Independent streetwear brand, Pink Dolphin, has been one of the more interesting stories in fashion over the last few years. Their bright, eye-catching designs have been spotted on too many artists to name, and their recent partnership with controversial R&B/pop superstar Chris Brown, made headlines outside of fashion circles and quickly sold out via their online store. Whether it is their overwhelming popularity among the younger demographic or their limited runs on each piece to negate oversaturation, PD's growth has been organic and that has been key in their staying power.
Pink Dolphin's latest collaboration reaches back to their Bay Area roots. The limited t-shirt and hoodie project with hot Richmond, CA rapper IAMSU! ("Up," "Function") and his crew the HBK Gang comes on the heels of IAMSU!'s Suzy 6 $peed Mixtape. Working with these kinds of new artists, is just the kind of left field play that PD has hung their hats on since being founded in 2008.
The collabo came about due to the longtime relationship between PD co-founder and creative director, Cena and SU!.
"I've been wanting to do another Bay Area collaboration since we did one with TRUE, and me and Su have been good friends for awhile and it just made sense to do it with this project," says Cena.
Judging from just about every video or press shot SU! and HBK have done, they are fans of the brand as well, so the project seems like a no-brainer.
Fortunately, this project isn't just a product of friendship. It’s actually one of the best looking collaborations that the brand has done. The t-shirt features a Jet Ski design that says six speed under it.
"Obviously jet skis don't have six speeds but a lot of our designs aren't meant to make sense all the way," says Cena." The hoodie is the HBK logo but instead of using their OG colorway, Cena used the one from the hat that IAMSU! is wearing on the mixtape cover.”
Seventy-two pieces of items will be released at Pink Dolphin's Flagship Store in Los Angeles (11/17) and TRUE in San Francisco (11/18) with both stores receiving a limited run of 72 pieces of each item (there will be a very limited amount online for those who are not in California). IAMSU! will be doing in store signings at both launches at 3 p.m. PST.
With planned expansion to include more flagship stores, more cut and sew items and an increased number of exclusive online or flagship only capsules, Pink Dolphin shows no signs of releasing their grip on the marketplace.
