The 90’s kids.
Warning: this post will make you possibly feel quite old, or on the other hand, will sound like complete gibberish.
The 90’s were a fun decade. There were a lot of isolated incidents that made it seem like the world might collapse, but they were just that: isolated incidents. Right now, it really feels like we are on the verge of total nuclear annihilation 24/7. So how about a step back, a sip of coffee and we reminisce about the good ol’ days?
I grew up in the Midwest in the US, a typical suburban life with the basketball hoop in a driveway surrounded by perfectly kept lawns and a garage that housed my parents’ cars. It was 1996 when my older brother Jaime got his first car and that completely changed the game.
I remember perfectly it was a hot summer afternoon, one of those -almost- tropical showers had just rolled through and the air was thick and heavy with humidity. The garage door opened up and there it was: the New Golf.
Mind you that this was at the sweet spot of VW’s advertising with the Mr. Roboto ads, and their “Drivers Wanted” commercials. Having a Golf was awesome. So we got into the car, and we drove around the entire afternoon blasting music. This had become something we’d do, but up until then, it had always been borrowing my mom’s car.
At the time I was way too young to venture out to places like Uptown where independent shops like Fifth Element (RIP) or La Familia Skate were, but I was happy to be out and about. Target was an easy go-to, Best Buy (back when they actually had music and kick ass soundsystems -remember Aiwa?), Sam Goody, etc were our usual stomping grounds.
But another store we’d go to quite often was Mall of America. The revolution it caused when it opened and the department store’s luxurious displays back then were something that ALWAYS caught my eye.
I remember walking the aisles of the Nordstrom looking at all the different brands and thinking that some were a weird fit. At my young age, I didn’t quite understand how tees with tags started popping up next to Ralph Lauren, I was unconsciously witnessing the first few uses and abuses of street culture in fashion.
The buyer was definitely ahead of the game.
Again, we’re talking 90’s, and that “tag” as I now recall it was the Stussy tag. But it wasn’t the only one, I also remember Mossimo.
If you look up Mossimo now, it is as pretty basic “dad wear” brand you can find in any Target, with chino’s, button downs, and zero excitement. But back then, a similar script to the iconic Stussy signature was sprawled on tees with Japanese-inspired graphics. And my brother was all over it.
So a few years later I finally started understanding some of the graphics and gimmicks a bit better, I started doing my own, spraying them on walls across Europe, and started to get more and more into all design aspects.
Meanwhile, Stussy remained relevant (with its ups and downs) and Mossimo completely disappeared.
Could Mossimo have remained as relevant had they stayed true to their roots? I guess we’ll never know. One thing is clear though, the 90’s were a feel-good era.
Even the president was getting head.
