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Mishka NYC Vs New Era
Mike Jones Of Mishka NYC On His New Collection & Working With New Era
"Living in New York naturally inspires us, both directly and indirectly. The commercial exposure, vast network of colleagues and peers, and constant evolving nature of the city provides an incredible foundation for creativity." Mishka NYC Vs New Era
The 59 Fifty has well and truly become a streetwear staple. When New Era founder Ehrhardt Koch starting making caps back in the ‘20s for “America’s favourite past time,” you can bet he had little idea how hard the baseball cap would ingrain itself into mass culture. In the ‘The Making Of…” special in issue 14, we followed the production process of the iconic cap, and not just any ol’ cap but a brand new 59 Fifty from Mishka’s Fall 08 collection, ‘Skyway Trippers’. We talk to Mike Jones of Mishka about the process.
What is the vibe you are going for the fall/winter Mishka line?
Our Fall 08 collection is called Skyway Trippers, and we have drawn inspiration from sci-fi references and galactic exploration, in addition to our consistent fascination with music references, classic comic art and of course, the bizarre and grotesque.
When designing a cap are there many boundaries you have to work within, or can you pretty much design it however you like and New Era will work with that?
There are a variety of factors that we have to take into account when developing an idea for a New Era, but we are still able to push the creative boundaries with our designs. New Era has an established set of equity standards that restrict designers from using inappropriate content such as sexual references, derogatory phrases, weaponry & misrepresentation of licensed logos. For those of you unfamiliar with our graphics, we've garnered a (somewhat deserved) reputation for pushing boundaries when it comes to what is and isn't acceptable. That said we still respect the moral boundaries of our various working partners and adhere to their guidelines. To be honest we've only ever hit this wall a handful of times. One instance in particular was a cap featuring a re-imagining of the ball character from the poster for the movie Major League which New Era felt was too similar to the original. We have more fun trying to push the boundaries of the cap's shape and the embroidery process than trying to create an inflammatory cap design. I know we've given headaches to various production managers at New Eras in how to exactly execute some of our design ideas, but as a nod to their abilities, no matter how crazy or impossible they said something would be at first they've managed to produce a cap as close to our original vision as possible, sometimes in only the first attempt. In the process not only upping their own abilities as master craftsman but also further breaking down the limitations of what anyone can do with a cap.
As a label based in NYC, do you think much of this is reflected in the garments you create?
Living in New York naturally inspires us, both directly and indirectly. The commercial exposure, vast network of colleagues and peers, and constant evolving nature of the city provides an incredible foundation for creativity. Additionally, our backgrounds are a source of constant reference when we're developing ideas. Mikhail was born in the Ukraine and has lived in Brooklyn since he was an infant, while Greg and I moved here after college, so as a collective we are able to draw upon our diverse yet complimentary backgrounds.
How do your designers generally approach designing a cap?
We generally approach our hat designs in one of two ways. We are constantly designing one to three colorway releases as store exclusives and collaborations with friends and family. These designs are often miscellaneous concepts that didn't necessarily fit the particular theme we were working on, or they may be new colorways of our best sellers. The Purple People Eater Keep Watch is a perfect example. If we are designing a hat as part of a collection, we approach it with a bit more refinement and focus. Once we've brainstormed a theme for the season, we'll start developing graphics that will be used on anything from cut-n-sew pieces to t-shirts and of course, New Era hats. We have to consider what is going to look best on a hat, since we can't simply throw a t-shirt graphic on a hat and expect it to work. Some graphics are re-conceptualized to fit the context of a hat, while other designs work perfectly without any alterations. Once we have finalized all of the graphics for the hats, including our classic logos like the bearmop & keep watch, we begin creating colorways. We take the color scheme of our cut-n-sew collection into consideration when choosing colorways, but we also deviate on select styles that we believe look dope in colorways outside of our general palette. The final step in the design process is completing the tech packs for production at New Era.
Any favourite colourways for fall/winter?
