The Detroit Pistons approached us to collaborate on a limited merchandise drop. After thorough research and reference gathering I designed an extensive street wear line to be produced for the beginning of one of their seasons, and sold online and in their official retail location in Detroit.

Featured here are the digital mock-ups I sent to the Pistons along with some details, source material/inspiration, and text on why I created some of the designs.

Each grouping follows a theme that typically revolves around some form of pop culture. Graphic elements borrowed from sports culture, hip-hop, break dancing, motorcycle/auto culture, and punk “zine” culture are all recognizable, along with some embroidered patchwork pieces that are rooted in bohemian street culture often seen with their homemade patched denim work.

These designs were inspired by vintage heavy metal band tees. Detroit is nicknamed “Rock City” because of its music history, and I wanted to channel that. I also borrowed some elements from vintage automotive brand tees.

Continuing the music theme, these designs were inspired by DIY punk rock flyers and magazines, with purposely crooked images, and crowded text using varying “found” fonts. 

I based these designs off the “Bad Boys” late 80’s, early 90’s era Pistons jerseys and merchandise. I wanted bold colors and straightforward graphics.

Inspired by press-on vintage felt letters, which often  feature “Coopers” font styling, I wanted to create a few designs that had a classic Americana feel, mixed again with a rock-n-roll. I thought adding neon yellow and orange colors, not typical of Pistons colors, would help give it a unique vintage bootleg look.

For these designs I was channeling 90’s graphics. There was a trend around then of thinner text mixed with a more paired down minimal graphic approach in contrast to other more loud graphics at the time. I also made a rock-n-roll inspired font to carry through the music theme.

These designs were inspired directly by motorcycle gangs, and hip hop breakdance crew apparel. Mono color, arched fonts, skulls, and full front, or back prints are characteristic of these styles. I imagine they’d be printed using a vintage felt ink mix that would give them a classic 80’s feel. 

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Searching the web for Pistons gear I noticed no one had yet produced a straight-forward logo history t-shirt. So, I made one. 

Basketball is influenced by streetwear culture, and vice-versa, so I thought it would be cool to design a top-and-bottom matching combo characteristic of many classic streetwear clothing designers. I went with clean straight forward athletic graphic designs to match the athletic jersey material of the garments.

The automotive industry is a big part of Detroit’s economy and culture. There are hundreds of dealerships, mechanics shops, and car clubs that have their own graphic signage, and garment styles. Lots of them use the classic Dickies® Eisenhower jackets for work and fashion. They patch them up, print on them, or embroidery them. They’re a recognizable part of the culture, and I thought it would be appealing to mix them with the Pistons’ basketball culture.

Heres a duffle bag design with the same patch concept as the jacket. Patches on luggage create a slightly different feel. It reminds me of old school luggage outfitted with patches or stickers of the cities/countries traveled. 

Along with the garments I sent to the Pistons I included a few options of embroidered headwear designs. Some of them stand alone, and some match the garment designs.