New Stüssy Is Old Stüssy
Stüssy's latest collaboration with Patta showcases how Stüssy has mastered the art of grappling with its illustrious past while looking towards the future.
Stüssy's seven piece collection with Patta is a stunning assortment of streetwear that looks like a set of rare vintage gems one would only be able to find inside the Rose Bowl Flea Market. Classic Stüssy "Jazzman" and "Raggamon" logos appear on retro inspired garments like a pair of Big Ol' Jeans and graphic T-shirts.
Thankfully, the price range of this entire line only costs between $50 and $220, which is generous compared to those headcracking prices your local vintage streetwear peddler is giving. Sorry, but most of us don't have $400 to buy a vintage Stüssy T-shirt with moth holes from 1991! We collectively beg you to please stop trying to tax the common man.
This cross-cultural link-up between Amsterdam and California's heritage streetwear labels is giving nostalgia that hasn't quite expired yet.
Granted that new Stüssy is blessing us with wearable clothes that doesn't lean too heavily on logomania, these old Stüssy motifs reminds us that its archival streetwear designs still hit like the smoothest John Coltrane saxophone solo.
Stüssy always looks back on its past despite producing the best contemporary streetwear today. Yet the brand has recently been acknowledging the cult reverence and hunger for its vintage hitters through retail.
In late May, Stüssy unveiled an archive store in Brooklyn that will be open until July.
Stüssy's new shop in Brooklyn is similar to Stüssy's permanent archival outpost in Santa Ana, which opened in 2018. Funny enough, Stüssy actually tested this archival retail concept at a New York City pop-up the same year it opened its Santa Ana store. So New York members of the Worldwide Stüssy Tribe have been waiting for this concept to return for nearly five years.
And when considering Stüssy's place within New York's streetwear lore (James Jebbia briefly managed Stüssy's New York flagship before starting Supreme) an archive Stüssy store in New York City feels long overdue.
Yet its fitting (and smart) that Stüssy's archive store in Brooklyn juxtapositions the brand's newer releases with OG World Tour tees from the '90s.
That's because at Stüssy today, one can find new releases that subtly reference the 40-year-old streetwear label's past but don't rely on one-to-one recreations of vintage items— a common misstep that many heritage labels make when it comes to archival releases. Trust us, a surefire way to chip away the allure of a brand's archive is to just relaunch a vintage grail like another retro Nike Dunk we didn't need.
That's because patina is real, physically and figuratively. An archival piece only ages into a grail when it becomes a time capsule. A physical testament to a moment within a label's history that can't be relived no matter how good the retro looks.
So whether its through a limited release of vintage Stüssy gear within its archive stores or referencing old graphics for its collaboration with Patta, Stüssy's only here to give us friendly reminders of its past. While Stüssy could rest on its laurels and pump out reissued classics for a money grab, it has bigger and newer waves to catch.
