Coming in at Part 3 of 4 for the rise of New Threads is a very unique brand. I first found the creator on Twitter, heavily promoting Sir Michael Rocks’ “Memo” record. He had some interesting pictures that I later found out were of t-shirts that he created with the Cool Kid. From there, I got to know the creator a bit better, regarding his negative views on advertising, his purist thoughts on creating stuff he would wear, and his connection to Sir Michael Rocks. It turned out that they have more of a creative partnership in what they put out. After looking at some other pieces, I immediately felt that they skillfully captured some nostalgia, as well as humor, with their designs.
If you’re wondering what the brand is called, you can stop right now. It doesn’t have one. You can read below why Peanut deliberately avoids a brand name attached to the pieces. He’s not trying to keep people out of some kind of secret club. Instead he wants to preserve the value of his work to those who organically find out about the brand. As a result, it took some convincing to get an interview with him for New Threads. But we did it with some conditions: no brand name and mention Sir Michael Rocks as much as possible. The guy is very selfless when it comes to his product and wants to promote what he truly believes in-Mikey’s music. If you want to purchase their products, you can do so at their new online website, Exotic Gourmet. But don’t get it twisted, it’s just an online store that combined Marriani and Peanut’s brand, not a new brand altogether. It will also serve as a home for their friends’ brands. As you’ll find out in the interview, they make super limited quantities so you might want to follow his Twitter to stay up to date.
We also included a slideshow of other pieces he has in the works or has already released, at the end of the interview. Keep in mind that this is the first time some of these designs have hit the general public.
And for those unfamiliar, New Threads is a fresh column we’ll be executing to celebrate independent fashion companies and the minds behind them. A teenager in an American suburb with a dope idea and a few bucks should be given mad props, if they’re due, just like your favorite luxury brand. We’ll pick a creator that deserves your attention and ask him/her a few questions, including our Final Four questions we ask all of our creators for that month. What’s the requirements to be featured on New Threads? Originality and quality. And please, make something you’d wear proudly. You can check out yesterday’s column that we did on Sav Noir HERE and today’s earlier one on GIANI NYC HERE. And since it’s been so long since New Threads has graced the website, we’ll be putting up one more brand this weekend. Gotta make up for lost time somehow.
What inspires you to create?
Knowing no two people are the complete same, which leads me to believe no one thinks or has the same thought process as I do. I never just wanted to be the same and basic as a lot of people are who tend to buy what’s popular or publicly perceived as cool.
There is a huge trend of throwbacks and retro looks, often coupled with all over prints or sleeve prints. You seem to go the other way with a clean display and clever titles. What do you think separates your designs from everything else out there?
The thing is Pharrell already did most of the stuff when I was in high school. We have all over prints & sleeve prints in mind. We currently just don’t plan on doing them soon because like you said that’s what’s going on now. We don’t wanna be the next person doing the same thing. There’s no longevity within that. What separates what we do is being the opposite of trends & staying true to what we like while not letting negative feedback or opinions have an impact on how we feel about what we’re doing.
How did you start working with Sir Michael Rocks? Where did that relationship stem from? What is it like working with him?
I met Mikey through Mac Miller. I was on tour with Mac and one of the stops was in Chicago. So when we were in Chicago Mac linked up with him to do some songs & he came to Mac’s show. The next tour Mac took The Cool Kids with him. As the tour went on I began to get to know Mikey, Tris, Chuck & ViPJ. Once the tour was over I kept in touch with Mikey. After that tour Mac moved to LA and I, later that year, moved to LA as well to live with Mac. Mikey had also moved to LA, like 10 minutes away from Mac’s House. Mikey & myself would randomly hangout at his place. I would randomly hit him up to see what he was doing because I was always interested in what new solo music he was making, which made our friendship grow over time. Working with Mikey is really cool. This dude thinks of a lot of stuff before they happen in the public’s eyes. He’s a super forward thinker, especially when it comes to being innovative & things that are cool to him. Being around that, over time, it begins to rub off, which helps with originality & being creative.
