's almost like not phrasing it or trying to compare it to something that's fashionable. Yeah. You know, I think that the longevity of the concept of streetwear comes when we all collectively own the exact, like, space that we operate. Like, if you look at brands, like the best streetwear brands that have, like, that are the most successful, they're, they're not Hermes. But they're, their quality doesn't dictate how strong the brand is. Nor do they, like, like an Hermes has to, like, lean on the crutch of that this is the best quality because that's what, that's what their brand is about. Yeah. They scrap thousands of pieces of leather just to find one, and that's what, that's what they're selling. So streetwear, the strongest brand, they're sort of not, none of them are like claiming to be like, "Hey, this is the best-made, you know, cotton or wool or something like that."
To me, it's just about organizing. You know, and I think like all the different story, if you want the brand to be this wide, it needs to be like clear delineation. Like this season is about this one thing. You know, so if it's about smoking, then I want to see also like all the imagery for all the different collections sort of like look the same. Irreverent to the concept that is a part of that one story. So it's like about military camo, it should be set on a military base, like a little, not always in nature. You know, I see there's like a variance, but I'm just saying things to like think about. Like the smoking thing should be all shot in a convenience store or something like that.
You have to do what you're doing, but you also have to do it in a way so that it grows. And to see that growth, it's going to take that strictness so that, you know, you get better, a bigger audience based on the work that's being done. Uh, perfectionism doesn't advance anything. Ironically, um, as a creative and as a designer, there's no wrong way to go about the future of your career. The only, the only failure is not to try it. You know, and I think that designers, we all have like a creators or artists, we have a natural convention to sort of be maybe tormented or a little bit of like an inner struggle. Is, is the work living up to its fullest potential? Or is it, you know, is it as great as the work that you idolize from your, your design idols? But at the end of the day, it's your body of work. And the, the amount of work and the refinement of that work that'll define who you are as a creative. So, you know, just by this challenge of like not being fearful of perfectionism, of being able to do it, then, uh, I resulted in not just one idea that I would, but two.
Coming for, I where I come from as like a, as a creative person, I like, and I challenge as well students to sort of work in a genreless sort of space. You know, just be, if you're in the illustration department, doesn't mean that you shouldn't be. I have ideas and apparel or film. And you know, there's basically no boundaries in the real world. You can catch a check from like 17 different creative industries. You guys are about to be rich, um, if you work hard. You know, I think, um, the amount of freedom that you guys will interface in this new world. I feel that creativity is like highly valued in all different industries. So, you know, keeping your eyes open to those things.
Post-rationalizing my career and my tastes, like, why do I like Helvetica? Why do I like, um, graphics that look like that? Or why do I like fashion that feels like that? The first phase in becoming a designer, sort of like self-analyzing yourself. You know, it's sort of digging into like, what are your primal emotions and why do you like the things that you like? What you can't exchange is like the community. That's my first question was like, are your friends wearing it? Like, because it's, you know, whatever it can exist. But for it to be like a, a tried and true sort of like brand, like I think you want it in, like, I think most streetwear brands attempt to be, it has to have roots back in the actual something that was like a community of people. So I think it's important that your brand doesn't like just live like in your apartment with a few people that you know. Should be out there. Like, yeah, other people should find, like, it represents them. Because it can be your concept, but unless there's like, you know, you're finding ways to do community things where that just means like four people getting together, because four people turns into 10, and then you do a party, and then there's 30 people, and there's the line, and all these people. Yeah, exactly. That's like, yeah. And it's, you know, when it's more like this is your community. You know, you should, like, in your pitch, you should be like, "I want to represent kids that want to be filmmakers instead of rappers or DJs." You know, everyone wants to be a DJ now. But if you said, like, "There is a group of kids that are like, 'Hey, I don't DJ, but I'm either a stylist or my art director. I want to make films.'" Like, if you came to me and you were like, "I want to represent the next generation of like Spike Jonze." You know, he is, yeah, you should look him up. He did like those Beastie Boys, legendary Beastie Boys. Yeah, Beastie Boys video. He's a streetwear kind of skate guy who, you know, just didn't like wear the Wild Things Are, like Hollywood director. But like, everyone wants to be a skater. Everyone wants to be a creative director. There's got to be kids, you know, every kid that's rolling around with a camera and like, you know, like film camera or whatever, like that, they might not skate. You know, they need a brand too. Yeah. Yeah. Like from what I've seen from those videos, whoever those kids are that made that, you know, they should be. I would translate how every kid wants to be like a skater or a DJ or a rapper or a thug. And I would just be like, "Hey, this is the first streetwear brand that's just for the filmmakers and the cinematography, the next wave of art directors."
Cancel the t-shirts. Imagine they don't exist. Or do this. This is good for the film too. Good for the masterclass. The kids at home. That's how you should have presented it. Like, you know, what's back here is supposed to be with the focal point. And then over here was just about to be like, it's just a laptop. Just like, "Hey, this is probably like weird porn on there earlier or whatever." You know, like, "Oh, and then here's my super content." Like, you know, it's just whatever. Yeah, I feel you. Like, you're selling to me what your product is, is these videos. You know, that video looks like it's like $8,000. You know, like this t-shirt. Like, you could go somewhere and someone will charge you that much to do to do that. And the t-shirt's just like, whatever. You know, that's even how you pitched it to me. Yeah. You know, yeah. Yeah.
For so when you put this at the focal point, like this is new. I haven't seen it. There's not every kid running down the street saying, "Oh, I got another t-shirt." You know, like, there's millions of t-shirts. Like, it's almost impossible. It's the most oversaturated kind of human existence of our graphic t-shirt. You know, so it's like, it's gonna have to check, like, so many boxes. And I go, so like, I can't even design a t-shirt anymore because it's like, where's the open space? To me, it's like, "Oh, these, you know, kids can't like, I can do that. Anyone can do this. But I can't do that." You know, I wouldn't even know where to start. But then when you put this out, it's gonna like, kids in Paris, kids in, you know, Tokyo will be like, "Damn, like, I've been learning Cinema 4D. I love streetwear. But that, you know, t-shirts and all that wasn't my wave. I need to get on my film." You know.