Long A Long Way to Bedroom in the West Louisiana
All iconic brands have a back story, and that of Trapstar is one that is projectingly unglamorous, so specific to it. The brand was founded in 2005 by three childhood friends, Mikey, Lee and Will and started in the lowest of the lowest grassroots manner imaginable: they would be printing out T-shirts in their bedroom in west London and selling them on their car boots and backpacks. Failure to find investors, industry mentors, no runways. This consisted of a city, a group of friends, and a belief that there was something strong in the streets of London. That belief turned out to be one of the most business and culture wise right gambles in the history of British fashion.
The Motto which Makes Empires
A limited number of phrases have the same impact in the street wear as the motto of Trapstar; It is A Secret. Being cryptic as it is the tagline achieves precisely what good branding must do, it makes one curious, gives them an indication of exclusivity and rewards the cultured ones. Since its inception, Trapstar gravitated towards a deliberately underground sound. Articles were published with a minimum of notifications, and shared via networks, prior to the internet turning virality into a commonplace practice. You never stumbled over Trapstar, Trapstar stumbled over you. This mysticism turned the brand not only into the clothing label, but something more like a membership – a cultural passport to anyone who is tuned to the creative frequency of London.
The Streets and the Grime that Made the Music
Trapstar can never be explained without having to comprehend the music that was soundtracking it. The spiritual soundtrack that the brand was accompanied by was grime, the dirty, up-to-the-point, uniquely British genre that burst forth in East London council estates early in the 2000s. Trapstar was not in endorsement deals with artists such as Skepta, Stormzy and Wretch 32 but a way of expressing their culture. The connection between the a brand and the UK music was symbiotic: with the rise of global grime, the red and black Trapstar aesthetic were gaining spread as well. The clothes were featured in music videos, at arena stages, at editorial shoots it was simply because the fit was completely natural.
It Was the Jacket Jay-Z Put on When Everything changed
Assuming that grime hid the foundation of Trapstar, there was one celebrity moment that provided it with the international breakthrough. One day Jay-Z was caught wearing a Trapstar jacket in London, supposedly after having bought one directly with the founders, this brand suddenly sprung out of the understanding that it is no longer something that is discussed underground, rather something that is discussed all over the world overnight. Others that came later, such as Rihanna, A$AP Rocky and a group of other global superstars. But what set these co-signs apart as opposed to the typical celebrity endorsements was the source: no approach, no gifting approach, no PR campaign. These were loyal fans who had on what they truly loved and that genuineness couldn’t be created or replicated by rivals.
Controlled Menace Design Language
The visual identity of Trapstar caters to a certain aesthetic space – it is dangerous and can be worn, theatrical and down-to-earth. The brand signatures are rugged gothic type, color blocking (red on black), military styles, and high degree of graphics that express intensity without crossing the border to aggression. Tracksuits, puffer jackets, and hoodies bear the iconography inspired by the visual landscape of London – urban, layered, undoubtedly British. All the collections have sufficient uniformity to be identifiable as Trapstar but change sufficiently to remain culturally up to date. What this has produced is a series of work that serves both as an element of streetwear, and as a portable record of that creative identity of a city.
Puma, Global Retail and Staying True
The collaboration with Puma was a step forward in the history of Trapstar – an arrangement which offered economies of scale in production plus access to international retail without sacrificing the brand values. The collections of joint ventures rapidly sold off in several continents, showing that the concept of being underground and commercial do not necessarily exclude each other when the artistic vision is good enough. In Japan, the United States and all of Europe, stockists introduced Trapstar to people who had never strolled a London street, but still the pieces had their flair. This is what any cult brand has to overcome on its road to scale and the way Trapstar managed to avoid all the pronounced pitfalls and yet leave intact what the brand was so special in the first place is one of the most impressive things about this brand.
More Than Clothing
Finally, Trapstar survives since it never was just a matter of product. It is an icon of what can be achieved when the creative energy of a city is distilled, packaged and turned out without shame. To a generation of London youth, especially those who represented society mostly neglected by mainstream fashion, Trapstar Hoodie was a symbol of exposure, aspiration and evidence that you did not necessarily have to be accredited to make something of your own that the world could start to listen to. The brand still goes on to bear that meaning 20 years later. At all t-shirts, all hoodies, all items engraved with that secret slogan, it is clear that the message is that only those who experienced it are aware of it.
