This story is a part of our subject on Remembrance, a time-traveling journey by means of the L.A. expertise — previous, current and future. See the total package deal right here.
He could be a basketball star, however Russell Westbrook is equally well-known for his off-court status as an enthusiastic fan of trend. Together with his swagger and daring model, he has turned up at trend weeks around the globe when he isn’t turning the pregame tunnel stroll right into a one-man runway present. (He even makes breathable face masks look good!)
The 32-year-old SoCal native, a member of the Washington Wizards, embarked in 2016 on his most private trend venture, streetwear model Honor the Present, which pays homage to his growing-up years in L.A. and Hawthorne. (Items vary from $18 bandanna-pattern socks to $180 paint-splattered jumpsuits.) The first assortment debuted in late 2017, and the tenth, Free-Fall, impressed by the Tuskegee Airmen, dropped this month.
We not too long ago caught up with the nine-time NBA All-Star and 2017 league MVP in between sport days.
Why did you title your label Honor the Present?
I lean on my religion and I imagine that everyone is blessed with a present, that everybody on this planet has a present that God has given them to make use of — to do no matter they do to positively affect the world. And that’s the place the title got here from. I needed one thing significant as a result of I imagine the model might be round for a very long time.
The primary assortment bought out in about 24 hours. Did that response shock you?
It was nerve-racking. A minimum of, it was for me, and it was stunning. It was additionally super-exciting as a result of [it was clear] we had been doing the suitable factor, the suitable demographic and the suitable designs.
Who do you see as your core buyer?
My model, plain and easy, is for the inside metropolis. It’s for the underserved communities. Clearly everybody wears it, which is superb, however the value level and the standard is for the child who grew up within the inside metropolis within the underserved communities as a result of that’s the place I grew up. That’s the place I’m from. That’s the way in which I used to be raised. Vogue isn’t about how a lot cash you might have or what’s the most important model you possibly can put on however what you put on and the way you put on it.
The brand new assortment marks the enlargement into girls’s and kids’s collections. Was that a part of your plan from the start?
Sure and no. At first, after I thought of it, I used to be like, “Ahhh, perhaps not. Let’s hold it unisex” as a result of we’ve at all times tried to discover a solution to construct and make garments that each women and men can put on. However then, having children of my very own form of impressed me. I assumed, “You understand what? I wish to create a children’ model and ensure that dad and mom around the globe can have one thing that’s dope and that’s inspiring and inexpensive for his or her children to go to highschool, to decorate up and be good.” And I’ve at all times been impressed by girls’s trend, most likely as a result of my mother is the place I get most of my [style] inspiration.
So it wasn’t such as you launched the road saying, “In three years, let’s increase into garments for ladies and kids.”
To be sincere, I didn’t plan on [that or] wholesaling the gathering both. Lots of these items occurred as a result of individuals had been actually connecting with the model, and it’s grown over time. And a few choice needed to be made on my finish about increasing into wholesale. I had actually needed to simply do on-line to maintain it cool, however issues have clearly modified. So now I’m wanting into discovering a spot to open a retailer in addition to increase the model to as many individuals as attainable. Proper now we’re in about 60 shops together with Selfridges [in London] and Commonwealth in L.A.
What’s the timetable on opening a bricks-and-mortar retailer? Are you speaking subsequent month or 5 years down the street? And the place will it's?
Undoubtedly L.A., and when the time is correct for the model. I wouldn’t say 5 years. I’d say as quickly as there’s [a space] out there, and it is smart for the model.
Are you able to stroll me by means of the method of growing a set utilizing the Free-Fall assortment for instance?
It began with me wanting to search out methods to honor the Tuskegee Airmen, a part of the African American group, after which working with the design crew to determine convey that to life. That’s the start line. Then we’ll say, “OK, what’s the colour palette? What specific clothes will we wish to see?” This specific assortment has an emphasis on match as a result of I used to be actually impressed by the style in Japan, in Tokyo. After visiting there, I had some particular inspiration about how I needed the pants to suit — with a low crotch — and [how I wanted the] shirt to suit — with a drop shoulder. That was the preliminary dialog. From there, the crew goes on to design it, tweak the silhouettes, do the graphic design and see what works greatest for the imaginative and prescient of the model. After which we form of convey it to life.
So your crew works on the samples, and then you definitely swoop in and say, “Sure, no, change these buttons,” and that type of factor?
I’m there from begin to end. There isn't a swooping in and no swooping out. It’s my model. I personal it. It takes time, and I’m in it. There isn't a out and in. I’m in every day. I've conversations with my crew. That is what I like to do. For me, it’s not a sport. It’s a job, and I take it very significantly like each job I've.
On the Honor the Present web site, there’s a line that mentions “the bodily areas we stay in.” Is there a future for the label that features inside design and residential items?
Sure. As we hold increasing, I believe it’s essential for the model, collectively, to have issues that individuals would need of their properties and their workplaces — whether or not it’s espresso desk books, ashtrays, blankets or baggage — to maintain them related. It’s essential to me that we evolve the model to maneuver into that house.
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