Thundercat is not merely one of the world's pre-eminent bass-playing singer/songwriters. He is not only one of the most singularly best-dressed dudes on the planet. He's not just the guy who takes his PlayStation and Xbox emulators along on tour.
Thundercat is, now, also a designer. And he's finally launching a clothing brand worthy of his own exquisitely eclectic style.
If you fear panache, look away: Thundercat's clothing brand only makes clothes Thundercat would wear. In other words, fun clothes, flashy clothes, clothes dripping with personality, free rigid norms.
"I realized that I've never fully owned a suit," Thundercat says over the phone from a practice space in London. "It was funny because, you know, I figured someone might hear that and be like, 'Oh, wait, but every grown man has to have a suit.' And I was like, well, I'm grown and I don't have a fucking suit.
"So, fuck you," he laughs.
When I first met Thundercat in his hotel room for an interview some five or six years ago, a few things immediately struck me.
First, probably only the coolest person on the planet would be sitting on the bed playing Samurai Shodown, knowing full well that a small crew of folks is coming to photograph him for a magazine and just not caring enough to end the game early.
Secondly, the sheer spread of stuff laying around the room was a perfect picture of the man's taste. Kapital scarves, Louis Vuitton bags piled on the ground, Pokémon tchotchkes dangling from fully-stuffed backpacks, vintage Naruto T-shirts delicately hung in the closet.
Even Thundercat's disdain for suits came up that first go-round.
What can I say, the dude really hates suits. Well, not really.
"Don't get me wrong, I personally have nothing against suits," he explains. "Not compared to the expectation of what a suit represents, the neatness and properness of it. It's very status quo, especially for musicians growing up in LA, like you can only get a gig if you look 'respectable.'"
Thundercat's own style is based solely in personal respect, a deep appreciation for oneself in opposition to external pressures.
He namechecks a few boundary-busting designers, like Rick Owens, Yohji Yamamoto, and UNDERCOVER founder Jun Takahashi, as stylistic inspirations.
His own clothing line is more grounded than theirs, though it's still as freewheeling as Thundercat himself (if any of them are interested in a collaboration, BTW, he's all ears).
Thundercat's debut offering, launching IRL and online via Dover Street Market London on April 2 — and accompanied by a limited run of oversized T-shirts and holographic crewnecks made in LA — is a concise selection of wardrobe staples. Thundercat's wardrobe staples.
That means sporty jerseys, work shirts, easy cardigans — effectively the quintessential Thundercat piece — and genuinely traditional Japanese outerwear made by Thundercat's longtime pals at Robe Japonica, producers of the world's only authentic Thundercat Kimono.
"This is for the person who wants to try something a bit different with their style," Thundercat explains. "The person who walks around with all their pencils, their art books, their favorite music, maybe a couple inspirational toys or books."
Point being, this isn't merely a collection of merch, though it could fulfill that purpose, too. Like, if all you're looking for is dope Thundercat gear, look no further.
But if you also want to buy into Thundercat's style, to further live in his world, then expect his clothing line to deliver. Just don't expect any one thing: like Thundercat's music, his brand will evolve over time.
"Creative energy has no bounds," he enthuses. "But, also, I learned early on from [Suicidal Tendencies founder Mike Muir] that everything you put out has to be the right thing.
"I'm just a fan of clothing. I wanted my line to have something to it that makes it special."
