Features
style
Black Scale
The Balance Of Life
"I travel a lot & to see people in different parts of the world wear it still opens my eyes & I want to go up to them & say thanks." Black Scale
Meet MEGA. This 29-year-old’s streetwear line is all about personal growth and knowledge, the themes range from the everyday to the big issues weighing on society’s mind: art, music, fashion and underground societies to religion, government and war. Of course if you just happen to like the designs, that’s dope too.
First off, was it always your intention to start a label?
I always had a love for clothing and dressing up and I had dreams to have my own clothing line one day so I guess you can say yes.
What was it like managing one of the world's most respected streetwear boutiques? How did you link up with Keith Hufnagel?
It was dope to work at HUF. It was something new to everyone in the city and how everyone wanted to be a part of it including myself. I learned a lot from Keith and the whole staff that worked at HUF. I was a customer who bought sneakers from HUF and that lead to working there.
Where did the name 'Black Scale' come from?
Black Scale is the balance of life. Good vs Evil.
Black (adjective): Black can be defined as the visual impression experienced when no visible light reaches the eye. Black is not a colour. It is the absence of all colour. Black absorbs all aspects of light. While white reveals, black conceals. It is also mysterious, providing a sense of potential and possibility. We do not believe in the obvious or being predictable, as we learn and grow we want our collections to grow with us.
Scale (verb): Pattern, make, regulate, set, measure, or estimate according to some rate or standard scale regulates and sets our way of thinking. Balance is key to our aesthetic, without balance our vision is irrelevant and meaningless. Developing our products stems from a comparison to our lives.
For a reasonably new label, you guys have seen some pretty immediate success and notoriety. What would you put this down to?
Working at HUF gave us the opportunity to meet some of the industry’s most respected people and also many of the customers that came in everyday who we became friends with in the long run. I think meeting all the brands that I was in contact with because I also managed the clothing store helped us. We pushed all the brands we carried because we believed in all the brands we carried. I think when we decided to start Black Scale the brands had the same type of support for us because we were already connected. I think the industry and of course the customers play a big role in our growth.
A lot of your tee prints convey some striking political/historical imagery. Do you encourage your market to be aware of their history?
It’s personal for us and everyday we dig deeper for our personal growth and knowledge. We are not trying to push the subject matters we design on our graphics to anybody and we will not ever push those subjects. If a customer asks about it and wants to know what it’s all about for sure will share what it’s about and why we designed it. For myself I look at it as if you like it just because than that’s enough for me but if they ask for more details about the graphic then I’m super stoked because it shows me people are interested.
What's does a day in the life of MEGA entail?
4 hours of sleep.
16 hours of work.
4 hours of partying.
A cup of coffee in the am, great food throughout the day, a few bottles of water and a box of Newport cigarettes. It’s a simple day I enjoy filled with work and doing what I love to survive.
How do you react when you see guys like Jay-z and Clinton Sparks wearing clothes that you've designed?
I’m stoked that I didn’t have to give it to them. I’m pretty sure the homies out there probably did and I thank them. It’s a great feeling to see anyone rock Black Scale. I travel a lot and to see people in different parts of the world wear it still opens my eyes and I want to go up to them and say thanks.
You recently collaborated with Diamond Supply Co. and have worked with a few notable labels in the past, so who's next? Who would you like to work with?
We have a collaboration with Hall of Fame which is one of my favourite stores located in Los Angeles, California. This collaboration with Hall of Fame is one I have been waiting for because it’s so different from what Hall of Fame has ever done before and for two different aesthetics to connect was very challenging. We also have a collaboration with Android Homme shoes from Los Angeles. I’m excited about this collaboration because it’s the first time we’ve ever designed a shoe. Android Homme is an upcoming label charged by my friend Javier Laval and what they got coming out is pretty ill. Be on the lookout.
Black Scale's aesthetic seems to reside between the streetwear and contemporary markets. Where do you feel streetwear is headed in the future?
I think streetwear brands are growing and after these last tradeshows I know we also have to step up our game because so many brands have so much more to offer. It was streetwear at one point because that’s what it was labelled but to see what brands are doing now is much larger than the word streetwear. I can drop so many brands names who are taking it to the next level but I want you guys to see it for yourself. I think the designers behind many of these brands are really taking it to a different platform and I’m stoked to see the growth.
