Cactus Plant Flea Market: Your Favourite Rapper’s Favourite Brand

“Streetwear is dead.”

That was the verdict delivered by Virgil Abloh in the twilight of 2019. In its immediate aftermath, this take from one of the scene’s biggest names seemed to predict a shift from branded hoodies and clashing prints to something more minimal. However, to the general consumer, “streetwear” is still very much alive.

This view is also shared by Cactus Plant Flea Market, with the enigmatic label continuing to leave a footprint with its staple style of expressive prints, colours, and graphics.

Première collab apparel Nike x CPFM en 2019, starring le smiley signature. Crédits : Nike

Cactus Plant Flea Market: A DIY Streetwear Brand Launched by Pharrell and Cynthia Lu

Just a quick glance should be enough to convince you of CPFM’s eye-catching sartorial proposition, although the same couldn’t be said for what the brand radiates as a whole. Its e-shop is – paradoxically – flat, its social media pages are almost devoid of posts, and no interviews for the brand actually exist. This is all for a very good reason; the brand’s creator, Cynthia Lu, is trying to hold on to what remains of her anonymity.

Despite this, we do know a little bit about Lu. Following an internship at Complex, in 2012 she joined the PR team for Billionaire Boys Club. It was here that she met the BBC founder, Pharrell Williams. From the day their paths first crossed, the two shared a connection and Lu became Pharrell’s personal assistant shortly after. Williams encouraged Lu as she began experimenting with vintage pieces that she had found at flea markets. The brand was cemented when Pharrell used his “Cactus” nickname during a speech at the CFDAs’ Fashion Icon awards ceremony. Lu added Flea Market to this as a homage to the place where she had found her own creative inspiration, and Cactus Plant Flea Market officially launched in 2015.

Pharrell wearing a CPFM cap, featured in Vogue. Credit: Mario Testino

In the midst of the peak streetwear era and despite a myriad of competitors, the brand stood out with its own unique aesthetic: bold, unapologetic graphics with a DIY vibe. This do-it-yourself ethos was built upon with hand-drawn graphics, epitomised by the brand’s signature smiley face logo. More catchy, childlike characters have been added since, combined with a mix of embroidery, silk-screen printing or dyes, which are sometimes all used together. With this, the “artisanal streetwear” trend was born.

This was, nonetheless, a vehicle of personal expression. “When I wear Cactus Plant, I feel like I have on antigravity. I don’t feel like I am living within the matrix of the social norm.” Pharrell states. It was he who launched CPFM into the limelight in 2015, wearing the products on magazine covers and across social media posts. As a result, a throng of imitators emerged, with artists including Kanye, Offset, Travis Scott and A$AP Rocky all spotted rocking CPFM branded products.

Human Made, Nike, Travis Scott and Kanye West… CPFM, a Prime Collaborator

Lu has built on the air of mystery by refusing to standardise the frequency of the brand’s output. Going against the industry model of regular fashion cycles or weekly drops, CPFM only releases a smattering of products sporadically, almost exclusively through its own channels, and without ever sounding a warning.

Of course, the brand quickly surpassed expectations, creating a perfect profile for collaboration opportunities. As CPFM was met with acclaim from rappers, it was only logical that they would turn to the brand for their merchandise. Pharrell’s band, N.E.R.D, led the charge, before Kid Cudi’s and Kanye West’s “Kids See Ghosts”, project arrived in 2018. This laid the foundations for these two artists’ solo projects, while also encouraging A$AP Mob, Playboi Carti, Travis Scott and even the Rolling Stones to add themselves to CPFM’s growing list of collaborators.

CPFM merchandise for Kids See Ghosts, Travis Scott, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Playboi Carti and The Rolling Stones. Credits: CPFM

Lu is unrivalled when it comes to playing around with the logos of her associates and her quirky approach has also won over some of the biggest brands in the space.After teaming up with brands from the extended “family”, such as Human Made and Anti Social Social Club, Lu started to collaborate with fashion heavyweights including CDG, Stüssy, Alpinestars, and Marc Jacobs. In 2019, Nike invited CPFM to design a sneaker for the first time. This brought about a VaporMax sneaker, created in the brand’s childlike DIY style with clashing typography and signature smiley face logo. Since then, CPFM has gone on to launch follow-ups in the forms of an Air Force 1 and a Dunk Low, which was decorated with Swarovski crystals. Two capsule apparel collections have also been launched, the latest of which saw CPFM play around with Nike heritage by applying its illustrations onto a rugby polo top, a hockey shirt, a jogging tee and motorsport pants.

Nike Air Max Cactus Plant Flea Market (2019)

Nike Air Force 1 Low Cactus Plant Flea Market (2020)

Nike Dunk Low Cactus Plant Flea Market Swarovski (2020)

Six years since its creation and despite the tendency of graphic fashion trends to die down – even in the streetwear niche – Lu’s colourful designs are blazing a path all of their own. CPFM’s long-term potential has even been recognised, as much for its creativity as its functionality, by Abloh. “I made a statement that ‘streetwear’ is going to die, and I firmly believe that Cynthia is an example of the future of it. I think she is the prototype for the next epicentre of ideas. She just makes work and it comes out. She doesn’t process it, doesn’t have to use hype.”, the Off-White founder explained, in what one might view as a symbolic passing of the baton. With the journey already underway to take over the future with its eternal smile, CPFM already stands as a representation of the present.