Death Row is wrapping up its 30th-anniversary celebrations but that doesn't mean that the party's over by any means. All the OGs who might've turned their noses up at the Death Row NFTs better tune back in, because
What Dapper Dan did for streetwear, Hamilton did for the NBA. Okay, that's a broad generalization (and Hamilton came to fame far later) but you get the idea.
After co-founding and directing Guess' menswear imprint for a spell, Hamilton left the company in the late '80s. He struck out on his own and quickly hit upon a goldmine by creating bespoke stadium jackets for NBA stars like Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, and Shaq.
Even thirty-odd years later, Hamilton's jackets are still very much in demand, so much so that Supreme took "inspiration" from Jeff for a 2018 NBA collaboration.
Instantly recognizable from their chaotic collages of patches and leather, Hamilton's work has graced the backs of stars like Kobe Bryant, Eddie Murphy, Kevin Hart, and Travis Scott and he has the social media selfies to prove it.
It's actually quite fun to take a scroll through Hamilton's Instagram page, which hosts countless photos of Hamilton living the good life with his giant infectious grin and many, many famous friends wearing Jeff's high-vis creations.
Hamilton's bespoke letterman jackets will be made to order in his signature style: premium wool body, lush leather sleeves, and giant gold embroidery. Jeff Hamilton doesn't do subtlety, baby.
Any why should he? Part of the fun of Hamilton's work is its unabashed visual bedlam — Hamilton was doing logomania before Demna could even spell Vetements.
"Over the years I have been blessed to design with a lot of amazing brands," Hamilton said. "This collaboration with Death Row Records, is very special to me, as I regard them as one of the pillars of the Culture."
"The Culture we refer to is a movement that started, in my opinion, in the '90s with basketball, Jordan, the hip hop explosion. Fashion is a derivative for all this movement that needs to continually evolve with the trends set by basketball, art, and music."
The jackets, which you can order on Death Row's website, are appropriately referential, as you can see from the rendering above (no actual photos of the jackets exist yet, as they're very much all made to order).
There's the $991 price tag, to start, a sly tribute to Death Row's founding year of 1991. Then, you've got the grisly Death Row logo at the chest, mirrored on the rear with a giant 30 to make it unmistakably clear that these are a salute to the label's ongoing relevance.
In a way, the hand-signed garments also fill the same role for Hamilton himself.
