Full Description
Tribal Streetwear is lifestyle streetwear brand that seeks to represent a variety of southern California sub-cultures that includes graffiti, street art, skateboarding, surfing, tattoos, hip hop, breakdancing, punk, lowriders, and custom culture. Based in San Diego, California, Tribal has strong Chicano roots in its aesthetic and spans the globe with retail stores on several continents.
The text presents a series of articles, essays, and personal reflections that explore the various dimensions of Tribal Streetwear, and how the impact of their designs continues to balance the precarious act of being relevant and responsible with their resources.
The book is divided into four sections.
Section 1 features essays that set a context for the text. This includes a history of Tribal and where it fits within the history of streetwear, a personal narrative of the founding of Tribal, and lastly an essay on the uniqueness of southern California aesthetics and the fascination with this southern California inspired fashion.
Section 2 is a series of interviews with notable artists, musicians, and cultural tastemakers that have contributed toward street culture and Tribal. These include Mr. Cartoon (tattoo artist), RISK (graffiti artist), PERSUE (street artists), Mike Giant (tattoo artist), Dyse One (graffiti artist), Craig Craig Stecyk III (skateboard culture), Bob Hurley (surf culture), and the Beastie Boys (hip hop).
Section 3 includes a series of invited and peer-reviewed academic articles on distinct subjects within the street culture genre that further dive into the inputs and influences of Tribal Streetwear. They include breakdancing, surfing, skateboarding, graffiti, street art, tattooing, music (hip-hop/punk), lowriders, custom culture, and Chicano Studies.
Section 4 is a series of photo essays that capture the three decades of Tribal Streetwear and serves as a visual history of the brand and the evolution of its graphics.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Section 1: Introduction to Tribal Streetwear
The Legacy of Tribal Streetwear
James Daichendt
Section 2: Streetwear and its Histories
What's in a Name: Baseball Caps and Identity in American Culture
Clayton Funk
La Voz de la Calle ("The Voice of the Street")
Marvin R. Milian
How Graffiti and Street Art Styles, Images, and Iconography Impacted the Designs that Tribal Streetwear Uses on Their Clothing and Accessories
Jeffrey Ian Ross
Section 3: Tribal and Its Tattoo Roots
Representation of World: An Ontological Exploration of Tattoos and Self
Rachel Daichendt
A Brief Look at Southern California Tattoo Culture and History
Evan Senn
Section 4: Tribalism and Identity
Tribal Streetwear Will Be the First Aesthetic Ethnicity for the Digital Metaverse
Chumahan Bowen
A Tribe Laud West: Hip Hop and Its Influence on Tribal Gear and a New Chicano Generation
Monique Charles
Section 5: Surf and Skate
Surfing Together, Surfing Alone: Surf Tribes and Tribalism in Southern California during the Twentieth Century
Ben Cater
Street, Punk, Desert, Life: Four Stories of Tribal Streetwear and Skate Culture
James Wicks
Section 6: Lowriders and Culture Making
La Locura Cura: Lowriders, Chicanismo, and Bobby Tribal
Denise M. Sandoval
Bouncing Across Borders: The Globalization of Lowriding
John Ulloa
Section 7: Personal Histories
Everyone Belongs to a Tribe
Luis Saldaña
A Personal Account of Tribal and Tattooing
Michael 'Tank' Gonzales
Tribal Streetwear: A Personal History
Bobby Ruiz
Notes on Contributors
