According to the World Apparel and Footwear Network, recently, Su Wukou, who has received much attention through the “plagiarism seriesâ€, came to Shanghai to hold a pop-up store of his “No Cooperation Series†with Shangguan’s “Double Series†at DOE Tongren Road. Fans have had a long conversation. Before the sharing session, we also chatted with the designer who walked between fashion and the street but did not follow the common sense. In the face of the problems we prepared, the answer given by Su Wukou was as straightforward and profound as his tattoos on the left and right arms, "This is a tattoo" and "This is another tattoo".
In the initial period of time, the brand name “PURLICUE†has been slightly changed. “PERLICUE†and “PURLICU†have appeared. Is there any reason? The Chinese translation of the word PURLICUE is “the gap between the thumb and the index fingerâ€. "How do you think of using this word as the brand name?"
In fact, it is not very sure to be a costume at first, I want to try to sell it before I register. I tried it for a while, and when I needed to consider the brand name, I tried hard to find the word "PURLICUE" in the dictionary. It is a dialect from Scotland, so it has certainly not been registered. But because it is so too singular that I often forget how to fight. (Laughter) So except for "PURLICUE", everything else is just a spelling mistake, but I also registered both the PURLICUE and PERLICUE brand names.
Have you done other brands like Bananasmile and Conpconp before, why do you want to make these different brands?
Conpconp is the name of the Taobao shop. The Bananasmile brand was founded in college. I really liked street culture at that time, so I did it without thinking about it. Nowadays, some clothing products will be made from time to time, as long as they feel that there is a market, they will be produced and sold.
Do you have a school uniform with high school? What is the original intention of doing this cooperation?
First of all, I personally like uniforms and I will pay attention to this part of the clothing industry. Furthermore, my major is architectural design, influenced by architecture. I like to have mass, huge, and repetitive things, and school uniforms fall into this category. Finally, this project is also a boost to uniforms. It is a continuous project, so there are more and more cooperative schools. From the beginning of the family to the current four, the overall size is now several thousand. According to the different requirements of the other party, we also make dresses and uniforms while doing sportswear.
Many people comment on your work is more than product, how do you view this view?
I recently watched a variety show, in which the host had a famous saying, "I was misunderstood to express a fate of myself." I deeply share this feeling. When you cry or laugh, or speak, any expression will definitely have an incidental item, and it will certainly be misunderstood, but that is not important, and the output itself is important. It is also an expression to do a plagiarism series, appearing in a DOE, or even an exhibition. The plagiarism series covers 30 models and is a very extreme concept. The collections in this collection come from some brands that I personally like to wear. I took out the old clothes of the entire wardrobe and made a model. The power of this scale is enough. In fact, it is very important to have the courage to decide to do this expression at first, because this is very risky. If there is no market at the end, the company may close down. But when you express it, after the product has received some positive reactions, more people will pay attention.
There are many elements in your work that are very straightforward, such as "tag 1", "this is a shirt", "belt", "this canvas shoe is plagiarized", etc., is it some kind of symbolization? What does it mean?
This is a kind of material expression. This expression is used in many structural designs. There are such elements in the design of Maison Margiela and OFF-WHITE, but the original intention of each person may not be the same. My personal concern is very objective and material: Many fashion designers use other people's models to make clothes, just like public secrets, but no one talks about it, so I want to translate this phenomenon. The theme of the “plagiarism series†is essentially the same as the elements in the work, and it is describing the things themselves.
Is the plagiarism series an irony or a default for domestic brands?
It is neither ironic nor non-default. I think the "plagiarism series" is much more meaningful than a other country by a Chinese designer. Because whether it is plagiarism or taking other people's models, although it may not be decent enough, these behaviors are indeed part of the lifeline of the Chinese clothing industry. To be more extreme, I am not designing, but the objective translation of the entire scene into a series. And this is consistent with what I said about materiality and mass.
Before the plagiarism series, you have made leather shoes that look very similar to Jack Purcell. What angle do you use to make these two products?
Because I really like Converse's open smile, I really want to recreate it in the form of leather. But I don't know what color should be suitable, so I will continue to follow the color of the color card. Pink and blue bricks are made up of a link because there are more customers to buy.
In the eyes of many people, the special design form of plagiarism series and "Please steal this clothing", the performance art is greater than the clothing itself, how do you think about the two? Is there a relative proportion?
As with the previous answer, I only care about the output itself and didn't want to define it. I like clothing and street culture, and I like performance art. The dress I wear now is Uniqlo, and I also like this brand. All of the above elements became part of my character, so I thought of such an act to connect them all together.
If Uniqlo is looking for you to cooperate?
