_IN PROCESS
EP. 11 | GOLFWANG
In this episode, we’re taking a look at GOLF WANG. Starting as a line of clothing and accessories from the mind of Tyler The Creator & the ODD FUTURE collective. Honestly, it’s one of the most expressive lifestyle brands of recent times.
In 2011, Tyler and Odd Future moved their merch into a new space by creating a more exclusive clothing line; GOLF WANG. They dropped the expected items; hats, shirts, & socks, with fun and bizarre graphics. Laser-eyed cats, childish satanic doodles, Lucas Vercetti’s face, cartoon donuts, and everything Adult Swim fans appreciate. GOLF WANG linked up with VANS and dropped some colorful Old Skool models, and kids all over got a little closer to Tyler’s style.
In each following consecutive year, GOLF WANG would get a little more tighter and refined. Cut & sew pieces were introduced, using a variety of fabric choices. As Tyler matured as a man and as an artist, GOLF WANG became progressively more layered. Each collection became more thematic, starting with adolescent humor, then gradually moving to nostalgia, maximalism, and the surreal. As bright as the colors got, the brand never lost its charm or vulgarity.
GOLF WANG left their Vans partnership in 2016 to begin a new footwear endeavour with Converse, wonderfully named GOLF Le FLEUR*. The following year, GOLF WANG also established a new and improved brick & mortar boutique on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles.
GOLF WANG’s physical location is a huge influence on it as well- it’s neighborhood alumni being Supreme, Flight Club, The Hundreds, 424, Hall of Fame, Diamond, SLB, & Alife. For nearly 20 years, Fairfax has been one of the main hubs of West Coast fashion. It’s where skateboarding, youth culture, streetwear, and old school shops & deli’s mix. It’s kinda like a microcosm of Los Angeles as a whole: hip, surfy, ritzy, ghetto… all under a sunny blue sky.
Tyler’s fashion style is definitive and confident. He’s phenomenally original. From the beginning, he’s known how to create a personality through sound & images, and make them so accessible. All the art direction surrounding Odd Future was so outstandingly different from everything around that era. It’s no surprise that to this day, Tyler, GOLF WANG, and GOLF Le FLEUR* stand apart from everyone else. From the beginning, he was fully realized & complete, despite being so young. Tyler’s a creative prodigy.
Even though it’s an exclusive brand, Tyler’s not trying to be cosmopolitan. In fact, GOLF WANG is an embrace of kitschy, quirky, suburban & rural American folk culture. Interestingly, Tyler’s work is most spiritually linked to another creative visionary- Wes Anderson.
Anderson’s work, like GOLF WANG, stands out from its peers. The unique use of color, sound, music, narrative, location, framing composition, and quirkiness are the undeniable signature of of a Wes Anderson film. The themes of loss, love, isolation, adventure, and human examination though an artificial, yet intimate lens underlines BOTH Anderson and Tyler’s masterpieces.
Not everyone is a born artist. But if you are, you have to add your touch to every sensory experience. When you’ve met that challenge, you’re not just artist anymore. You’re an Auteur.
That’s what it means to Push Product.
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