For more on the Black Scale movement visit black-scale.com.
Back
I always had a love for clothing and dressing up and I had dreams to have my own clothing line one day so I guess you can say yes.
What was it like managing one of the world's most respected streetwear boutiques? How did you link up with Keith Hufnagel?
It was dope to work at HUF. It was something new to everyone in the city and how everyone wanted to be a part of it including myself. I learned a lot from Keith and the whole staff that worked at HUF. I was a customer who bought sneakers from HUF and that lead to working there.
Where did the name 'Black Scale' come from?
Black Scale is the balance of life. Good vs Evil.
Black (adjective): Black can be defined as the visual impression experienced when no visible light reaches the eye. Black is not a colour. It is the absence of all colour. Black absorbs all aspects of light. While white reveals, black conceals. It is also mysterious, providing a sense of potential and possibility. We do not believe in the obvious or being predictable, as we learn and grow we want our collections to grow with us.
Scale (verb): Pattern, make, regulate, set, measure, or estimate according to some rate or standard scale regulates and sets our way of thinking. Balance is key to our aesthetic, without balance our vision is irrelevant and meaningless. Developing our products stems from a comparison to our lives.
For a reasonably new label, you guys have seen some pretty immediate success and notoriety. What would you put this down to?
Working at HUF gave us the opportunity to meet some of the industry’s most respected people and also many of the customers that came in everyday who we became friends with in the long run. I think meeting all the brands that I was in contact with because I also managed the clothing store helped us. We pushed all the brands we carried because we believed in all the brands we carried. I think when we decided to start Black Scale the brands had the same type of support for us because we were already connected. I think the industry and of course the customers play a big role in our growth.
A lot of your tee prints convey some striking political/historical imagery. Do you encourage your market to be aware of their history?
It’s personal for us and everyday we dig deeper for our personal growth and knowledge. We are not trying to push the subject matters we design on our graphics to anybody and we will not ever push those subjects. If a customer asks about it and wants to know what it’s all about for sure will share what it’s about and why we designed it. For myself I look at it as if you like it just because than that’s enough for me but if they ask for more details about the graphic then I’m super stoked because it shows me people are interested.
What's does a day in the life of MEGA entail?
4 hours of sleep.
16 hours of work.
4 hours of partying.
A cup of coffee in the am, great food throughout the day, a few bottles of water and a box of Newport cigarettes. It’s a simple day I enjoy filled with work and doing what I love to survive.
How do you react when you see guys like Jay-z and Clinton Sparks wearing clothes that you've designed?
I’m stoked that I didn’t have to give it to them. I’m pretty sure the homies out there probably did and I thank them. It’s a great feeling to see anyone rock Black Scale. I travel a lot and to see people in different parts of the world wear it still opens my eyes and I want to go up to them and say thanks.
You recently collaborated with Diamond Supply Co. and have worked with a few notable labels in the past, so who's next? Who would you like to work with?
We have a collaboration with Hall of Fame which is one of my favourite stores located in Los Angeles, California. This collaboration with Hall of Fame is one I have been waiting for because it’s so different from what Hall of Fame has ever done before and for two different aesthetics to connect was very challenging. We also have a collaboration with Android Homme shoes from Los Angeles. I’m excited about this collaboration because it’s the first time we’ve ever designed a shoe. Android Homme is an upcoming label charged by my friend Javier Laval and what they got coming out is pretty ill. Be on the lookout.
Black Scale's aesthetic seems to reside between the streetwear and contemporary markets. Where do you feel streetwear is headed in the future?
I think streetwear brands are growing and after these last tradeshows I know we also have to step up our game because so many brands have so much more to offer. It was streetwear at one point because that’s what it was labelled but to see what brands are doing now is much larger than the word streetwear. I can drop so many brands names who are taking it to the next level but I want you guys to see it for yourself. I think the designers behind many of these brands are really taking it to a different platform and I’m stoked to see the growth.
For more on the Black Scale movement visit black-scale.com.
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