The Hundreds - NYC on Vimeo.
Based out of Los Angeles, California, The Hundreds has been influenced Los Angeles lifestyle / California culture and Southern California’s skateboarding, surf, punk, and hip-hop cultures. The design is also reminiscent of 1980s surf-culture t-shirts, independent skateboard company apparel of the 1990s, and the advent of “streetwear” at the end of the millennium. The Hundreds Clothing line is comprised of graphic t-shirts, denim, woven’s, outerwear, new era hats, snapbacks, the Johnson shoes range and accessories. In late 2008, The Hundreds also launched a shoe program monikored The Hundreds Footware. Bobby Hundreds says, 'A clean, understated shoe that serves to emphasize the wearer’s overall appearance. And it has everything to do with my roster of kicks growing up in Cali. It’s really a concoction of all my favourite shoes that are representative of youth subcultures: Chucks, Winos, Doc Martens, Vans… I even tried to have the laces staggered like a pair of early Jordans do from an above-perspective. I think I managed to pull off a very sophisticated shoe that retains some character, but is ultra basic when it comes to lines and silhouette”To date, The Hundreds has worked on special collaborative projects with globally-recognized brands like Disney, Casio G-Shock, eS, Gravis, Medicom, and individual artists and designers such as David Choe, Tofer, Robbie Conal, Angelyne, H2O, Kurupt, Craola, Avail, and Usugrow. The Hundreds product is sold in limited quantities in the world’s most prestigious streetwear and skate boutiques and has also been featured as a cover story in such media as the New York Times Magazine, Antenna, Giant Robot, KoreAm, MuchMusic Television, and Inc. Magazine.
Currently, The Hundreds is stocked in over 400 accounts in every major city of the world. This includes The Hundreds’ first flagship retail location in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, and the second The Hundreds store in San Francisco’s Union Square. Within just 6 years’ time, The Hundreds Dotcom now generates traffic of a million unique readers a month, the website incorporating interviews and blog content from within and around the street culture/industry. Aside from the core blog on the frontpage, there are also 6 sub-blogs on the website sidebar.
The Hundreds has built its reputation and its good relationship with its customers and some very clever branding and marketing, As well as some great feel good product that is especially relevant in the summer.
Bobby Hundreds comments saying that “Branding” is defined as the establishment of the personality that identifies a product. So it connotes an element of human relationship, connection, authenticity. From the start, The Hundreds was formulated as a personal brand, an authentic and intimate lifestyle project. Meaning that everything you see from us, whether here on the website or in our print magazine, the shoes on your feet or the wallet in your back pocket, has been infused with our own story. We do, and make, what comes logically from us and our backgrounds and interests, and that complements the sensibility of the brand. That was never intentional or strategic, as it was natural and organic. We’re obviously the best at being us, why try to be something we’re not?
This shows that they have at all times remained true to their beliefs, always doing what interests them, but things have changed recently and the face of streetwear is changing massively every year, maybe it has been a bit stagnant and needed a kick start, this year it has cleaned up its act and taken it back to basics, quite reminiscent of the early 80’s when people were not afraid to dress differently or flamboyantly, mixing styles, brands and era’s. This is what Booby Hundreds had to say about it “The past decade saw the rise and saturation of modern street culture, and as the next approaches, I’ve imagined a post-streetwear take on our classic apparel aesthetic. So what you will see over these next seasons, as far as our offerings go, is a certain modern familiarity with bold colours, smart graphics, traditional sportswear, and premium denim, but through a nostalgic lens. So what were once vivid hues have been toned down to classic shades, raw and crispy fleece may have a more comfortable hand-feel, and the washes follow suit. There is an obvious emphasis on worn-in sweatshirts and ready-to-wear jackets, while our trademark plaid flannels have taken a more subtle approach. The idea here is that these are your favourite The Hundreds clothes as you may find them to wear in years’ time. And we certainly hope that is the case.”
