I’ve been sitting on the interview for this 3sixteen feature with founder Andrew Chen for some time. I originally took a trip to New York in the late summer of 2009 in hopes that upon completion, this would be my debut feature. I was under the pretense the site was in the midst of launching just days away following my trip. But of course days turned into weeks, which turned into months… not that it was a big deal really. Nevertheless, the angle and the direction for this piece is still relevant. If you’ve been a follower of 3sixteen, their progression has been incredible. Andrew and I have been good friends for some time and he is undoubtedly one of my longest standing friendships from within the industry; I had met a certain conversation we had awhile ago with much skepticism. From a somewhat prototypical streetwear label marked by graphic tees and relevant Hip-Hop themes to where 3sixteen wanted to go, my suspicion was that they had perhaps pigeon-holed themselves and were incapable of change. Taking things to a new level was something that would take some serious work. After all, who had blazed a trail to provide some examples as to how one would emerge from the land of streetwear as contemporary American men’s label? But fast forward to the present, the change was ultimately extremely successful. In reality, I have a case study of my own that shows that change can be effectuated with the proper implementations. Our editorial direction at Hypebeast is perhaps in many ways similar to 3sixteen. We went from a streetwear-centric media outlet to something that while still maintaining elements of our past, is now a different and well-rounded product that was able to change.
Having now known the backgroind for this upcoming feature, a big reason I wanted to do this was my fascination with how one approaches this level of re-branding. Beyond 3sixteen, Andrew has now saddled in as a cornerstone of the ultra successful denim store Self Edge New York which serves as part purveyor of quality Japanese denim in addition to providing a physical presence for 3sixteen itself. Going down the line, 3sixteen’s well-received denim line looks to be the defining point of the brand going forward and should help provide substantial growth. The brand still keeps it real and maintains an unwavering vision of exactly where they need to be… their progression over the last few years is a testament to that.
Andrew’s story continues to inspire.
There really isn’t another streetwear brand out there that I can mention that had the foresight to see where the so called “game” was headed and to make the move to more contemporary classic styles considerably earlier than any other brand.
Now it’s not hard to find any number of streetwear or “post” streetwear brands who are kicking out just as many oxford button up shirts as New Era fitted caps, but I still hold 3Sixteen as one of, if not the first, streetwear brand to initiate that maturation.
I’m interested to see how 3Sixteen settles into the bigger scene of contemporary men’s wear, and also to see just how long this current obsession with “American” classic style will last since it seems that 3Sixteen is at the very least benefiting or trying to align to some extent with the new found love for all things authentic American.
At any rate, enormous props to Andrew. One of the most easy going and helpful guys in the industry. Continued blessings and luck to 3Sixteen.
Nice feature Eugene.
Thanks for the comments Phil… I sort of have to play the flipside here. I don’t necessarily think that it was a market shift that served as the catalyst for 3sixteen so much as it was a change in preference. He sort of mentions that it was just a maturation of tastes. To say that 3s was more of a cutting edge brand that shifted based on trends may or may not be true but I think it sort of takes away from the authenticity and organic growth of the brand. I just seemed like a perfect storm, Andrew and Johan wanted to do this and with it came a market shift at their backs. Definitely not taking anything away from 3s but I must agree that individual change > market change.
hi, that could be a nice and interesting article? I don’t know cos I gave up after reading after this: ‘From a somewhat prototypical streetwear label marked by …”. Such pretentious, meaningless, made-up words! WTF is ’somewhat prototypical”?!? It’s so dumb it’s almost brilliant!
Maybe the rest of the article was brilliant. If so, kudos.
Cheers
Either you’re unfamiliar with “streetwear” of 2006/2007 or 3sixteen itself. Take your pick.
I doubt Andrew’s ashamed of his roots but fashioning graphics after rap lyrics, that was something seen on many brands during the earlier days of 3sixteen.
Check the “Cousins” tee inspired by Nas’ NY State of Mind:
http://eugenekan.com/blog/2009/07/25/transformation-complete/
Nice interview Eugene. Andrew answered all the questions I had in this interview. No wonder he didn’t answer them… hahaha.