Cactus Plant Flea Market is something of an anomaly. For the most part, brands that tout a celebrity cosign immediately capitalize, trying to cash in on the opportunity. For CPFM however, the strategy seems to be the exact opposite. Despite seeing celebrities like Pharrell, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and more wearing the mysterious brand, it’s almost harder to find info on than to purchase.
It’s widely suspected that the brand is run by Pharrell’s former assistant and stylist, Cynthia Lu. This has all but been confirmed by everyone but her, including Pharrell, referencing her as “Cactus” on stage while accepting his CFDA award in 2015. The connection clearly explains why Pharrell can be seen wearing the brand so often as well as where the connections to people like Kanye, Ocean, and Kid Cudi may have come from.
The brand seems to have began sometime in 2015 (that’s when their Twitter account originally opened) and there’s since been a number of collaborations, often with high-powered artists and brands. Early on, the brand collaborated with Human Made and Anti Social Social Club and more recently CPFM has collaborated with brands like Stussy and Nike, most notably on the Cactus Plant Flea Market x Nike Air VaporMax. The brand also seems to have heavy connections to No Vacancy Inn member, Tremaine Emory (DenimTears), who can often be seen wearing 1-of-1 items and heavily evangelizing events and drops for the brand. CPFM’s body of work also heavily dips into artist merchandise as they’ve worked extensively with Kanye West and Kid Cudi as well as The Rolling Stones on their new “No Filter Tour” merch collection.
Cactus Plant Flea Market x Nike
Released shortly after dropping the Cactus Plant Flea Market x Nike Air Force 1’s, CPFM and Nike’s collaborative apparel collection marks the first time the two have collaborated on clothing items. Described on Nike’s site as “an imaginative and offbeat exploration at the fringes of sport and culture”, the collection appears to be exactly that. Standout items from the six item collection come in the form of the Blue Fleece Crewneck and the heavily branded Anorak. The crewneck features the several-decade old Nike tagline, “There Is No Finish Line” with a turtle embroidered on the front and branding on the cuffing while the anorak features several Nike logos and the phrase “Just Do It” on both arms, one incorporating Cactus Plant Flea Market’s now-unmistakable smiley face logo with two eyes. Shop every item dropped as a part of the capsule on StockX below.
Other Collaborations On StockX
Aside from their most recent Nike collaboration, the brand has come together with two other brands recently and as a result, several CPFM items have been listed on StockX. Cactus Plant Flea Market collaborated with streetwear OG and mainstay, Stussy, earlier this year on two Fourth of July themed tees. The partnership resulted in a long sleeve and short sleeve tee, of which the short sleeve was more popular and has been seen worn by the likes of Kendall Jenner and ASAP Rocky. The other less formal collaboration added to StockX came as a result of Union LA’s involvement and work with Nordstrom earlier this year. The partnership yielded several CPFM items that come in the form of a less official collaboration capacity but yielded new product nonetheless. The CPFM x Stussy tees can be shopped alongside several of the pieces released with Union Nordstrom and everything CPFM dropped for that partnership can be shopped here.
Artist Merchandise Collaborations
CPFM’s artist merchandise roster is strong, and like the agony that comes with living on this earth, it seemingly grows stronger and stronger every day. Their earliest partnership available on StockX comes in the form of Kanye West and Kid Cudi’s Kids See Ghosts merchandise. The items feature classic CPFM design accents like the smiley face on the lucky me crew and the fonts and typefaces in different sizes. CPFM would go on to continue their work with both Kanye and Kid Cudi separately, as they’ve designed several additional pieces for Cudi as well as contributing to Kanye West’s original Sunday Service merchandise. Beyond Kanye and Kid Cudi, CPFM has also been tapped for several one-off merch pieces. Lil Wayne released several merch items ahead of his long-awaited album, The Carter 5, in 2018 for which CPFM was one of several contributing brands. The brand also delivered a single hoodie for Yams Day on January 17th, 2019, which featured CPFM’s smiley face graphic with Yams’ birthmark and cross tattoo. Most recently, Cactus Plant Flea Market has partnered with The Rolling Stones for their 2019 “No Filter Tour.” The merchandise comes in the form of several crewneck sweatshirts and tees that do an excellent job combining the essence of both brands, turning the Rolling Stones “Tongue And Lips” Logo into something of a Venus Fly Trap. A selection of CPFM’s work with artists can be shopped below.
Born Again Hoodie
Potentially CPFM’s most widely recognized piece of the last year and one of the brand’s highest reselling items on our platform, the Born Again hoodie released with some controversy. Released on New Year’s Day, the hoodie, which reads “ye must be Born again” on it, was quickly mis-contextualized as a diss to Kanye West. For those who may be new, Kanye often goes by the shortened nickname, “Ye.” CPFM officially reached out to (Hypebeast/highsnobiety) shortly after speculation began to clear things up and state that the phrase comes from a 16th Century Old English biblical reference. This hasn’t stopped social media from running with the phrase as the internet erupted in September when Drake wore the hoodie. The Cactus Plant Flea Market Born Again Hoodie can be shopped on StockX here.
