With the cold beginning to recede and spring beginning to feel more real, excitement is in the air over the first real festival season in more than two years. This year, StockX is partnering with Coachella to deliver curated and collaborative festival merchandise from different artists and brands. AMBUSH®︎, the iconic Japanese jewelry and apparel brand founded by partners, YOON and VERBAL, have teamed up with 88rising, the record label home to artists like Joji, Rich Brian, NIKI, and Seori, to deliver a collaborative t-shirt. With three of 88rising’s most popular artists performing, as well as the label moving their Head In The Clouds Forever festival to sit under the Coachella umbrella for the first time, this collaboration captures the collision of the two festival cultures.
AMBUSH®︎ officially launched in 2008, after YOON and VERBAL began to find success designing jewelry for themselves and their friends in the early 2000’s. Since then, the company has exploded into the zeitgeist of popular culture, working with and for everyone from Pharrell and Kim Jones, to Nike and Sacai. YOON, one half of the AMBUSH®︎ duo, has found astronomical renown as she was nominated as a finalist for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers in 2017 and has since taken the position as head of jewelry design for Dior Homme.
Coming into this partnership, it’s clear that both AMBUSH®︎ and 88rising have a strong affinity for each other. “There’s a lot of synergy between AMBUSH®︎ and 88rising. Verbal’s been close to us on the music side so we already felt familiar with the team. When we met in Tokyo a few years back there was an instant connection.” Additionally, the two also share a heavy emphasis on their Asian-American heritage and the importance of elevating that. Verbal, one half of the AMBUSH®︎ duo, was quick to explain, “There have not been many Asian collectives that have come out of the USA that support and celebrate different Asian artists from all walks of life, so I have a lot of respect for what 88rising has built throughout the years.”
The pair’s mutual admiration was made even more clear as VERBAL from AMBUSH®︎ began to detail the significance of 88rising’s Head in the Clouds Forever stage at Coachella. “For 88rising to have their own stage at Coachella is very monumental, and it’s an honor for us to be able to collaborate and celebrate this moment together.” The excitement around the Head in the Clouds Forever stage at the festival this year also elicited a gushing response from the 88rising team, who “see it as a celebration of 88rising and how far we’ve come.” Further elaborating on their upcoming presence, the 88rising team detailed just what to expect from their performance, “With our Coachella performance we’ve dared to make our biggest dreams come true – there will be a lot of surprises in store. Where we come from, how we grew up, what it means for us to be here… these emotions are all imbued within our performance.”
Together, AMBUSH®︎ and 88rising have delivered an exclusive collaborative t-shirt for Coachella and StockX that captures the shared essence of both brands. The t-shirt itself has a bright orange base, which VERBAL mentioned was “inspired by the California sunset” and features a collaborative graphic that shows a large 88rising logo with the 88 made from fire and the arrow which looks like a large metallic surfboard. “We discussed this project to be themed around ‘surf’, and the flames resemble both the scorching sun of California and the passion we both embody”, VERBAL tells us. Although this particular partnership featured just a single t-shirt, 88rising made it sound very likely that we’ll see more from the pairing at some point in the not-so-distant future. “This collaboration is so special to us because we love AMBUSH®︎. We’ve got much more planned including a larger collection drop later this year and can’t wait to share.” In the meantime, this collaborative t-shirt is a must-have for fans of either brand, whether you find yourself in the desert this weekend or not.
Click here to shop the DropX™ Exclusive AMBUSH®︎ x 88rising x Coachella collaboration on StockX.
