LA based rapper Dumbfoundead, is extending his reach into the fashion world, announcing his collaboration with EPTM.
Street fashion often carries the burden of seeming aimless. Capes, shorts over tights, and decorative zippers leave a bad taste in the mouth of many consumers who are just looking for something fresh but truer to the words “ready to wear”.
Channel 18, a collaborative effort between Dumbfoundead and EPTM, is anything but purposeless. The entire line is birthed in the life and experiences of immigrants in America. It encapsulates the mash of culture within immigrant communities and draws from the style of worker uniforms.
There is a running joke that FOBs (People fresh off the boat) have an unique disregard for style. I’ve seen that in my father, an immigrant from Poland, and I’ve made the joke many a times myself. However, I never thought to take back a style that is shamed by the fashion world and throw it back at them. Glancing through the pieces in the lookbook, I see my father’s factory uniform and I see the goofy essence that has been molded into a seriously clean style. Channel 18 is quiet in how it’s presented but carries such a heavy narrative. It’s most definitely an honest expression of art through clothing. Make sure to catch the drop on February 18th.
Check out ch18.tv for pictures and more.
Dumb also shares the following introduction for the line:
“Growing up, I remember sitting in the living room with my mom as she folded up laundry, patiently waiting through the last bit of Russian programming before its transition into Korean. Channel 18 was the local TV station that all the minorities shared, divided up into multiple hour blocks bringing news and entertainment from back home. At the time, I just wanted to watch my Simpsons and Fresh Prince like the rest of America’s youth. But in hindsight, I can appreciate the sense of belonging it gave my family and the constant reminder that we as a community only made up one part of LA. I could even see it with the TV off, walking down the street or cruising down the boulevard, everybody awaiting their turn. Stay tuned.”
-Jonathan “Dumbfoundead” Park
art by your homie, Arthur Banach
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