KAMAYEU Exclusive
Y'all fucked with cartoons at some point?
Then your gunna fuck with KAMAYEU.
Why?
Because there fucking awesome by bringing parody designs of our favourite cartoons and doing it to a ground breaking creative level.
KAMAYEU are breaking through the norm of every other pop up clothing brand and bringing fun back into creating clothing and showing it through each and every one of their designs.
Bellow we managed to get a hold of one of their managing creative designers and got an exclusive interview with them to find out more about where they started and how they run.
The brand name is KAMAYEU, where did you get this title?
Kamayeu is derived from the French word for monochrome. The concept of our brand is to only print on black and white garments, meaning that the main focus will be towards the design rather than the garment itself.
What does the brand focus on?
We want to produce clothing that is nostalgic to us (there's three of us working on the brand), so each design will have elements relating back to our childhood memories and influences. In our drop releasing on 1/8/2015 on www.kamayeu.com (save this date) you'll see links to retro video games, music and movies - basically retro culture in general.
What makes your brand different to all the other new pop ups?
Unlike most new pop ups, our designs are unique. We're not trying to be anyone else, or copy other brands. So we'll spend a lot of time coming up with funny ideas and hidden jokes (kind of like easter eggs, but within a brand), which can be seen in our designs and even on the website. We're not trying to be all serious and promote an image that isn't us, I mean we're 17 years old, we want to have fun with this.
Where did you get your inspiration from?
Well there's been lots of inspiration, for example Daft Punk, 80s retro futurism, comic books, films, video games, literally the list is endless in terms of design. Our attitude towards the brand is more confined to other influences, so me personally, I read an article by one of the founders of Trapstar, and he was talking about you just gotta be yourself, don't try and copy other people. But yeah, we're just doing our thing and we hope people can get on the wave.
What made you want to open your own clothing company?
Like I've said before there's two others who are in on it, but me personally I just want to produce clothing that I like, and that I will wear, hopefully other people fuck with our style, but once again, I'm just doing my own thing, riding my own wave. I get bored of searching for the shit that I want to wear, so I thought why not start making it?
How did this whole thing start?
Last summer, we were all heading in different directions in terms of fashion, all aiming towards creating our own individual brands. I thought that it would be best if we all linked up and made a brand together as we all have expertise in different areas, so I got both of my pals on board and we have made Kamayeu.
We know that you guys are into your artists, which is your favourite?
In terms of street art, the king is always gonna be banksy. He's like a comedian on the street, his pieces are just so fucking funny. That's what we're gonna be doing with some of our pieces, be satirical, so he's a huge inspiration. Another favourite is D*Face, solely based on the fact that I'm a big fan on the pop art movement, and all of his work is continuing that style in modern times - he executes it the best out of all recent artists in my opinion. Older artists, you can't beat Picasso. If you've read up on him you'll learn how much of a genius he was, and how incredible his marketing was. Once again, another huge influence on us and the brand.
How do you feel about the brand Supreme new york?
We respect Supreme, and we respect the influence that they have on the fashion industry. It's just crazy how much hype surrounds all of their releases, like this season you had shit that was selling out within seconds that was just whack to be honest. But yeah, we fuck with Supreme and what they do, I mean it's the OG streetwear brand that everyone loves.
If you like them, what is your favourite collab and why?
My favourite collab is the tees that they released with Sean Cliver. As a group, we respect art massively and respect artists in general as our whole brand is focused on art. But the motel hell tee with the pig thing holding a teddy and a machete is just so sick, it's the favourite tee I own, and the detail that has gone into the design itself is incredible.
If you could collab with any company who would it be?
Any brand, probably Helly Hansen. I just think their items are so simple but fit really nice and shit. I own a plain black HH cap, and it is the nicest hat I've ever worn. They just have so many pieces which I could fuck around with and make something sick.
When should we be expecting a drop?
1st August 2015, you can sign up to our newsletter on www.kamayeu.com to be notified when we drop, it will probably be at a random time during the day, so keep your eyes out.
What is your personal favourite piece that you will feature in your first drop?
This is a hard question because I love all of them. I would probably go for the invader tee, I just feel like it came out so well as a screen print, and all the colours in the text just make it pop even more.
What sort of products can we be expecting from KAMAYEU?
We're going to start off with tees as it's the only thing we can afford at the moment. In the winter we'll branch out into long sleeves, hoodies and sweatshirts. We literally have so many ideas and designs all ready to be put into production, it's mad, we just need to get the brand out there and get people to know about it. This is just the start.
Any advice for people in the same boat as you in terms of launching a brand?
Don't copy other people, especially not instagram kids like asspizza and fathersteve or whatever the fuck his name is, that's not cool. Just take your time, if you rush things it will just turn out shit, let your ideas develop and blossom into a beautiful design. Oh and before you start a brand, check out our lookbook http://www.kamayeu.com/#!lookbook/cgbm
So should we fuck with KAMAYEU?
Yes, and if you dont then your fucking fuc boi.
Grab some cool shit from their first drop this Saturday.
Peace.