Me writing about a Hip- Hop label. There is nothing in life which surprises me anymore. But writing about Ouigi ( pronounced ' Wee-Gee' like the board game )
Theordore's label and shop The Brooklyn Circus,
The BKc, is not directly writing about the common Hip- Hop style. Mr Theodore's store and label is a retro- urban mix of influences from James Brown to Fred Astaire from the
Harlem Renaissance to Hip- Hop duo
Outkast. His collection is more dandified genre- busting than the all present baggy jeans and trainers considered mainstream in Hip- Hop for more than a decade now.
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| Ouiqi Theodore aka ' The Bearded Man' | | | |
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Born in Tahiti, he moved with his family to Brooklyn. In New York he studied graphic design, but was never really happy in this profession. Always drawn to a more refined way of dressing he opened his shop in Boerum Hill-Brooklyn and soon was a famous sight on Brooklyn streets with his ' steam-punk' style' and his unusual horizontally grown beard. ' Steam-punk' is a neon Victorian-style build around straw boaters, starched collars and bow ties. His dream is to see ' the young guys hanging around the corner in suits'. A sight which people of Harlem used to see back in the 1920's.
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| Harlem Renaissance in New York 1920's |
Meanwhile his style and designs are high in demand. Additionally to his shop in New York he opened one in San Francisco. Also recent projects are a pop-up shop in Stockholm and 25 specialty shops in Japan stock his clothes and accessoires. But he is also a sought-after creative consultant on campaigns for Hennessy, Toyota and Casio G-Shock. Further more his style will hit big fashion with the start of Sky's 1920's Prohibition drama
' Boardwalk Empire '. Style magazines are already informing us that '
Mad Man' 1960's slim cut suits and ties are out and in come 1920's three pieces suits and detachable collars.
Boardwalk Empire
Mr Theodore wants to 'refine the image of urban America'. Mr Theodore's creativity is definitely not limited by music genres like Hip-Hop or Jazz or R'n B. Better he mixes and picks what suits him best from the 1920's to 2011 for his designs and what you get is an 'Urban Dandyism' which is wearable, creative and luxurious at the same time. It speaks to the black community as well as to the white one. Style without boundaries and I swear we will see young gents wearing his stuff around the corner in New York, London or Berlin.
It is an eloquent label in that they approach streetwear from an older male's perspective. Not every streetwear afficionado is a 20 something skateboarder.
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