Methods Clothing NYC

So i’ve been following this company for a long time. Basically since the beginning. The concept is pretty cool, a company from Brooklyn (the owners are not from NYC at all, just fyi) which prints the work of artists from North America and Europe on T-Shirts. That is pretty much the premise. This has never really been a streetwear company per se, and has not really done anything besides print T-Shirts. More on this later.

They just dropped their spring line, which is rather meek: 6 t-shirts. They do come in three color ways each but it’s still only 6 t-shirts, being dropped at almost the beginning of May, but let’s say it’s hard economic times and everyone has to cut back. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. What i do have to criticize is that after what i believe is 5 years of being in business (somewhere close to that), this company has released nothing but printed t-shirts (feels like Gildan 2000, i.e. they are NOT custom), with 1 hat in three different colors and a few hoodies (with the logo and a collab with Konkrete Jungle). Just last year they released 1 more hat, which i actually thought was dope, and i might have missed every single item they ever released by my point remains: after half a decade they are still only printing t-shirts of various artists’ design. Not one piece of cut-n-sew and no stitching whatsoever on the t-shirts, which most streetwear companies do (the stitching) or at least it has become a lot more common.

This is a bit disappointing i believe. I think after all this time there has to be some progression as to not be pigeon holed, yet i think that ship has sailed.

So now let’s check out this “Spring Line”. There are two shirts that struck my eye. One right away, the other after looking at it a few times. The first one is the Keymaster:

They have had the artist SUPERBLAST do various designs for them in the past and i personally think he’s fantastic, and even if i didn’t love everything he did for them, i still think his designs have ranked amongst the best ones for Methods. I like the interesting, distinctive style, the clean approach and the almost tribal feel of his work. Which leaves one asking: “is this really a Methods shirt, or a Superblast shirt ?” My point is that Methods has trouble defining their stuff as distinctly Methods Signature. Even if you release a different line every season, at least create cohesion within that line, but they say they come up with a theme (last season “Dreams and Nightmares”, this season “Pressure”), yet the designs are so greatly different from each other.

The 2nd shirt i liked is called Under Pressure:

Ok i have to stop for a second, because Methods has been doing this for a while: printing what looks like comic book sketches  / designs on T-shirts. I have never liked this approach and it has become a staple for them. The designs look like heat transfers, unfinished, just something printed on a shirt without thinking about the shirt itself as a medium. Maybe i’m being unclear, but i just don’t think it works. Check out these designs:

The designs look like anything that could be done by ecko or tribal or even something more generic. There is no flavor to them, they’re just colorful and / or b&w sketches. I just don’t think they work, and in comparison to the keymaster design up above, they are so starkly different, no relation whatsoever. The only exception is the Under Pressure shirt, where i think that this approach works, where the design makes sense in a sketched fashion in my opinion.  And what is up with the consistent back prints ? In general methods just prints everything center chest and center upper back. No variety whatsoever.

Now last but not least, two things. One the worst design out of those six (in such a limited run, all shirts should be above average in my opinion but i know we all have different taste), is the Rescue1:

I don’t think i have to add anything to this. it’s just a terrible design and a bad look. i do not see anybody rocking this, not even for brand loyalty. I have to admit i do like the idea behind it, making a design out of a swiss alp rescue team logo, that’s kinda cool, and i think maybe as a dope jacket or nice sweatshirt, this could have been pulled off nicely with some patches and nice stitch work….but this print is just awful.

Second, here is the one item they have put out (last year) that has nice stitching, a dope idea (making the logo into revolvers) and trying to create something cohesive in relation to the garment. It’s unique (not the gun but the way it was incorporated) and does not necessarily need any other garment to match up with within the line but stands out on it’s own:

Just wanted to end on a positive note with my critique.

In my prediction, this company will remain a t-shirt printing company, with very litte custom stuff, and lines that may have a theme but will always be them printing random artists’ stuff, which, if the artist decided to print it themselves, could easily do so, but why, when they can just use Methods as a promotional vehicle. It has not evolved in 5 years, why should the next 5 (if that) be that much different.

I will not get into details on the pointless events (in my opinion) that they attach themselves to (all within NYC and often with musical styles and artists that are very underground, but that is not how you grow, you’re only burying yourself in the underground), you can just follow it all on:

www.methodsnyc.com

and form your own opinion. I wish them all the best as we do with most companies, but i don’t see them ever being a big label, mostly due to obstacles and walls they put up themselves.

Teruo Artistry (awesome name!) is an interesting new brand from the Bay Area. My very first impression is that of a brand that is still somewhat trying to find themselves but are off to a good start. The idea behind the brand is a combination of being rather general, yet also thought out. What i mean by that is that i really liked their story (the name is the first name of the owner’s grandfather, read the whole story here: http://www.teruo.com/company.html) but their mission statement is a bit vague and sounds like some page filler most labels write (we didn’t like what we saw, we made our own, we’re creating something from nothing bla).

