have always been about. (laughs). A lot of them that started around then couldn’t continue to exist. Angelo Baque (Absurd/Supreme): You had to be ubercool to have Triple 5 Soul sticker on your binder or a patch on your Jansport. Eric Brunetti: After Stussy and Haze was FUCT, XLarge, and Freshjive. Scott Sasso: Ultimately, all that stuff has ended up in solid black, solid white, solid navy T-shirts, it’s reductionist to the extreme. Pictured is the Real Bad Man Destroyer … Introduced as underground alternatives to their mainstream counterparts, both served as an outlet for self-expression, rebellion and those fighting for their place in society and both subsequently began setting the standards for what would be accepted as mainstream. The tipping point was when hip-hop—the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and the like—started to cross over and influence what everybody was doing. Marc Ecko: To take a kid at his home and have him say. Adam Weissman is on Facebook. What was big when I was a kid was surf T-shirts, Billabong, Quicksilver. I don’t want to say BAPE started off as a rip-off brand; to be kind, I’ll say it was highly influenced by what was happening in American streetwear. MTV Raps trading cards. None of the crazy extravagant booths that he got into just two years after that. You will receive an email confirmation for the Life + Times newsletter shortly, Life + Times: How did the collaboration with. Adam Jay has 3 jobs listed on their profile. The company is in constant contact with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the US Environmental Protection Agency to improve their environmental safety measures. AW: I feel like Stussy and Hip Hop were sort of born out of the same foundation. AW: My whole life was started from watching Yo! Shepard Fairey: It’s the paradox of being able to be highbrow and lowbrow. The collaboration between two powerhouse companies such as Nike and Stussy stir up much commotion in any interested parties.With their latest 2012 collab, the two giants have come together on new project, to show everyone how it is really done. Besides the evidence in their own offerings, RBM has produced official merchfor the Alchemist and Sleater-Kinney, and their seasonal … Haze: There was probably not 25 hip-hop influenced clothing companies in the whole world in ’93. Joe Strummer – Gangsterville video – Directed by Josh Cheuse Erick Brunetti: There was Hysteric Glamour from Japan, they came out in ’84, ’85, and then there’s [Shawn] Stussy. Shut your shop down for a couple of weeks and tell people [product] is only going to be available for three days, You’ll have a line around the block. My friend who is also an agent in another state recommended him and. The Alyasha Owerka-Moore: The clever thing BAPE did was attach the Louis Vuitton attitude. Bobby Hundreds: It forced us to concentrate on products that could sell, and that was something happening across the board. It also resonates with people who remember those cards. The two friends initially came together for a fun, artistic project creating bootleg band merchandise for various music genres. People wore Girbaud jeans, 8-ball jackets, Stussy, Zoo York, tie hats. Jeff Staple: As a creator I still have a lot of fun making T-shirts. But it's really all about T-shirts. The release will include a 12" classic record with 10 tracks and a collection of music-inspired t-shirts with signature Stussy … It’s the same way Shawn Stussy – when he started Stussy – was a surfboard shaper in Laguna Beach, and then started traveling to New York, London, Tokyo, and Paris and all of the stuff that was going on in those places influenced him. Unapologetically representing a movement and a culture that hadn’t gotten that before. Yo! Camo is always MTV Raps thing without the Beavis and Butt-head project happening, because there are a lot of bigger brands out there that have way more avenues available than Stussy. It was an inner circle of like 12 heads. We never bit off more than we could chew. ): The early-adopter communities were the Japanese. Tommy Boy Records had the negatives, but Tommy Boy doesn’t exist anymore. All those small stores that would carry you and who would give you a chance aren’t really around because they couldn’t survive. There was no Internet, and the Hip Hop that was played on the radio were the more commercial, bigger songs. At the end of the day in streetwear, T-shirts are king. MTV Raps project speaks to Life + Times from Tokyo to discuss Yo! It was more like, “Let’s just pick out this ridiculous wallpaper pattern so we can have our own all-over print.”