StockX brings together French brands and teams through the campaign “The Family Drop”, featuring the launch of four exclusive products. On the program, there is also a new association with Pressure x Hotel Radio Paris. On one side a graphic streetwear label, which mixes Mediterranean design and political message. On the other hand, an independent web radio, a platform for freedom of speech without barriers of styles or profiles, talent scout, and urban underground culture channel. Both companies intend to “leave no one behind”, and vigorously defend their uniqueness. Here’s a closer look at what brings them together, what Pressure has produced, and what Hotel Radio has presented in the streets of Paris.
Pressure, a Mediterranean streetwear style engaged with the environment.
“What I want to show is that not everything is beautiful.” It is the beauty, however, that we retain at first sight of the creations of Theodoros Gennitsakis. His streetwear brand Pressure combines inspired graphics with a smooth mix of references to the Mediterranean culture from which the founder comes and which he intends to celebrate. But behind the pretty images are hidden messages of another kind. They are ironic, sarcastic, demanding… political, in any case. “That’s why we call ourselves Pressure. To put pressure on all the people who are blind, who don’t want to see the reality of things”, explains Theodoros. At a time when the statement, a historical component of streetwear, is often reduced to marketing for the benefit of style, the Greek-Parisian label has put it at the heart of its design.
Founded in 2012 as a PR agency, Pressure took became a brand two years later – after the arrival of an art and fashion magazine, and before an extension into a gallery and then a restaurant, a way of changing into a 360-degree concept. It was after the Paris attacks in late 2015 that his commitment took shape. “We had an employee of Moroccan origin who told us one day that he was starting to worry because he felt that people looked at him badly in the street when he spoke in Arabic on the phone … we told him a joke, ‘it’s the pressure, you work at Pressure’, and from there came the idea of making a t-shirt with ‘pressure’ written in Arabic,” says the designer. Simple typography to say no to stereotypes, the ambition of Pressure is set. “We didn’t start as a fashion brand to offer different cuts or materials, but rather with merchandise with strong graphics and political messages,” continues Theodoros, for whom the creative process is to “convey these messages in a super cool way”.
The design follows the designer’s background. Son of Greek immigrants, Theodoros grew up in the multi-cultural surroundings of Paris and mentions his home as an inspiration: “We are French-Greeks who grew up with Africans and spent summers in a non-touristy part of Greece, influenced by the Balkans and Turkish”. The pressure, therefore, draws from this cultural ensemble to establish “a Mediterranean style”. While his satires are stylized, written in French, Greek, and Arabic, they are combined by the figure of a philosopher or an apollo, an angel or an acropolis column, a Renaissance pictorial representation, or marine animals. A cute image or a sculptural representation combined with aggressive typographies and a political message is the recipe applied to streetwear basics. “All in contradiction”, Pressure evokes a narrow street with irregular paving stones and crumbling walls covered with graffiti. The charm of the imperfect, the beauty of the diverse. Between cool style and commitment, the brand has attracted a wide range of customers, “from fashionistas who will mix us with Balenciaga or kids with skate brands, to people who wear us for the hidden meaning of a word in Arabic, and old people for an unspoken truth about the Greek crisis.” An exciting diversity for a label that has always wanted “to speak to everyone”, including those who do not necessarily fit into the mold of the street – “fashion, rap, skate, basketball, soccer”. That’s why Pressure is developing several types of products at different prices. And it is precisely a new range, that the label presents today on StockX.
A DropX graphic, and the good vibes of Hotel Radio Paris.
Theodoros is familiar with the platform, as a good sneaker collector, and is happy to be able to offer an exclusive product. Pressure, which will soon launch new “more complex” pieces with a production chain to “go further on eco-responsibility”, introduces here its new line of t-shirts “more high quality and colorful”. Eager to restore the identity of the brand, Theodoros has designed for this DropX a T-shirt with some of its graphic signatures, “a large Arabic typography with the representation of an angel”, in a burgundy color on a 100% organic cotton support of good quality with its 220 grams. “Really cool”, says Jean-Charles Leuvrey, founder of the web radio Hotel Radio Paris, associated with this launch in the campaign “The Family Drop”. The two creators did not know each other personally beforehand, but they are very happy to cross paths. And for good reason, they have a lot in common.
Hotel Radio Paris also has a message to pass on: a “new underground and urban musical generation”, of which it has been the first special channel for over five years now. As a “French pioneer of live music and real interviews”, HRP can brag about the first interviews with artists like Eddy de Pretto, Slimka, or Angèle, among many others. “Hotel Radio is a platform for freedom of expression. We go through all media, from talks, shows, DJ sets, social debates all this live because for me that’s what radio is all about”, says Jean-Charles, who makes a priority of not imposing any barriers of profiles or musical styles. The eclectic program reflects what Hotel Radio is, a name chosen to symbolize the idea of mixing. This is something that echoes Pressure: “They play sounds from different cultures, they are not stuck on a single style, it reflects Pressure’s desire to speak to everyone. The connection is very good”, Theodoros admits.
The same goes for his partner at Hotel Radio. Jean-Charles is passionate and well connected to fashion, after having managed a South African skateboard brand and worked at Supreme, he has always been involved in the design. He appreciates Pressure’s creative approach and this partnership. “The graphic design is really good, and this Greek-French identity is very cool. We have a conceptual approach, the expression of diverse cultures, the idea of bringing people together. And because Paris is a very closed city where everyone tends to stay with their friends, I think it’s great that we meet in this way, without necessarily knowing each other.” For the campaign, Jean-Charles walked with his team in the streets of the 18th district, his “lifelong neighborhood”, the anchor of his heart. A popular and colorful district, where these communities dear to Pressure meet. A beautiful image, to transcribe a beautiful message.
Check out Pressure Clothes’ “Angel” for The Family Drop from July 22 at 5:00 pm, exclusively on StockX.
