Since its inception in 2000 — when husband and wife team Misha Hollenbach and Shauna Toohey fell in love — the shapeshifting, genre-defying, medium-challenging label that is P.A.M. (Perks and Mini) has been a celebration of free creativity. Forever unpredictable and uncompromising, they have consistently challenged the culture that has developed around them.
In rad LA-based DIY collective Some Ware — by Cali Thornhill DeWitt and Brendan Fowler — they found kindred spirits. It was only a matter of time before they collaborated.
Inspired by a desire to disrupt, the limited edition capsule collection sees archive P.A.M. T-shirts, hoodies and signature Duplo pants reimagined by Some Ware with custom screen print detailing over original P.A.M. prints and designs. With a focus on community, upcycling, eliciting an emotional response, as well as the transformative process of collaboration between friends, the collection shares ideas and energy between P.A.M., Some Ware and the entire world.
What brought you together? Can you remember how you all met?
Cali and Brendan: The sounds of the underground. Cali met Brendan at a Beefeater show in Washington DC during Revolution Summer, we met Misha at a hardware store in Milan when we both happened to be shopping for cement and we met Shauna in Tokyo at a loft in Shibuya where Hanatarash were performing.
Misha: We have known Brendan personally for what may be 15 years. He had a project called BARR and he sent us tees. I still have the tees! Fast forward a few years, and I discovered Cali has the same mum as me, so that was weird.
What were your first impressions of one another?
Misha: First impressions were the best impressions. Next impressions even deeper. We all now live together for part of the year in an undisclosed address.
Cali and Brendan: Relief.
What was the catalyst for this collaboration? Why now?
Cali and Brendan: Constant movement equals constant magic. Why now? Why not!
Shauna: I love what they do and how they create something that I understand and share. They proposed it and it made total sense. It has been an excellent collaboration. The concept of upcycling P.A.M. stock and the actual outcome is super satisfying. I want to wear it and see others wearing it. And the lookbook that Cali shot is a perfect lookbook — it’s so fresh and of the time.
P.A.M, what’s the hottest thing about Some Ware?
Shauna: The product. They make excellent products that share ideas and energy and that’s what the world needs right now. It’s not hype, it’s real and forever.
And Some Ware, what’s the hottest thing about P.A.M.?
Cali and Brendan: The absence of rules equals the presence of possibility.
How did you combine your talents here?
Misha: We mostly combine our talents on the group text we share. The message app has become a hotplate for our collective tortilla! Beans and all.
Shauna: We combined our inspiration and our aesthetics. This was achieved through total trust on both sides.
Cali and Brendan: Minced them all into a malleable paste.
What’s the secret to a good collaboration? Is there science behind it?
Shauna: For me, a collaboration has to have a message, not a colourway. A good collaboration has something to share or say, and as it gets shared with a larger audience, everything is amplified.
Beyond product, what would you like people to take away from the collaboration and why?
Cali and Brendan: Emotional responses, positive or negative, both are good for us.
Misha: People should form friendships and make fun together. This is what we have done, and with the proceeds we are going to have a HUGE dinner together.
Shauna: I want people to see the message about community and doing things with your friends. About upcycling and the beauty that happens from that.
How will you remember this collaboration?
Shauna: Hopefully it will be the first of many.
Cali and Brendan: A piece of a larger picture, freedom.
ARCHIVAL P.A.M. RUINED BY SOME WARE launches at GR8 in Tokyo on 22 September