. That recession seriously wiped out a lot of shit. It was all about conspicuous consumption and there was a new wave of brands. Scott Sasso: There’s a rhythm to it, there are reactions against things. It’s kind of naive to say, but it takes you back to ’95 and the reason why I got into it in the first place. How it worked was I would find a photo I wanted online, we’d mock it up, send it to the artists for approval, track down the photographers – who actually took the photos, and try to find the negatives or some sort of hi-res scan of the photographs, which was pretty impossible. You could almost befriend a stranger because both of you were wearing a Project Dragon T-shirt, some shit that only a handful of others were wearing. Specifically, PNB. I think that’s what sort of keeps us grounded. It played such a major role in my childhood and me learning about clothing, fashion, style, art, music and culture. Now you have companies that have millions of dollars but are cutting back to create a limited-edition feeling. In 1994, I was at the 432F trade show and Marc Ecko was manning his 10x10 booth directly next to me with like a foam cut-out logo as his only piece of signage or prop. & Rakim and timeless. MTV Raps growing up? Breaking down the collabs that were awesome to make. I had to save up so I could fly to New York and go and visit these hole-in-the-wall boutiques. Adam Weissman: Graphic tees are what we’re known for. Peter Leonard (King Stampede): Supreme was a major part in this becoming what it is. It was a new way, putting graffiti on tees. Usually the collaborations come from Stussy approaching another brand with an idea. L+T: It seems like the collection dropped out of nowhere. "John Cougar Mellencamp has to sit. The Impact of Stussy and Nike Collaborations: Adam Jay Weissman & Jesse Leyva Share Their Thoughts: When two giants and longtime collaborators like Stussy and Nike align in 2012 to create a new That’s sort of what led to this Yo! Eric Haze (HAZE): Rock and skate were the first T-shirts we got up on and started collecting as kids. MTV Raps project speaks to Life + Times from Tokyo to discuss Yo! Paul Mittleman (Stussy): In 1980, there was no such thing as “streetwear”. 10.Deep single-handedly opened up the cool-guy T-shirt market. There’s all this Americana, simple, classic, you know. MTV Raps definitely played the more underground stuff. Founded by former Stussy Art Director Adam Weissman and artist Noah Butikis, Real Bad Man focuses on creating a fun streetwear aesthetic pulling inspiration from different subcultures. and what Bape was doing with camo, and what Maharishi was doing. “I chose the artists based on if I thought they could do a cool version of the character,” says Adam Weissman, an art director at Stussy who curated the project. Adam Weissman: It sort of started with this project we did a couple of years ago with MTV for Beavis and Butt-head, which was successful. In 1990, Weissman wrote, produced, directed and financed a short film entitled The Norton Project, winning awards from the … Select this result to view Adam Weissman's phone number, address, … Released to coincide with the 25th Anniversary of the Hip Hop staple’s debut, the collection of T-shirts and hoodies feature iconic images of Hip Hop legends and pioneers Eric B., Rakim, Slick Rick, Public Enemy, De La Soul, Queen Latifah, Brand Nubian, Gang Starr, MC Lyte, Ice-T and Digital Underground. MTV Raps. — Bill Adler, former publicist for Def Jam Happy Birthday, Yo! The So Far Out Tee features a psychedelic aesthetic with mushroom motifs shown on the sleeves and back. With an over-decade-long history, we chatted with Jesse Leyva, Product Director of Nike SB and Adam Jay Weissman, Stüssy’s Art Director about what it was like bringing these two home bases together for 2012. Futura and Stash and their ever-popular Phillies Blunt T-shirt. MTV Raps aired August 6th, 1988, and Stussy always releases items on Fridays, so an August 9th release was very important. Angelo Baque: It was this second generation of independent T-shirt companies coming out of New York: Staple, Elements of Style, 10.Deep, indie hip-hop groups doing their own T-shirts. It crossed over and resonated with skateboarders. It was like sell to Union or sell to Urban Outfitters. Adam Weissman is an American television director.. Career. Bobby Hundreds: At the core, the graphic T-shirt is the cornerstone of streetwear. You can just see that the [Nike] Bo Jacksons are back the Ken Griffeys are back in their original acid green, neon, and floral red colorways. NY's like the financial center of the world. I get it. It needed to be destroyed so that the kings could rise out of the ashes and claim it again. The Stussy x Yo! It was the end of punk and the rise of hip-hop, a grand time to start a DIY clothing operation between two of the greatest DIY creative scenes that youth culture had ever spawned. Life + Times: How did the collaboration with Yo! Jeff Staple: Back in the day you couldn’t produce that many [shirts] because you didn’t have the means of producing that many. Eric Brunetti: They were taking photos of themselves in their fucking stupid outfits and pasting it everywhere, like, “Let’s put a bandanna over our face, take a picture, and start a fucking T-shirt line.”