The wait is over... it's time to knuckle up!
Established in 1995, 10.DEEP is one of
Since its inception back in the hip hop culture's glory days of the mid-nineties, 10.DEEP has expanded well-beyond the realm of fashion, dropping mixtapes (notably Wale's landmark The Mixtape About Nothing, heavily sampling Seinfeld and featuring guests such as The Roots, Lil' Wayne and Bun B. of UGK), sponsoring skate teams and working on collaborations with artists and designers across the globe.
But it's the graphics and colorways that put 10.DEEP over in the first place, and judging by this season's Nineteen Ninety-Now line, 10.DEEP returns to those salad days reminiscent of the sportswear dropped by Polo, Nautica and Tommy Hilfiger.
According to Scott Sasso, creative director and founder of
10.DEEP, "The late ‘80s and early ‘90s have been inspiration for much of
the fashion of the last few years, but most of what we see today is a
caricatured version that only speaks to the extremes of that time. There was
more to the culture than hi-top fades, Nikes and bright colors, and no one was
walking around with rap lyrics printed on their shirts.”
“It was a time of political consciousness combined with
restrained, classic fashion and personal swagger,” Sasso continued. “A Malcolm
X hat, worn with a Hilfiger shirt, some Polo khakis, mixed with a little
attitude, and you were down. Nothing about the gear then screamed a cultural
affiliation to hip or hardcore; those associations emerged from how it was
worn, and I used that as inspiration for the first delivery. With the exception
of the tees, you’ll see that little about [the Nineteen Ninety-Now line]’s
offerings identify it as ‘streetwear.’”
Cases in point: The Higher Learning Shawlneck Cardigan in Black (seen below right), The Sportif Cardigans and The Defense Convertible Oxford Buttondown Shirt. Standout piece, The Higher Learning Shawlneck Cardigan, puts a twist on 10.DEEP's best-selling fleece cardigan, this time with an intelligent collegiate twist (check out the elbow patches and dual-banded stripes on the left sleeve). This is never-before-seen goodness, kids. And the basil colorway of The Defense Convertible Oxford? Speechless. 10.DEEP took a long gaze into its trusted crystal ball and realized that standard blues are set to be played the fuck out this time next year, so why not revolutionize now?
The Nineteen Ninety-Now also focuses on another unjustly ignored "cult of cool" from the late '80s and early '90s; city bike messenger culture. If you're a Boston head, for instance, you remember those grungy dudes lounging at the top of Newbury Street back in the day, the older, traffic battle-hardened maniacs making cash and causing chaos. The bike messengers owned every city, and Sasso took note of the "Mad Max on a bicycle" extreme of the fashion, as well as the stylistic melting pot of the cultures and interests of the couriers at the look's most interesting high points.
“The look was built out of basics that you wouldn’t think
would go together, there were no boundaries, and layering seemed to be king; a
lightning bolt-printed long-sleeve tee, worn under a Brooks Brothers Oxford,
with a cycling cap, camo shorts and a nylon track jacket seemed to make perfect
sense,” Sasso reasoned. “This is the sentiment you’ll find in the second
delivery – I drew on my memories of those movements and made my own version of
them. Some of the pieces will look familiar, but this is 10.DEEP originality at
our continued best.”
Indeed. Even a quick glance at the Big 10 Zip Hoody (below left, in red) and The 92 Pullover Nylon Shell Jacket shows the bike messenger influence. The Big 10 features flap and snap-button pockets on the back of the hoody as well as a zip stash pocket, and the innovative, combination pouch / welt pocket on the nylon have to be the results of much daydreaming and consultation with messengers in the field.
Seen here is just a mere sample of the madness 10.DEEP has blessed us with for the spring. It's been a long time coming, and we're all ecstatic here at The 'Loop to be working with these cats. We hope that you share our enthusiasm and check out the rest of the 10.DEEP line here.
Have You Ever Thought of expanding your website to the u.k because ur products will sell i would buy them, but because it takes so long to get here i cant buy these items please consider this
Posted by: jermaine johnson | April 03, 2009 at 01:38 PM
What's good, Jermaine -
If it sweetens the deal any, feel free to get at me with your e-mail address ([email protected]) and I'll send you some promotional to codes that will hook up a discount to help in part with the shipping costs. Unfortunately, shipping international is not the most timely thing in the world, but you know what they say - "good things come to those who wait," ha ha.
Thanks for reading, dude!
Posted by: Heighton War | April 03, 2009 at 01:56 PM
im suprised 10 deep is selling at karmaloop now, im still gonna be a loyaol deep fan but i hope this does good things for their image and doesn't sour the brand
Posted by: moe | April 11, 2009 at 03:40 PM