Apr 16
“CULT&RAIN Designs One of a Kind Web3 Community Varsity Jacket Collection”
So for this episode of CULTR TALK, I decided to interview our founder, George Yang and talk about the backstory behind the Drop001’s Varsity Jacket. George has a coveted design background in fashion spanning 20+ years & has worked for a number of luxury fashion brands such as Costume National, Cerruti, John Varvatos and Theory in New York, Milan and Paris. We go toe to toe to unwrap the design process & inspiration behind our latest and most badass drop…
Enjoy the read!….
- Hey George, wassup? So let start at the beginning, where did the idea of Varsity Jackets originally come from?
I grew up in Taipei watching Americana unfold in the 80’s, and Varsity Jackets were such an iconic Amercian staple. I was always watching American culture unfold in movies art and in music and there are so many incredible references from The Breakfast Club to Teen Wolf. I was always fascinated with American hertiage and the Varsity jacket is one of the most symbolic & iconic items. Then there is an additional meaning for me and that is Varsity Jackets represent a group (or CULT ) of like minded individuals. This, I believe, this is really powerful because it also symbolizes people coming together and being part of something really meaningful. You see this a lot, obviously, in American high school & college culture, and so, our Varsity Jacket is no different — it symbolizes incredible people coming together to support one another. Essentially, it’s very web3 when you break it down and think about it.
And then there is the NFT. Just as in Genesis, the jacket is tied to the actual NFT. Each NFT itself is totally badass too and is inspired by our CULT&RAIN visual utopian story set somewhere between the iconic movies of DUNE, Tron and Blade Runner. There are 999 NFTs in Drop001 plus THE ONE which makes up 1000 in total. If you are familiar with our rarity scale, as in Genesis, you’ll see the same approach for Drop001 from most rare in the set to least rare
2. So tell me about the design process and the inspiration behind the design?
The design is pretty radical, actually. I wanted the web3 community to shine through with slogans, expressions, & essentially to be surprising and fun. These are elements we all recognize in web3 & we bring to life every day. I wanted to use them as patches and symbols to represent our transition from web2 to web3. In terms of design, it’s pretty classic. I mean, the body is in a rich wool mixed with incredibly soft lambskin sleeves, we’re working hard to make sure this is the most badass high quality jacket with the most luxurious fabrics. The ribbing is rich & the color tone of the buttons match the ribbing. This is the Varsity Jacket that I want to wear myslef and the best I could think of making and designing.
Varsity Jackets are a big trend as well and we’ve seen them on the runway with Louis Vuitton, Comme de Garcon, Acne and Burberry. So we know all that from a trend the point of view, we’re hitting the mark.
All the patches are made in Italy from the same factory as Louis Vuitton, OFF WHITE, & Moncler so the quality is exceptional.
3. The web3 community Varsity jacket is radical, how did you come up with the idea?
The web3 Community Jacket was a collaboration between the team which is also symbolic of how we work. Having completed 5 collaborations for our Genesis collection, collaborations are a huge part of our CULT&RAIN DNA. Collaborations are really important to us, because it brings like minded individuals together and expands the creative process to more than just a singular vision. The selection of communities was pretty simple, actually. They’re communities we really admire and love what they’re doing. They’re so innovative and creative, and they share the same thinking we have at CULT&RAIN.
The The Heart Project continues to be a massive supporter of CULT&RAIN, and we thank Aiden and Stefan for all their love because their family. We wanted to extend the family to Mina at @WonderPals , to Pablo at @robotosNFT , to Shakkablood at @HPPRSWRLDWDE, and of course @DeezeFi has had our back from day one. And for that were really, really grateful.
It think it also brings the creative spirit of the community together and show we all can win when we’re doing incredible things together. And that is obviously something that we all believe in, in web3.
4. When will the Jackets be produced?
The jackets are going into production as soon as we mint on April 27th 2022. We have sourced all the materials and they’re very, very expensive. As you know the global supply chain is totally screwed up and raw materials are so expensive, especially the luxury lambskin is just crazy in price but we don’t want to cut corners and will ensure every piece of the jacket is perfect. The jacket will actually be produced quicker than the luxury sneakers from Genesis, so we’re looking at delivery of end of July 2022 to beginning of August 2022, which in fashion terms is really, really fast.
5. How much will the NFT be?
We’re still working through the price but will announce it around 4/20.
Thanks man. Always a pleasure….stay tuned. The Drop001 Mint date will be announced shortly.