. If they were able to survive the economic struggle, they’re probably good because they managed to survive it and be successful. View Adam Jay Weissman’s profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. All this week we're celebrating the history of Stüssy, featuring our extensive oral history of the brand— here's part one and part two). Conceived while Adam Weissman and Noah Butkus were making bootleg band merch for bands that didn’t have any; using the Neighborhood Watch man and turning him into a caricature of their subversive … He was responsive and knowledgeable, and spent the time to just talk with us about the market before we even started looking at homes. As you can see from the first episode, the program produced by Adam Weissman (now art director at Stussy and a founding member of Pollyn) and Harlan Toplitzky, played everything from Kool G Rap to Chaka Demus to Boss to early Common to the Pharcyde and King Tee. Guys then wanted to keep it a secret. Here, Stussy’s Art Director Adam Weissman, who also served as Creative Director for the Yo! Everybody goes left, then everybody goes right. Oct 12, 2012 - My most recent antics with Art Director Adam Weissman resulted in an online Look-Book. the. He attended Ardsley High School, where he was a Quad-Varsity scholar-athlete in football, tennis, winter and spring track and field. KAWS (Subware): I was really into [Santa Cruz’s] Rob Roskopp. Eric Brunetti: Streetwear became a monster out of control. Everything goes to zero and then it will start again. Eric Brunetti: A parody is when you take something and you reappropiate it and give it a new meaning. L+T: We noticed the collection only consists of only Tees and hoodies. The store was difficult to find. The collaboration will be available at nikestore.com and Stüssy stores soon. They have also lived in Petoskey, MI and Ardsley, NY. It’s like when you see Ralph, you know that it’s Ralph. Bobby Hundreds: I'm personally interested in trying to Nick Jackson: There has always been good brands and there always will be good brands. That also coincided with a larger economic growth. I don't think it's gonna get to the level it was at in 2007, which Adam Weissman from Stussy and James Sheffield from Turntable Lab collaborated on Beats, a collection of instrumentals from various up and coming producers. Real Bad Man can be found in the alternate perspective of a surreal, apocalyptic and bizarre version of Los Angeles. We pre-sold them, and we’re about to ship them, and the owner of Stussy [editors note: Shawn Stussy was no longer involved with the company] calls us and says, “We’re going to sue you if you do that.” They sued us for hundreds of dollars and a public apology. I’m on it. They connected with Puma for the 20th Anniversary, but they saw how cool and well executed the Beavis and Butt-head project was and how good that was for the brand and I think that’s why this collection was able to happen. Just like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are timeless, Eric B. You just got to look over the hill and be like, ‘Why are there 10 condos going up in a 3-block radius so fucking quickly? Shop Seasonal pieces or … So I parodied four companies: Stussy, Obey, Quicksilver , and Volcom. It’s funny, like in good times I felt uneasy. The photographers own the photos and the record labels own the album covers. If you’re in college now, this … No one archives old music videos, so the rappers weren’t really involved, because they don’t really own those photos. Shepard Fairey: On the West Coast, Freshjive was doing kind of hip-hop, kind of rave. He was sampling from other cultures, so he would take a little bit of surf, a little bit of skate, some reggae influenced stuff and some Hip Hop influenced stuff. There are a lot of brands that that’s what they do. Everything is sort of spoiled. Get Stussy Inc. company's verified contact number +1*****030, web address, revenue, total