Their designs are clean, using nice coloring and a bit going against what is popular right now: their prints are rather small, in comparison with the full front prints or allover prints that flood the market at the moment. I’m a bit torn, since i like the idea, and their designs are simple yet expressive buuuut nothing new. A microphone, a boombox, a grammophone, a tape, a speaker…all elements of design we’ve seen a thousand times over. I guess it’s part of a lot of people’s lives (we all love music, we wanna rep where we’re from) but i don’t see a lot of originality from a purely iconic point of view. I do have to admit though that the colors are nicely put together, the designs are very clean and there is an undeniable Teruo look. I always appreciate lines that are put together well:

SOURCE: http://store.teruo.com/tshirts-2.aspx

They did send us the LIFE IN STEREO shirt though and i must say: excellent printing (very smooth), nice details (inside print, lining, embroidery on the back, sleeve print) and something i have never seen done before…..and i’ll quote “No Two Prints alike, handpicked fabric from around the world uniquely accents each print”. To clarify, there is a piece of fabric stitched into the back of each tee (near the bottom), that is unique with each tee. I am not sure how that would work, especially once you start selling 100’s then 1000’s of units, yet it’s still a really cool idea. I’m sure you’ll find some tees with the same patterns…i don’t really want to spend too much time speculating…still a fantastic idea which has not been done before (that i know of). Here are some pics i took and what i grabbed from their site:

All around dope shirt, interesting approach. Great way to stand out from the pack!

They also make 1 hoodie, which i don’t like design wise, it’s a bit cheesy and the gun design has been overdone, but once again, very nicely put together with printed stitched and woven details, colorful and on a clean dark background. So for those down with that design, this would be a dope hoodie to get, it’s a matter of personal taste, but you simply cannot deny the love for details and quality:

Last but not least they also make hats. One thing i don’t think is effective, is for younger companies to put their logo on hats, without any other adornments or in any other funky way. The brand is not strong enough yet for kids to rock simply the logo, even though it’s nice and clean, it’s smarter to focus more on design and have more interesting hats than just a majority of purely logo based ones. In Teruo’s case, they have too many logo hats and not enough design ones, but the two hats that are not just the logo are DOPE! Pure freshness. Check it:

This also comes in a brown / yellow sun colorway. Very, very nice usage of the logo and japanese influenced design. I was blown away.

In closing, this is a really cool up and coming brand, keep your eyes peeled. I’m interested to see how they develop their designs, and maybe add some more unique symbols. I highly recommend their website, it’s easy to browse, has a bunch of cool info in their blog (regularly updated!) and though i am not too hype on every single item, the line looks nicely put together, makes sense within their mission statement and could easily fit into a highly specialized streetwear shop or simply a skate / record store. Keep it comin’ Teruo! And send us some of those fresh hats

Make sure to hit up:

http://www.teruo.com/blog/b.html

Durkl Clothing

The Line that could have been.

It has taken me a while to get the review up because I really wanted to take my time with this one. When they first sent me an email to review this line I was so excited to see what they would send me. The some great Jackets on their site and in the line sheet they sent me. Instead they send me the 3 most boring shirts from their line. But who am I to back out of a Review so I felt like I need to push on. Let me start off with the Quality of the Tee it self. I don’t think they cut their own tees so it kinda feels like a 6.2 oz Hanes tee once again nothing special. But on the up side the shirt it self took a beating. I think washed it about 8 times and it never got fuzzy or the color did not fade. This is just your general Tee. Now on to the Art. Lets start with the better of the 3 . The ENLIGHTEN royal blue 100% cotton I guess I am lost here I really don’t understand how this ties into their whole 80’s art hipster look. I felt like this one started out better then it finished.  The last Two design will be grouped together thats how bad they are.

STICKER LOGO white

The good life

The stickerlogo and the goodlife prints are some of the worst designs that I have ever seen come across my desk. I feel they took no time to run and think out some good quality work. These should have been cut out of the line up. There is so many 80’s style design that you could taken from to get some creative ideas. Or next time don’t send me your worst stuff.

Now with all that said lets get to some of the stuff that I feel makes this a line that could be a player in the fashion world. You already know that I hate most of their print work, but their cut and sew is off the charts. Drukl you should have sent me the cut and sew goods this what every one wants to see. Here are a few items that I love but can not recomend becuase I have not rocked it. But they look amazing.The gridlock jacket is one of the sickest jackets I have seen in  along time. Great fucking job to who ripped that one out.

Gridlock

Listen Gang Durkl could be a very sick line but it seems like the are two different people in one company. The cut and sew is off the charts but the printed tees are lacking a ton. You guys could be the next big thing if you bring the weak end of your line up to Par. But for sure this in one line I am going to keep my eye on. Great name, good idea,  keep it moving.