BRAND 101: STUSSY

Welcome to Brand 101, where we drop some knowledge that you should know about the industry’s most important brands. And remember, we’re not focusing on the biggest brands, but those that have had an important impact on the stuff you like. So, your girl is right, size doesn’t always matter.

First up is one of the most important brands in streetwear, if not the most influential brand — sorry Supreme. Founded in the 1980s by Shawn Stussy, the brand’s roots are tied to surf culture, with the iconic logo being based on the signature Stussy used to scrawl on surfboards. At first, Stussy peddled t-shirts and shorts out of the back of his car along the California coast — but, by the 1990s, the brand was blowing up and was being sold next to some of the world’s biggest designer brands. So you can thank Shawn Stussy for proving to the world that logo-based graphic tees are a viable business and avoiding you that awkward conversation with your girlfriend about leaving everything to sell t-shirts out of your car.

Since then, Stussy has been a go-to for everybody — and we mean literally everybody. From the surfers who Stussy originally targeted in the 1980s, to skaters, punks, hip-hop heads and even those in high-fashion’s inner circles, everybody finds a way to work the brand’s iconic logo into their wardrobe.

Stussy has also been at the centre of some of streetwear’s most notable and memorable collaborations, ranging from a unique take on Nike’s classic Huarache trainer, to a Vault by Vans project, and, most recently, working with Central Saint Martins super-student Kiko Kostandinov on a F I R E hand-crafted mix-and-match collection that is among Stussy's most-coveted items.

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