It’s well known that UNDERGROUND likes to cock a snook at the establishment. It’s a defiance and unwillingness to blindly comply that is as recognisable in the company’s employees as it is in the customers who buy our shoes. Underground scenes might be harder to find or define in an internet age, but an underground attitude is not.
INDEPENDENT – It’s an overused word but one that still stands true. We don’t need to jump on new trends, we do what we hold to be interesting and relevant. It can mean forever dressing in black skinny jeans and winkle-pickers, dressing in a zany, never seen way or dressing in a dressing gown. It’s the attitude of independence that matters. UNDERGROUND is still an independent company.
FIRST TO KNOW – Hidden underground culture is irrelevant now. For it to exist hidden would demand a level of exclusivity and arrogance that you would expect at a high-end members club. But underground tastes do tend to be ahead of the curve or against the curve. It means that the things that we like may not yet be in the mainstream consciousness. Through NEVER KNOWN, we can investigate these things and inform our designs and products. We can also give young artists or scenes a chance to connect with our market, their market. It’s not about needing to know what’s new, but about a desire for and attraction to experimentation and advancement, something we’ll show in our design and communications. An interest in the past and what brought us here today is equally as relevant, if it is not “revivalist”.
PUNK – A punk attitude is different to being an out and out 70’s punk. Being punk means being DIY, not going along with the rules just because you are told to. It’s about questioning what we are told is normal or acceptable, relating to science, politics, systems of power, style, aesthetics, music and even the way we live our everyday lives. Not everyone with a punk attitude will subvert the systems but even those who don’t will respect and understand and perhaps even idolise those who do. Mostly, punks are true to themselves and live life. Hardcore breakbeat and Mobb Deep had the same defiance as 70’s punks.