This Is Not a T-Shirt

Today, we still have no idea what we’re doing, plugging different numbers into the combination lock until we get it open. Yet our brand is more profitable and notable than ever. Fifteen years is forever in streetwear, so why is The Hundreds still standing strong? My theory is simple. The Hundreds was never just about clothing. In the pure spirit of... See more

T. S. Eliot once described hell as a place “where nothing connects with nothing.” Dissociation has historically been a major source of unhappiness in people’s lives. Humans long for connection; we want to feel that our lives have value and significance.

I know I could have ten times the Instagram followers (and sales) if I formulaically posted what streetwear kids want to see: expensive jewelry, hot girls, and Drake memes. But that’s not me, and I don’t want to sound like everyone else. Why would I want my voice lost in the crowd? I’d rather stand onstage with the microphone.

It was never our aim to make customers of everyone. We just needed someone. Never underestimate the power of influence in one-on-one encounters. One person’s zeal can arouse a movement and compel a community to action.

I had the luxury of crafting my brand identity for years before I met my audience. I attribute much of our longevity to the blogging spirit and this fundamental mantra: DIY and DIFY. Do it for yourself.

This isn’t just a clothing company or an online magazine; it’s more than that. It’s a ‘lifestyle project.’”

If you are madly in love with your cause, that fire will stoke a flame in others.

The secret: knowing when and where to position yourself when the pendulum swings your way and the moment hits. You can’t control the cosmos, but you can study and get in position for its curveballs. This is an education culled from time and experience and patience—those very things that neither money nor Instagram followers nor power can buy. Time.... See more

My idea of streetwear is that it was born of the streets and is meant for the people. I want to reach as many of them as possible and connect them in the process. That means selling to accessible stores on their level, making quality, time-tested product that holds value, and keeping it at a place where they can get to it.

Even in streetwear, young brands opt to sell directly to their kids through their online stores. They fail to appreciate, though, how a store’s stocking of your brand acts as a cosign of your product to out-of-reach locales.