ØLÅF x MENDO: a collaboration between friends

Buy a book, exit the store, turn left, then another left. Prinsengracht 491 is just around the corner and it’s where you’ll find OLAF HUSSEIN; one of Amsterdam’s best clothing labels and close friends of MENDO. This Thursday we will release a special collaboration with them, designed in honor of our bestseller This Is Not A F*cking Street Style Book by Adam Katz Sinding. We spoke about the MENDO X ØLÅF collaboration with brand director and co-owner of the brand: Daniël Sumarna.

Hi Daniël, how would you describe OLAF HUSSEIN?
In a nutshell, OLAF HUSSEIN is a clothing label from Amsterdam, that is continuously inspired by countries, cultures and citizens, and examines the boundaries around the definition of “a clothing label”. We too, are in constant denial of being defined as streetwear, and maybe even fashion, so This Is Not A F*cking Street Style Book is a great fit to our philosophy.

What inspired you to make these T-shirts?
With these tees, everything comes full circle. Adam as a person reflects the lifestyle that we envision when we see OLAF HUSSEIN as something that is inspired by countries, cultures and citizens. He’s constantly travelling around the globe, continuously transitioning between different cultures and meeting many different people.

What was the idea behind the collaboration?
We thought it would be a nice idea to make a T-shirt that, in turn, could possibly pop up in one of Adam’s photos. Like an inception of Adam’s images. In a sense, we put Adam’s photos back in their original environment with these tees. For some people this tee might be the first thing people see from the book on the streets. That’s why we selected these particular photos as samples for the book, with the page numbers on the sleeve as a direct reference to the book.

What were your first thoughts about the book?
In addition to the photography itself, I really like that it is a piece that encapsulates the current timeframe. It shows the current state of fashion in a way that hasn’t been done before. With all the timelines today—both online and offline, it can be difficult to deliver something qualitatively and that’s truthly thought through. But this book shows that it’s still possible to make a beautiful contemporary piece in print, even within the speed of today’s culture.

A lot of people in the book, including Virgil Abloh*, gladly ride the wave of hypes in today’s fashion, what’s your opinion on that?
In a way I agree with what Virgil said in the book: hype proves something’s relevance. With our label – and that’s probably what the title of this book stands for as well – we try to do something that lasts longer than hypes. Hypes are a good indicator to see what resonates at the moment, but at the same time we try to make something that transcends hypes. That’s also the reason why we selected these particular photos from the book. They don’t transport you to a specific point in time, and I think that makes it more durable.

* Read our journal What the f*ck is street style, according to Virgil Abloh

How would you describe the connection with MENDO?
It’s rooted in years of friendship. It’s based on a shared passion and long conversations about books, photography and fashion. That’s also why we will stock some of MENDO’s books in our own store starting this year, to show that shared passion.

What else can we expect from OLAF HUSSEIN this year?
We’re starting to see the brand more as a living and breathing thing, which means we will release smaller collections throughout the year. That way we will have a more constant flow of releases, drawing inspiration from countries, cultures and citizens. The past months we’ve created a framework for the label. Under OLAF HUSSEIN, we will be creating more contemporary pieces, while our brand’s moniker, ØLÅF, has evolved into a platform to work on more project-based drops that will release in-season rather than per season. This collaboration with MENDO is the first effect of that. We just released our first drop for Spring 2018 and after the MENDO collaboration we’re doing a few more exclusive collaborative collections which will release very soon.

We will launch the MENDO X ADAM KATZ SINDING X ØLÅF collection on Thursday April 12 18:00h, at OLAF HUSSEIN, Prinsengracht 491 in Amsterdam.