Cult streetwear label SAENAI teamed up with Brooklyn skaters to bring its latest collection to life. The lookbook for the brand’s warm weather drop, “Imaginary Boys,” was shot on the streets of Bed Stuy. Photographed by Fanny Nunn and art directed by DaRaun Crawford, models explore the concrete jungle in casual separates, lightweight outerwear and graphic prints. Here, SAENAI’s publicist, Yusuke “U!” Takahashi drops the intel on the visuals, the brand’s take on youth culture and why BK will always be New York’s coolest borough.
It is a collection spoken from the scope/lens of youth culture, sex, violence, and rebellion.
THE COLLECTION NAME:
“Imaginary Boys”
THE MUSE:
“Gregg Ararki’s ’95 cult movie, The Doom Generation.”
THE VISION:
“We teamed up with local skate youth from Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn to depict our narrative. It is a collection spoken from the scope/lens of youth culture, sex, violence, and rebellion.”
THE CREW:
Photographer: Fanny Nunn
Models: RMell and Jessyka Bailey
Hair & Makeup: We never use make up. We believe in people going natural or being themselves.
Art Director: DaRaun Crawford
Bedford Stuyvesant [is] a dynamic community with so much inspiration and culture.
THE LOCATION:
“Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn, N.Y. We chose this location because it’s where our models live and also Pratt Institute is nearby. It’s a dynamic community with so much inspiration and culture that relates to our seasonal concept. The models and our creative director were skateboarding in between takes. We’re a fun, but serious group.”
SAENAI comes from the Japanese noun which means unusually strange and uncool.
THE STATEMENT:
“We used to think it was very important to get into storytelling. But people, especially in our younger generation, don’t have time for stories. Statements are OUR stories. The message is in the statement and the garment.”
THE MISSION:
“To create conceptual and intelligently designed garments regardless of gender or size.”
THE FOUNDATION:
“SAENAI comes from the Japanese noun which means unusually strange and uncool. This is the defining sensibility that began with the label’s designers Nobu Watanabe and Jay Escobara. They met in New York City and began creating garments for friends, artists and musicians around New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Paris. Within a few years they began to expand from made to measure to wider distribution.”
Cop the pieces now at saenai.com.