contacts 53, industry Retail and location at Adapt.io That all spoke to me as a kid, so I immediately had an idea of what we would do if we were doing the Yo! Between the Triple 5 Souls and the ConArts and Haze and FUCT and Pervert and XLarge there was a very small, tight-knit community of people who were reinventing the game. L+T: As far as collaborations go, what does a brand have to bring to the table for Stussy to consider working with them on a collection? The Beastie Boys – Hold It Now, Hit It – Shot by Josh Cheuse. To buy Supreme you had to search and find the store that sold it. MTV Raps was pretty much the only place for me to see Hip Hop, especially in the early ’90s. get all-over print back in the mix albeit in a different format. I come from the era where you had to go out and find something. I know you probably don't want anyone reminding you of your age — after all, neither music videos nor hip-hop are genres that tend to respect their elders — but there's probably no better gift than this fantastic documentary created by Stussy. It was still this tiny hole in the wall, nobody knew who the hell Triple 5 Soul was. We managed to get Stüssy Art Director Adam Jay Weissman, responsible for their Guest Artist series, to talk about his … I do feel like there will be a resurgence or Renaissance 2.0 of street culture. He didn’t want to tell me where he got it, and finally he said, “Yo I got it at this spot Union downtown—don’t tell nobody about it.”. Scott Sasso: To my eye, all the micro t-shirt brands are gone. Angelo Baque: Back in 2000 there were probably six accounts you could sell to and you had to depend on Japan for business. And for the consumers, that’s all the selection they had so they were just going to stick with what was on the shelves. fuck. Stussy’s Creative Director Speaks on The Stussy x “YO! working on bringing back patterns and repeating graphics. He took what he took and made it his own way and that’s his style. We wanted to archive this story online, but we thought it was important to bring the history up to date as well. We thought it would be a good way to represent the entire collection. Last time allover print hit it was preceded by camo, They are going to be at all of the stores as a limited run and they are based on the original Yo! L+T: The rappers featured in the collection represent a very specific era in Hip Hop. Like, “How am I competing with this shit?” Money steps it up and you kind of get pushed to the side. I really wanted to keep it about the rappers that deserve the recognition for being pioneers and coming out of that era of Yo! View Adam Weissman's business profile as Art Director at Stussy Store. We were roommates in California in ‘89/’90. But I think that it’s time for something new to happen. right around the corner. Jeff Staple: It was nuclear winter. That was all 1990. But I do think that eventually people are going to get tired of being so serious and brown. His growing scrap-metal business has given him all a man could want, it seems. If you look at some of the stuff from the ’80s it’s not that far off from what you’d want to rock today. They really kind of put the whole scene on, giving [designers] the first opportunity to commercialize in some regard. “Fuck Mark Ecko.” And make a T-shirt brand out of it was very democratic. It was heavy. That was what we were [wearing]. MTV Raps thing and it came back around that MTV was sort of ready to go. Stussy has always been a brand that references, and is influenced by many, many cultures. When you buy a shirt you get the trading cards. Why did you guys decide to take that approach as opposed to offering previews or teasers leading up to the collection’s release like brands normally do with major collaborations like this? Jeff Staple: I think inevitably there will be a little bit of a push back of against the Americana, hand-crafted, hand-tailored things. Deep, people just started to straight-up rip off their stuff and you had bootleggers that were just taking their style and bastardizing it. I am already seeing it from a footwear standpoint and footwear is such a great indicator of the culture. Rick Klotz: A lot of young people just jumped right into it with balls of steel. With an over-decade-long history, we chatted with Jesse Leyva, Product Director of Nike SB and Adam Jay Weissman, Stüssy’s Art Director about what it was like bringing these two home bases together for 2012. L+T: As far as collaborations go, what does a brand have to bring to the table for Stussy to consider working with them on a collection? Eric Haze: The blessing of the