Founded: 1980s
Founder: Shawn Stussy
Location: Laguna Beach, CA

Stussy began as a brand when founder Shawn Stussy, who was a famed local surfboard shaper in Laguna Beach, CA, began putting his scrawled signature logo on t-shirts to promote his business. It wasn’t long before he was selling more t-shirts than surfboard services.

Stussy’s 1980s core values were heavily influenced by the DIY ethic of the 1970s punk scene and cut-up remixing and sampling of hip hop that broke through soon after. Stussy used musical influence to create a fashion platform for his own internation cultural revolution.

Just as hip hop producers would sample beats and sounds, cut up vocals and mix and scratch records, Stussy did the same thing for fashion design – taking retro photographic images, graffiti style lettering and cultural influences from across the globe to mash-up into their own design style, one that had never been seen before at that time.

Stussy is still a world-wide juggernaut of fashion and culture, even 45 years later. Stussy is still prolific with over 50 brick and mortar stores across the globe and a massive following in Asia, Europe and the United States.

Contributing Members: @mrthingone