“I miss restaurants, I miss traveling, I’m afraid of the future.” Jason Dill, legendary skater and founder of Fucking Awesome, is having the same 2020 as most people in the world. Luckily for us, however, he and his team have also been busy with their latest drop, which combines both animal prints and prints of animals. Aside from that, Jason’s been enjoying the glorious environs of Pasadena, doing plenty of walking and far too much thinking. Read on for some of those thoughts about the new collection and the state of the world, and see all the best looks photographed by Niall O’Brien, below.
Hey Jason! Where are you right now?
Hi. Hello. I am at the FA World Entertainment Headquarters, we are doing a shoot for the new Adidas FA stuff. Nak is here. I’m very grateful to all who work here, things are what they are these days and I have to absorb all positivity that comes my way.
How would you describe the mindset of the Fucking Awesome crew (and yourself) at this particularly weird juncture?
Well, shit… I can only speak for myself and say it’s all day by day. I didn’t leave Pasadena (where I now live in California) since March. I didn’t even ride in a car, because I don’t drive, I just had an unbroken routine of walking and reading for almost six months. I would walk five miles a day, make FA and read. 16 books later, my routine wasn’t enough, so I went on a trip to Utah with a friend for two weeks. I just wanted to be in nature. I got back from that trip and today I saw the new warehouse and met our new employees.
What were you thinking about when you were working on this collection? The oversize leather jacket and tracksuit are great.
Well, thank you! What I’m thinking when I’m making new stuff, is that it should look and feel different to me and to our audience. I want it to feel different than anything we’ve made before.
I like the red leopard print and argyll knits; what inspired the prints?
I go though swatches of materials and those materials have patterns… when you flip them over, the pattern is reversed and takes on a whole different look and even feel to it. I believe the leopard print is actually flowers on the other side but really looked good flipped, like leopard print, so I went with that on the jacket and pants. Also I like cardigans and some of the gear you might find in a grandfather’s closet; I feel like the spectrum of people’s interest is wider than ever when it comes to clothes nowadays, so fuck it, y’know?
Is the animal print down jacket one of your collages?
I wouldn’t call it animal print, there are just animals on it, but yes, that’s one of my collages. I like that one, it would have made a good tee or polo, I always fuckin’ forget to make shit.
What do you hope for the rest of 2020?
Ahhh man, fuck, I think it’s more of what I hope for 2021, 22, 23 and so on… I wish Keith Hufnagel was still alive, I miss going to the FA store regularly, I miss restaurants, I miss travelling, I’m afraid of the future. I think I always have been, but hey, it’s insane to have been born and to live. I’m so lucky to have spent the time I have with the people I have. Hopefully the weather doesn’t take us before my 60s, it would be nice to make it there. I have my doubts though. I’m not banking on it. On that positive note, cheers i-D!
Fucking Awesome’s new collection is out today, Wednesday 7 October, and available here