I will promise immediately. In fact, I don't like Uniqlo's specific product, but I am very fond of the whole form and system of its culture, market positioning, self-definition of technology companies and fabric development. From an architectural point of view, Uniqlo is like a bridge, traffic light, zebra crossing, and it is almost a social infrastructure.
From this perspective, is it understood that Uniqlo is a bit like social media like Facebook?
Yes, in fact, from this perspective, social media is also a social infrastructure. So being an independent designer is actually quite boring. It is not big or rich, and it is not really related to people's lives.
How do you think about intellectual property? Have you considered it before you launch your work because of this?
My influence is very small and should not reach the level of infringement. I just made those products interesting, but the others didn't think about it. If you are in trouble, you can only take one step. But for now, the ones that I "plagiarized", including Nike and Converse, are still very open, and they understand these products as an artistic act.
Money is definitely very important. As far as the series I am working on, I am only satisfied with the concept, but I am not satisfied with the expression. Because after all, goods need to be sold, I will consciously cater to some current trends, such as street and vintage elements and fashion colors. At the commercial level, I also pay attention to the practical wear of the clothing itself. But if you simply consider the artistry and make this series more extreme, it will be very simple and has no features. Such concepts and forms are difficult to understand, and there must be no market. But some masters such as Andy Warhol, his products can meet the expectations of art as well as the balance of business. This is my goal, and I am still trying to find out how to fully integrate the two. Soon in the second half of this year, I will have some operations to balance artistic and commercial.
Do you have a domestic brand to appreciate?
My favorite is Shangguan. He is very powerful, and this power is very much in line with the scale and volume I just said. It is a very pure and difficult way to achieve. This is very rare, because many people now have mastered the techniques and rules of modularity, such as the location of colors and patterns. Of course, I also master these skills because of the need for a business balance. But the so-called mind, there is no skill. I have always liked DOE very much, it has a very pure, original street feeling. DOE's Slogan "BE FORMLESS", this is a kind of mind. In fact, these two brands are extremely extreme in my opinion. One is the fashion that pursues breakthrough, and the other is the street brand that pursues traditional integrity. Both of them are very attractive to me because they are all sticking to their own. system.
Now there is already a fake of your clothes on Taobao. What do you think about the plagiarism of others?
Their plagiarism and the plagiarism I did were the same, but the starting point was different. Just as you attack a person may be because you hate to hurt others, or because you are a war, you need to guard your country. So go back to the "plagiarism series", it is a neutral word, just translated a phenomenon.
Because the non-cooperative series in Shanghai Fashion Week show you choose the most core area of ​​Shanghai, the main entrance of the selected shopping mall is facing the main entrance of Shanghai Fashion Week, you Weibo mentioned that you want to do street culture to the traditional high-end shopping malls. Invasion, cheap and high-level contradictions coexist, and why do you choose DOE to be a pop-up store this time?
Because many people may think that I am doing performance art, or more fashion, but I still like the meaning of the street, I can express this part in the DOE. So the styles shown here are special on the street and also in line with the DOE philosophy.
"Cheap" and "Expensive" in the non-cooperative series. Which one do you choose to wear?
Because this series is my own, so I personally don't care. No matter which style of the two fabrics and crafts are the same, they are only sold at different prices.
Why is the "Cheap" and "Expensive" shoes in the non-cooperative series only 1 yuan, the same series of Shirts only 1.1 yuan, and tee is 1800 yuan?
The original intention was to express the concept of non-cooperation. In order to enrich it, it is necessary to put different expressions into it to be complete. In terms of pricing, it is expressed in different price segments. In real life, there is a phenomenon of pricing 399, and I have translated it. But since it is the real retail price, I also determined the price under the trade-off between cost and profit.
The tee marked "Expensive" does not consider sales, is it? I saw three customers on Taobao bought, is there a feeling of being overjoyed?
Yes, no consideration, pure expression. I am very happy, especially want to give them a prize, they are all heroes. (Laughs) I didn't give them a special gift. I hope they can feel my gratitude when I see this interview.
It is understood that before the opening Ceremony has sold your shoes, but the price may be high due to tariffs and logistics, then the sales situation has been affected? Now there are other buyers at home and abroad will order you?
In fact, Opening Ceremony was still in good condition, and the official online shelf was sold out in a week. At present, there are about ten buyers and sellers at home and abroad who will order from us, including BADMARKET in Guangzhou, Guangzhou and Chengdu. Recently, there was also a discussion with Dongliang.
What new plans do you have next?
I am thinking hard, but I don't have a clue. In the future, the main direction should be against the brand I am now, that is, anti-PURLICUE. I don't really have much interest in being an independent designer. Maybe it will take another year and a half. I will still do design and make clothes, but it is not in the current system. I really don't like being interviewed, and I don't like to give lectures.
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Guangzhou LIDONG Garment Industrial Co., Ltd. , https://www.lidonggarment.com