Personally speaking, I'm drawn towards our more simple styles this Fall/Winter, so our upcoming Cyco Simon New Eras and new Death Adder colorways are definite must haves. We have an incredible New Era program, and whether you prefer our logo in a classic colorway or a multi-colored, all-over embroidery design, we have a style to satisfy the craving for a fresh fitted.
To check what Mischka are currently up to both in the way of the current season caps and their extensive line of both tees and cut and sew pieces make sure you hit their website.
Back
Our Fall 08 collection is called Skyway Trippers, and we have drawn inspiration from sci-fi references and galactic exploration, in addition to our consistent fascination with music references, classic comic art and of course, the bizarre and grotesque.
When designing a cap are there many boundaries you have to work within, or can you pretty much design it however you like and New Era will work with that?
There are a variety of factors that we have to take into account when developing an idea for a New Era, but we are still able to push the creative boundaries with our designs. New Era has an established set of equity standards that restrict designers from using inappropriate content such as sexual references, derogatory phrases, weaponry & misrepresentation of licensed logos. For those of you unfamiliar with our graphics, we've garnered a (somewhat deserved) reputation for pushing boundaries when it comes to what is and isn't acceptable. That said we still respect the moral boundaries of our various working partners and adhere to their guidelines. To be honest we've only ever hit this wall a handful of times. One instance in particular was a cap featuring a re-imagining of the ball character from the poster for the movie Major League which New Era felt was too similar to the original. We have more fun trying to push the boundaries of the cap's shape and the embroidery process than trying to create an inflammatory cap design. I know we've given headaches to various production managers at New Eras in how to exactly execute some of our design ideas, but as a nod to their abilities, no matter how crazy or impossible they said something would be at first they've managed to produce a cap as close to our original vision as possible, sometimes in only the first attempt. In the process not only upping their own abilities as master craftsman but also further breaking down the limitations of what anyone can do with a cap.
As a label based in NYC, do you think much of this is reflected in the garments you create?
Living in New York naturally inspires us, both directly and indirectly. The commercial exposure, vast network of colleagues and peers, and constant evolving nature of the city provides an incredible foundation for creativity. Additionally, our backgrounds are a source of constant reference when we're developing ideas. Mikhail was born in the Ukraine and has lived in Brooklyn since he was an infant, while Greg and I moved here after college, so as a collective we are able to draw upon our diverse yet complimentary backgrounds.
How do your designers generally approach designing a cap?
We generally approach our hat designs in one of two ways. We are constantly designing one to three colorway releases as store exclusives and collaborations with friends and family. These designs are often miscellaneous concepts that didn't necessarily fit the particular theme we were working on, or they may be new colorways of our best sellers. The Purple People Eater Keep Watch is a perfect example. If we are designing a hat as part of a collection, we approach it with a bit more refinement and focus. Once we've brainstormed a theme for the season, we'll start developing graphics that will be used on anything from cut-n-sew pieces to t-shirts and of course, New Era hats. We have to consider what is going to look best on a hat, since we can't simply throw a t-shirt graphic on a hat and expect it to work. Some graphics are re-conceptualized to fit the context of a hat, while other designs work perfectly without any alterations. Once we have finalized all of the graphics for the hats, including our classic logos like the bearmop & keep watch, we begin creating colorways. We take the color scheme of our cut-n-sew collection into consideration when choosing colorways, but we also deviate on select styles that we believe look dope in colorways outside of our general palette. The final step in the design process is completing the tech packs for production at New Era.
Any favourite colourways for fall/winter?
Personally speaking, I'm drawn towards our more simple styles this Fall/Winter, so our upcoming Cyco Simon New Eras and new Death Adder colorways are definite must haves. We have an incredible New Era program, and whether you prefer our logo in a classic colorway or a multi-colored, all-over embroidery design, we have a style to satisfy the craving for a fresh fitted.
To check what Mischka are currently up to both in the way of the current season caps and their extensive line of both tees and cut and sew pieces make sure you hit their website.
Back
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