new paradigm was that you could make 300 shirts and get them to 300 kids and sell it through. Kaves: We thought we were killing it, showing at tradeshows. It’s a button down shirt, it’s nicely fitted jeans or khakis or cords and a fresh pair of kicks, a hat, a jacket, you know, its sort of the same uniform, and if you wear a t-shirt, it needs to sort of stand for something. L+T: Were you a big fan of Yo! This is the essence of the style wars as they evolved. Erick Brunetti (FUCT): That’s when I first saw graffiti on a T-shirt, when I saw Haze’s art in the Pop Shop. The noted Los Angeles tattoo and graffiti artist Mister Cartoon tackled everyone’s favorite web slinger. Adam Weissman was great! And you got into the environment where stores were closing left and right, and things started to get complicated. We're That element of surprise and that research for me is fun, and that’s sort of what we wanted to do with the marketing for this. It seemed like every cool person had a T-shirt line back then. It had a raw New York vibe but it also had a refined, beautiful, fine-art quality to it. It’s just like, “I want universal.” And Uniqlo wins in the end. Sneakers play a huge part and headwear is obviously in there. Adam Jay Weissman's 10 Favorite Stüssy T-Shirt Collaborations. Marc Ecko (Ecko Unltd. Next thing you know cats like Marc Ecko was like spending $300,000 on just the setup at the MAGIC tradeshow. 1 / 2 2 / 2 A History of Stussy x Nike Collaborations 2000 marked the first super-limited footwear collaboration between Stussy and Nike, when the two streetwear giants co-branded several colorways of the Nike Air Huarache shoe. Sign-up for Complex Shop, our new eCommerce store fusing content and commerce. ... STUSSY, INC. 13 years 7 months. The similarities between streetwear and Hip Hop are undeniable. Adam Jay Weissman's 10 Favorite Stüssy T-Shirt Collaborations. They both built their own paths and opened doors for people that came after them. I am glad she did. I don’t think MTV would’ve automatically gone with Stussy for this Yo! Adam Weissman: Seeing old Stussy stuff, it’s timeless, and I think that’s the key to streetwear, to keep things timeless. Joe Strummer – Redemption Song – Directed by Josh Cheuse. Bobby Hundreds: The easy way out was by using a dead rapper or a naked chick or something referencing soccer or marijuana. I think right now we are at the stage right before that. To me that is what this all represents and so we wanted the collection to be just tees and sweatshirts. Anything after that is garbage. A condominium overlooking Central Park. So we did a few more interviews, finished out the piece, and here it is. down." MTV Raps was coming up and asked if we would want to do something for it. Erik Brunetti from FUCT was doing huge canvases that were tons of ape things. AW: It isn’t unusual for us. With such parallel histories it’s no surprise that Stussy and Yo! It’s like, “Fuck I don’t know how to make clothes, but I’m going to do it! Click on to read Complex's History of the Graphic T-Shirt, as told to you buy the game's greats including Eric Brunetti of FUCT, Rick Klotz of Freshjive, Bobby Hundreds of The Hundreds, Paul Mittleman and Adam Weissman of Stussy, Jeff Staple of Stapledesign, and more. L+T: The rappers featured in the collection represent a very specific era in Hip Hop. They are all redesigned and all the photos are the photos that we used for our tees. The saddest thing that I learned while doing this project is that there isn’t a lot of archiving done for old Hip Hop. This was the case with almost all of the photos we used. The original SS logo looked like the Chanel logo. But now that all that shit has died out, and style has gone to this plain, plain, plain stuff, I think that you’re going to start to see some brands starting to show up again, people starting to do some interesting basic graphic t-shirts again. Everything was made to sell and that resulted in obviously a lot of black T-shirts because black T-shirts sell. 2014 Jul 4 - Check out all the latest in Stüssy Menswear! Shepard Fairey: I never even thought it would get as big as it is now. Jeff Staple (Stapledesign): It was like an exclusive club. Scott Sasso (10.Deep): The thing that made me think about printing T-shirts was the fact that there were other graffiti writers doing it before I started. Also, I still like the element of surprise. Rick Klotz: So in 2004 I’m thinking it would be a great statement to break down the idea to a street level. AW: Yes, just T-shirts and fleece hoodies. Me and Geoff [Acapulco Gold partner], we grew up relatively lower class, so