VERBAL is a man of many hats - both literally and figuritively. On one hand, you would be hard pressed to catch him in a moment where he's not rocking some unique headgear, and on the other you'll most likely see him rapping/DJ-ing as a solo artist or part of M-Flo/Teriyaki Boyz as well as managing his fashion label, Ambush Design. One more hat that he'll be wearing for some time is that of the newly appointed Creative Director of Reebok for the Asia Pacific region. We caught up with him for a quick Q&A after his stopovers in KL and Singapore as part of his Angree Yung Robotz tour with Mademoiselle Yulia.
On his interest in Reebok
In my opinion, Reebok was always coming up with left field technology, such as the Pump Fury. Going back, when I was in high school they had the basketball Pumps, and around that time Nike had their version that needed an external pump. I had to decide between the two and I chose Reebok due to the fact that you could just inflate it straight away. Coincidentally, back in 1994 when I was at Boston College, I had to write a paper on a company. I was really into the whole sneaker scene and thought Reebok was really interesting, so I wrote a piece about where they are going as a business and stuff. My favourite Reebok sneaker is the Pump Fury, it just goes well with the kind of clothes I wear all the time. I also like the Classic Leather, you really can't get any better than that shoe. I just like the whole story of how it came about, that it wasn't supposed to be leather but when the sample came back in leather they were like, "this is cool and we should keep it like this!". Expect some nice stuff for Spring/Summer '12. Also, not my favourite but I really want them to bring back Shaq's basketball shoes. They said they might and they might not though.
On getting the Creative Director role, and what he is doing for Reebok
It was like one thing led to another, I had a few conversations with a friend of a friend who knew someone at Reebok, and I was telling him Reebok was my first basketball shoe in high school and I wrote a paper about Reebok back in college and it just snowballed from there. They liked what I was doing as an artist and were like "hey man, it would be cool if you could come on board" and that's why I'm here.Right now I'm currently in the middle of finishing up the designs for the sneakers that we're working on. I'm bringing back the classic line, things like the Workout, Classic Leather and stuff like that. I also like Pumps, so you might see a collaboaration Pump. We're trying to release all this by Spring/Summer '12. I think I just have a unique view on fashion, I am very unorthodox in the way I formulate things. I think I bring fun to the table, and me being someone who grew up loving the classic Reebok stuff, I think I can bring it back and carry on the tradition in 2012 style".
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| (Reebok 'Kamikaze') |
On some of his favourite spots in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur
I like the Raffles Hotel, I love that place! I've never stayed there, but I just love the whole history behind it. They invented the Singapore Sling right? I know you guys might not think much of it, but it's really cool for someone like me from overseas. My friend has a store there, Surrender, and I totally love it. There's Front Row as well, I really like that store and I bought a few pieces of clothing by local designers. In KL, I like Zouk, but not so much the place but rather the whole culture that is starting to come together. Like Blink and Goldfish (resident Zouk Club KL DJs) just came out with their CD and I feel that it's going to take over. That stuff is just so global and I like what is going on there.
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| (Jewellery from Ambush Design) |
On some spots to visit in Tokyo
Koenji - this is a new fashion spot, but when you mention it to Japanese people they'll be like, "Why there?". It's an old part of town where old people have been operating stores for 80 years and you'll see people selling cucumbers on the corner. However, they have this vast resource of vintage clothing. They even have mint condition skate decks from the '80s, stuff you couldn't find anywhere else in the world. There's stores like that, but in the middle of it all you have this collective of young designers in the Kita Kore building, where Mademoiselle Yulia in one of the forefront designers there. These kids make these vintage one-off pieces, and it's really strong creative force and a lot of the fashion scene have been checking it out. When Lady Gaga comes to Japan, she asks the designers from there to make her head pieces and clothing. Nakano Broadway - I took Pharrell there when he came a few weeks ago. There's this arcade mall at Nakano called Broadway, where they sell old toys, books and the whole anime thing. They've got a huge library of stuff, with old toys and gear from before the war even. You'll find some amazing stuff there. Golden Gai - or "Golden Street" in English, this is a place that I think is very unique to Japan. It's in Shinjuku, but there's this small area with like 200 bars crammed against each other. One bar can only fit like seven people at most. When I get friends from overseas visiting, I take them there. It's like these small shop bars ran by everyone from old people to young kids that play punk rock music all night long.
Source: Street Thing
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