The Summer 96 capsule collection is a three way collaboration between Jordan, Bephies Beauty Supply (BBS) and Union. The inspiration behind the design is actually centered around how my wife (Bephie from BBS) and I (Chris from Union)first met. We met in the Summer of 1996 In Fort Greene Brooklyn. The Climate Around That Time Was Unique; Streetwear As We Know It Was In It’s Early Infancy. Hip Hop Was Transitioning From The Underground To Becoming The Preeminent Pop Music That It Has Become Today And Brooklyn Was Still A Best Kept Secret. Fashion Was A Reflection Of The Times...
The Year Prior Larry Clarks “Kids” Releases And The World At Large Is Introduced To The Counter Culture Youth Angst Of Nyc. That Year The Fugees Album, “The Score” Dropped And We Are Witness To The Tipping Point Of African American Culture Crossing Over To American Pop Culture, For The First Time Without Having To Be Watered Down. ...And We Are A Couple Months Removed From Badusim Dropping, Which Will Show America, And Really The World The Soulful Afrocentricity And A “Rebirth Of Cool”.
Summer 96’ Is a “His & Hers” capsule collection That Pays Homage To The Summer We Met, And As We Look Back At It Now, We Realize This Summer Was Not Only The Foundation Of Our Relationship But Also The Precursor To The Lifestyle Movement We Now Call “Streetwear”. Except Back Then, Streetwear Was Just The Youth Rebelling Against The Status Quo And Expressing Their True Individuality.
Brooklyn, More Specifically, Fort Greene Was Extremely Bohemian Back Then And Very Afrocentric. This Being The Beginning Of Streetwear, There Were A Lot Of Small Designers On The Scene Who Were Making Very Artisanal More “DIY” Apparel. Everything Had A Tilt Of Afrocentricity To It. Beth And I Were Part Of This Scene And For The “Summer 96” Capsule We Wanted To Reminisce On This. Of Coarse, It Ain’t The 90’s No More..So We Wanted To Do A Capsule That Is Inspired By Our Genesis Meeting But Brings Us Into Today. We Want To Mix Old School Ideas With A Contemporary Eye And Fabrication Technique…
