When it comes to streetwear, it is no surprise that the industry saturates with people looking for a quick way to get on. While it seems like only the people with so called “clout” can rise the ranks in fashion with mediocre clothing, there is still the small percentage looking to make a change, better yet leave a mark in the industry while sticking to moral values. Justin O’Connor is one of few in this percentile. With an insatiable drive, a distinct vision, and a smart judgement in marketing that makes his brand, Yugen Apparel, an up-and-coming household name.
O’Connor learned early on the significance of networking and marketing strategies, flipping/selling over 100 pairs of sneakers and eventually hosting his own massively successful sneaker convention at the age of 16. What started as an early interest in the sneaker game eventually became a crucial awareness of the opportunity the streetwear market had to offer. Transitioning from a small town in New Hampshire to the urban hub of Lowell, MA in his freshman year, his perception of street culture and its origin expanded rapidly. Thus, O’Connor began forming a conceptual idea that would eventually become not only his company, but his own philosophical approach to life.
Starting from almost nothing, O’Connor had to hustle for his own success. “I have been to my lowest points,” he said, “and while I was there, [I] not only became tremendously motivated and inspired, but I woke up to understand a much deeper (but more clear and simplistic) meaning of life and truly realized how strong I am – not because I felt it was necessary, but because it was my only choice.” And this epiphany opened up a creative channel that refused to be held back.
And in July of 2017, Yugen Apparel was born. Yūgen (幽玄) is an ideal sought for in traditional Japanese aesthetic and art – a subtle and graceful profundity in the vastness of the world and its simultaneous simplistic and intricate operations. It is an internal awareness of our relationship to the universal balance, sparking a contradiction of contentedness and despondency. Inspired by Japanese streetwear, Yugen Apparel channels this contradiction, in between the lines between tradition versus modernism. Yugen Apparel is a blend of both Western rap/hip hop influence and Japanese fashion motif symbolism. The designs themselves are simple yet unashamedly bold, two ingredients essential towards its already rising fanaticism in the local streets.
Yugen Apparel made its way to South Florida when Justin discovered Miami artist Matt Gantos and his music through Twitter. The two shared a lot in common on the aspect of life. So much, in fact, that there is a possible collaboration on the way. Matt Gantos got the opportunity to sport Yugen at Art Basel and show off what the two have planned.
At the age of 18, both O’Connor’s unique perspective on fashion and contagious ambition are guaranteed to make an impact on the global scene. And while Yugen Apparel is young, its legacy has only just begun.
@yugenapparelco
Credits to Vanessa Chen for most of the info on Yugen Apparel Co.