Mark Stefanos
LA street culture pulses through a new limited-edition capsule collection by legendary Chicano artist Mister Cartoon for Pro Club at WSS. The line will drop tonight, Sept. 5, at a public launch at Rolling Greens in DTLA, and the full collab will be available at WSS stores and on shopwss.com tomorrow.
The legendary tattoo and graffiti artist took on the role of creative director, designing a lineup of tees, hoodies, jackets and accessories inspired by lowrider culture, Chicano iconography, and LA’s street art legacy. It’s a fitting partnership with Pro Club, the heavyweight streetwear staple found in swap meets and t-shirt stores, and every ball court in the city, and WSS which is just as ubiquitous in LA.
Tonight’s drop event will feature lowriders, live airbrushing, and nods to the swap meet culture that shaped all three collaborators. To attend, RSVP at shopwss.com/rsvp.
We spoke with Mister Cartoon about how this collection came about, what defines West Coast culture, and how that imagery lights up this collection:
LA WEEKLY: What inspired the partnership between you, WSS, and Pro Club for this limited-edition apparel collection, and how did the collaboration come about?
MISTER CARTOON: All three brands started out in the swap meets of Southern California, and none of us stopped producing over the years and going towards the light. I dropped my limited edition Nike’s at WSS in 2005, and Pro Club was killing it with blank tees on the street at the time, now we have linked up over a decade later to collaborate on this collection.
What was the design process?
The design process behind this collection was to bring the classic bold graphics from the nineties and give them a modern twist for this new generation. Since every decade you have to reintroduce yourself to a batch of youngsters.
How did Pro Club’s aesthetic influence your designs for this collection?
Pro Club has always had solid quality blanks so it was like a big canvas waiting to be painted.
What do you think defines “West Coast heritage”?
West Coast street wear is a reflection of tattooing, lowriding and funk soul music. We use solid industrial colors that you will find in a swap meet, or at an army surplus store — navy’s khaki’s, black and grey, that is the Pantone chart of this collection.
What elements of West Coast heritage did you want to capture in this collection?
One of the standout pieces to me is an Impala hopping on a street corner, serving the competition, liquor stores in the background and the ghetto bird in the sky. Old English fonts and fine line classic cursive throughout the collection tie it all together.
How do you hope this collection impacts how people view Chicano and street culture?
This collection is for the youth, they will feel it in their heart, we don’t have to sell it to them. We hope when they look at it they are looking into a mirror and they notice the detail and their culture represented.
What else do you got coming up?
I have a lot of projects in the oven which include hand painted fine art, a sneaker drop, a remote control ice cream truck, LA Rams clothing drop, and if you catch me on the right day you can end up getting sleeved down. And if you want your car to shine check out my Art of Car care line at O’Reillys.
The Mister Cartoon X Pro Club collection for WSS drops tonight at Rolling Greens in DTLA, 1005 Mateo St, 90021. RSVP at shopwss.com/rsvp. Shop the collab tomorrow at WSS stores and shopwss.com.