As far as T-shirts go, it doesn’t get much simpler than the stock-standard ‘logo tee’. For many start-up brands, it is the first realisation of their brand name: a shameless piece of self-promotion that, when successful in the marketplace, often excites and spurs overcoat-button-eyed punters on to bigger and better things.
For
Addict, the UK’s longest surviving independent streetwear brand, hand-dyed logo tees (produced in a household washing machine on a world-beating budget of 600 pounds way back in ’94) were the first necessary step towards long-term UK (and it would now seem world) streetwear domination.
Sure, one may argue that at this early stage of the game Addict could just as easily have slipped into the seedy underbelly of London’s thriving and lucrative boutique laundromat scene. But, thankfully, founders Chris Carden-Jones’ and David Jefferies’ shared passion for quality streetwear kept them clean.
The pair met each other while loitering over street tables (football) in an old Italian bar in Southampton, UK. They struck up a conversation when they realised that they both had on similarly well-loved and washed-out ’89–’90 vintage Stüssy tees – obviously something fairly important in common.
At this time David was fresh off working dive boats in the Cayman Islands and Chris was working in print, doing record sleeves, mix-tape covers, flyers and other “bits and pieces”.
“Addict began as just a logo concept; an idea that we hoped would develop. We looked at US brands like Stüssy, Freshjive and X-Large, Fuct, etc. and wanted to do a UK streetwear brand of our own. Neither of us had any garment-industry experience, so we started with printed tees and slowly learnt the trade, making all the usual mistakes along the way,” says Chris.
“The UK at the time revolved around the rave scene, with some street, BMX and surf brands in there as well. There were lots of brands that emerged through a DIY mentality – which enabled us to get a foothold with a fairly basic product.” And although the foothold Addict has on UK streetwear is significant, Chris feels that the brand still has a long way to go before it breaks through the US in a major way: “It’s a tough business to be in and you have to keep positive and try and remain consistent in what you put out and then hopefully you build a solid foundation for longevity. The US is definitely a market that we’d like to see Addict do well in. I’d say that was always the dream – and still is.”
Grab a copy of the new T-world issue #04, and go to page 68 to read the rest of this article on Addict.
The new T-world issue #04 is out now at mag nation.