Streetwear labels Clot, Ambush, 1017 ALYX 9SM take over Paris Men’s Fashion Week
The brands from a streetwear culture made a lasting impression when they showcased their collections in Paris
Streetwear has infiltrated high fashion. Nothing epitomises this reality more than Virgil Abloh’s appointment as artistic director at Louis Vuitton and Kim Jones’s appointment as artistic director at Dior Homme.
After years of avoiding it, luxury brands are now fully embracing the power of streetwear culture. If rappers are the new royalty of fashion, Clot from Hong Kong, Ambush from Japan and 1017 ALYX 9SM from the United States are the royal guards, imposing their vision on the fashion industry.
Continuing with the label’s mission to put Hong Kong’s street culture on the map, the streetwear brand Clot, founded by Edison Chen and Kevin Poon, does not have limits. In March 2018, Clot first made a splash at New York Fashion Week. Earlier this month, the duo headed to Paris with a presentation for Paris Men’s Fashion Week and a four-day pop-up shop.
Clot is a protean project which started as a select shop with the coolest lifestyle goods, and evolved into an outstanding streetwear brand. While the huge department stores were still afraid of streetwear, the duo capitalised on their knowledge and took to representing the brands they really loved in Hong Kong. Today, Clot celebrates its 15th anniversary with an exclusive Nike football jersey. Its collaborators include popular Japanese designer Sacai, streetwear brand Fear of God, footwear brand Buscemi and upcoming British label Expert Horror.
For the Clot spring summer 2019 collection, the brand recreates a Hong Kong market offering, in equal parts, a cultural experience and retail entertainment. Models are hanging out, sometimes dancing to the music under the ambient glow of colourful neon lights.
Displayed on street vendor’s stalls, a potpourri of streetwear staples, including an American flag T-shirt, large tracksuits with animal prints, baseball shirts, coach jackets, hoodies and slogan T-shirts. Largely inspired by American pop culture, the duo is also proud of its Chinese heritage, showcasing tangzhuang outfits in silk. Tireless globetrotters, the Clot partners will soon open a new store in Los Angeles.
