The latest on upcoming streetwear brands and trends, along with their inspirations.

Brainwaves: Inside the Design of N.E.R.D’s Iconic “Brain” Logo

After Pharrell’s recent cleaning-house auction where he put thousands of dollars worth of his personal ice from his massively influential “Skateboard P” era, we got to see many of the inimitable pieces Pharrell created with his friend and colleague Jacob The Jeweler, not the least impressive of which was a glittering version of a sapphire-blue brain, the logo of Pharrell’s group “N.E.R.D”, a rap/rock trio formed by Williams alongside Chad Hugo and Shae Hailey.

Much like Pharrell’s jewelry, “The Brain”, in it’s various entities, was a constant motif throughout Pharrell’s outfits during the early 2000’s. Most notably, through headwear, with Pharrell seemingly glued to his maize-yellow trucker hat with the slime-green brain glowing off the crown during the early 2000’s. Soon, the brain would be seen on everyone from skaters to rappers alike as Pharrell began fusing the two subcultures like never before.

But the brain itself has a history all its own. Pharrell has a long history of only working with the best, so when the group sought out to find someone who could design their logo, they ended up venturing towards artist, activist, and founder of OBEY clothing, Mr. Shepard Fairey. Shep had been well-known throughout the 90s for his graffiti work utilizing various prints of his Andre the Giant face, with his many escapades being departed via skateboard, which Fairey was an avid fan of.

Fairey was also no stranger to the hip-hop world either, having grown up as an avid fan of groups like Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy. And though the the designing of the brain was the first of Shep’s work with N.E.R.D, going on to host concerts for them, and even releasing a collaborative print from Fairey that supported the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2017.

To this day, “The Brain” continues to be one of hip-hop’s most recognizable emblems, and though it may not be his most lauded work publicly, it’s impact and influence is still being felt to the present day in both music and fashion.

Article by newest member of 404incorporated @kapsule.mag follow on instagram

GORE-TEX: How One Fabric Pioneered Modern Outerwear Into Mainstream Fashion

“It’s GORE-TEX. You know about GORE-TEX?”

These were the words uttered by one George Constanza back in the heyday of “Seinfeld”, wearing his iconic massive puffer coat that, while ridiculed, we would all definitely rock. But it’s an excellent question: do you know about GORE-TEX?

Though GORE-TEX is constantly referred to in the tense of a brand, but technically is a fabric, discovered in 1969 after Bob Gore accidentally yanked a heated rod of polymer polytetrafluoroethylene, otherwise known as Teflon, when working on turning into pipe-thread tape. This sudden yank as opposed to a slow pull caused it to stretch over 800%, creating a new fabric that was 70% air and waterproof.

However, GORE-TEX would not be introduced to the fashion world until 1977, when a small Seattle company named Early Winters released the first GORE-TEX jacket and tent, with the material being immediately hailed as a revolution in the area of modern technology and the tents and jackets flying off the shelves.

This attracted the likes of some of the most celebrated names in technicalwear, from The North Face, to Patagonia, to Arc’Teryx, and GORE-TEX soon became the unofficial fabric of the outdoors. However, due to it’s unprecedented functionality, GORE-TEX rapidly expanded past the world of mountains and trails into every area of fashion.

Street-centered brands like Supreme and Visvim soon began implementing GORE-TEX into their pieces, and soon the athletes wearing GORE-TEX weren’t just hikers and mountaineers, but skaters too. Nowadays, GORE-TEX’s weatherproof ability has made it omnipresent in all houses of fashion, with labels from Off-White to Yohji Yamamoto using the groundbreaking fabric to break their own ground, with no signs of it’s influence receding now.

Article written by 404incorporated member @kapsule.mag follow on instagram

Hiroshi Fujiwara : The Godfather Of Streetwear