Flash fashion is the way forward when it comes to the UK’s trendsetters. So who else better to showcase this than innovative fashion brand Justin Hustlin. From Bear Doe to Hustlin TV this dastardly duo are showing that fashion is as layered as this seasons look. Flavour caught up with Dirty Dre and Shacky Sweet-tooth to delve a little deeper into the minds of these two young men who went from just hustling to Justin Hustlin.
Why did you decide to become designers?
Shack: I guess it was a natural transition from being two creative individuals. We’ve been drawing and designing things from an early age. This then merged into fashion during our mid teens as we decided to experiment with our own clothing styles.
We noticed that the more we got into it the more people began to like what we were producing.
Dre: The good thing about Justin Hustlin is that it’s not just limited to clothing. As a brand we feel it can span across many different avenues such as apparel, toys, cartoons, TV, music, Twitter!
How did you come up with the name Justin Hustlin?
Dre: The name Justin Hustlin represents the aspirations in us all to be all we can be. We have taken the word ‘Hustlin’ that generally has quite a tainted perspective and given it new life. Justin Hustlin simply put, represents the pursuit of excellence.
Our label is a representation of this journey and conveys a strong positive mental attitude of being all you can be in life.
Shacky: The inspiration behind it all stems from this way of thinking, to which we’ve created an entire conceptual 2D ‘Justin Hustlin’ world, complete with unique and colourful characters with their own individual backgrounds and storylines each representing various aspects of this journey.
These conceptual characters and designs are spread out across a handful of street wear apparel, consisting of limited edition and small run, Tee’s and hoods with attention paid to the smallest detail ranging from inside labels to the packaging of each individual garment.
Who or what inspires you the most?
Dre: most of our inspiration comes from life. Influences and inspiration arrive in many forms, i.e. people, music, environment, family.
Shack: It’s an amalgamation of them all blended together to create the lifestyle cocktail Justin Hustlin.
What are the biggest obstacles you’ve had to overcome to get to where you are today?
Shack: I would say running a business is like managing a separate entity to your self; it takes a lot of effort and discipline. We had to grasp that through our own personal experiences. There are some things that no amount of planning and research can prepare you for but the more you have, the easier you will find it to overcome your obstacles.
Dre: Go hard or go home!
What makes your style unique?
Dre: Ultimately what make’s Justin Hustlin unique is the conceptual 2D Justin Hustlin world we’ve created and the colourful characters within it, each with their own individual backgrounds and storylines of whom you’re introduced to in each series (collection) as they’re released.
Shacky: Also the simple fact that everything we create is inspired by day to day life, and our take on it and not based on what colour or style is most popular by the masses.
Where are you next showing?
Shacky: The Disposable Income Series is available online now at www.justinhustlin.com Alongside that we will be exhibiting at Upscale street wear tradeshow Margin on the 2nd & 3rd of August 2009.
What do you think is most important when designing clothes?
Shacky: There are several things to consider. The actual design itself or idea, how far can you go with it, can it be built upon anything else to make it stronger or more unique? How your target audience will perceive it? Also feasibility, how practical is this design to produce, costing etc
Dre: it should look and feel f**king amazing!
How long does it generally take to produce a full collection?
Dre: It depends really… the ‘Disposable Income’ Series took us three months and that was working flat out! It was our first major collection so we had to create everything from scratch, the characters, storylines, backgrounds, inside labels, packaging… you name it, we didn’t have it!
Shacky: the next series should be a bit quicker though… I hope!
How would you describe your collection in 3 words?
Dre: going, going, gone! We tend to sell out pretty quickly
Where do you see yourself in 2 years?
Shacky: Accessories, International stockists and we’ll have regular cartoon episodes.
You can get your hands on the latest collection at www.justinhustlin.com or tune in to Hustlin TV www.limitededitionclothing.net
Words by Natalie Vincent