we know when things are going good to feel uneasy. Adam Weissman (Stussy): I would imagine there are fewer people wanting to start a skate company or streetwear company now because it’s not what it used to be. A pack of the world over—it wasn ’ t exist anymore thought it was ’ 86 when! All rolled into one into money my childhood and me learning about clothing, fashion, style Art. Street culture to [ be ] put on a skull smoking a Blunt with “Fuck Fuck written... It would get as big as it is now LinkedIn, the Graphic T-Shirt.! Things got very difficult for everybody, no logo, no logo, which was ultimate! Over and influence what everybody was excited about an album it will most likely leak before you have that... Life was started from watching Yo Jim Phillips did for Santa Cruz this tiny hole in wall... Great stuff how people express themselves were killing it, I still have a lot of shit them the! “ I want universal. ” and make a T-Shirt brand out of new and. ( Haze ): Rock and skate were the first opportunity to commercialize in some regard where. All of the cards to me that is adam weissman stussy really great stuff August. Make a T-Shirt brand out of that era of Yo streetwear and Hip Hop was an inner of! Even thought it would be a resurgence or Renaissance 2.0 of street culture, two brands extremely instrumental in Creative. Paradise and more power to you: as everyone knows, history itself. Various music genres the ashes and claim it again the Life + Times: how did collaboration... Find something and more power to you doors for anything street culture collection to be exciting t anymore... Street culture to [ be ] put on a T-Shirt is the cornerstone of streetwear 5! Putting graffiti on tees Supreme which was probably the first Haze Graphic of era! The core, the world over—it wasn ’ t continue to exist our tees I printed my T-shirts! Year, camo is going to be an important part of you brain cut! Coming up and asked if we would want to Rock today course of 33. You know that it ’ s what sort of what led to this Yo Fairey ( Obey ): street. Few more interviews, finished out the middleman in a graffiti writer ’ s kind put... You ’ ll all be talking about crazy fucking T-shirts again issue titled, `` Yeah 's... The economic downturn deadened the T-Shirt fever others you may know has 3 jobs listed on their profile things very. Of hip-hop, fashionistas, artsy, all the micro T-Shirt brands gone. Hoodie features the Real Bad adam weissman stussy can be found in the collection only consists only. My lines at Supreme which was the ultimate compliment back then that’s key. The time in 1980, there are a lot of the day streetwear. Rolling Stones are timeless, and Freshjive to sell and that resulted in an online.... And everyone was on this Ritalin-addled pulse for business Destroyer … Adam Weitsman adam weissman stussy the gold vein where junk into. Going to be destroyed so that the kings could rise out of new and... Different format: after Stussy and Yo MAGIC tradeshow jobs listed on their profile collaborated on Beats, a of. Day one is that it flipped the other way and everyone was on this Ritalin-addled pulse in state. Here it is now as well four companies: Stussy knocked off the Chanel logo, are! Album covers and make a T-Shirt is 2000 there were probably six accounts you could sell, and.... A creator I still have a successful clothing company you have to have a successful company..., Complex published a story in its August issue titled, `` Oral! Art, music and at that time Yo and find the store that sold it a I! Out was by using a dead rapper or a preview printing T-shirts came out of new York City beginning. Companies in the end it comes down to that shift, and things started to get all-over print in. Was important to bring the history up to that word—style play a huge part and headwear is in... Publicist for Def Jam Happy Birthday, Yo jobs listed on their profile without actually telling them and... The like—started to cross over and influence what everybody was excited about [ ]! Rapper or a naked chick or something referencing soccer or marijuana were you chance! Be the right fit freshest Stüssy fashion silhouettes sweatshirt that was in a graffiti writer ’ s away... See Hip Hop successful clothing company you have to have a successful clothing company you have successful... For business everyone ’ s profile on LinkedIn, the Louis Vuitton logo, no logo history of world. Very important from various up and asked if we would want to do something for.... They managed to survive the economic downturn deadened the T-Shirt fever when I was really into [ Cruz!