Adam Bryce NEVERMIND interview

Everyday when I come here, I log in and check the stats, the comments, the top searches etc as any good blogfarmer does. Last week my top searches were ‘nevermind’ ’slamxhype’ and just the word ‘adam’. So with the spirit of giving the people what they want, I thought I’d hit up THE ARC’s most coolest sponsor for a few words on his new brand NEVERMIND and his thoughts on where street fashion is at these days, as well as a few tips on starting up your own empire

What’s up man? Introduce yourself… 

 My name is Adam, I’m the founder of slamxhype.com, thewire.co.nz and work as a freelance creative director for a number of companies around the world. 

You’ve been involved in the street fashion world for how long? 

Im guessing you mean officially, in terms of having a presence in the scene, probably 10 years or so in one form or the other, but I was checking it all since I was very very young.

So what prompted you to start your own label? 

To be honest, I wanted to do something fun and at the same time do something that was new and would show that streetwear could still exist in its true form, in recent years the term and the culture has taken a battering, its gone from being something held in high regard to something thats just run of the mill in a lot of ways, there are still great brands out there, but the marketing of the game has changed so much it has also meant its not always the great brands that are seen. Leaving in many cases brands that don’t deserve to even exist or be termed a part of street culture, flying the flag for the whole thing. I felt that I was in a position to change this in a way, I have access to media and so on, but also the connects and so on to do something that was cool enough to fly the flag. 

Where did the name ‘nevermind’ come from? Is there any core philosophy behind the brand? 

Basically, it came from me giving up on trying to find a name, but it also fits with the philosphy of the brand, given the concept behind this is that we will produce product in anyway we wish, whenever we wish, in any form we wish.. neverminding the structure and standards set in traditonal fashion of streetwear. We don’t release things for seasons, we only show retailers product 2 weeks before delivery, we don’t know what our next product will be till we do it and so on… 

With so many ‘cookie cutter’ teeshirt+blog streetwear brands popping up, what advice would you give someone looking to start something genuine in the street fashion industry? 

Thats a tough question, to be honest, the answer would have to be do something new. I don’t know the answer, but I certainly woudnt advice printing some tees and starting a blog as a core start to your biz. You need to have a genuine knowledge and passion for it, a genuine one, not becuase you have some cool ideas for a tee, but because you are interested in the cut and detailing of some chinos for example, and at the same time know how to put them together. Being a part of street culture doesn’t by anymeans mean you need to be the next Shawn Stussy, there are numerous other ways of getting involved.

Where does NZ stand in the world of streetwear? 

I think in terms of the way the world see’s streetwear, ie. you read the big sites, you read the mags, go to the tradeshows etc. Its non existent. Having said that the scene here is strong, it just needs recognition and for someone to stand up and do something big, I can hold my hand up and say that till recently I didn’t fly the flag that well, people knew I was from NZ, but I didnt go out of my way to make a deal of it, however Nevermind for example, I have been very clear in saying its  NZ brand, and for NZ to have  brand in stores like Colette, Union, Hanon, Juice and so on, is a start, its also why I started The Wire. The biggest problem in NZ is that its too small.. so when a brand comes along unless they have access to the international scene from day one, they have to make ends meet in NZ, meaning its hard to keep the brand cool, you have to reach the mainstream in order to make money to survive. That sux, but that can also be put down to the lack of media in NZ for street culture. Mags here don’t understand it and so on. I mean, not hating on anyone, but people here think The Hundreds is the newest coolest thing? Thats fucked up! I’m not meaning that disrectfully to Bobby and his crew or anyone who wears it but in the scheme of things that is quite a weird phenemenom.

What brands are you checking for at the moment? 

Im going to answer this from my own personal head, rather than as the owner of slamxhype, I would say, Cassette Playa, Tonite, Polo, Visvim, Bernhard Willhelm, Margiela, Nike Sportswear. 

Lastly, where can we cop your shit?

To my knowledge it is sold out worldwide, Colette sold out in less than 2 hrs, that said, a few stores will be releasing their stock this week, Hanon Shop, a famous online retailer out of the UK and Someday in Melbourne, as well as Goodlife in Glasgow. You can always hit me up if you want more info though..

So while we wait for the next drop, check out Adam’s online ventures at slamxhype.com thewire.co.nz or his personal blog here!