THINK GLOBALLY - ACT LOCALLY

Dear Readers,

Our title claim, “Think Globally, Act Locally” is a statement that I have been thinking about for quite some time now and I am very pleased that we could dedicate this entire issue to it. Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to force my own socio-political ideologies upon you, I’ll leave that to those who get paid for that with our taxes, the statement, however, isn’t really about that anyway. Globalization is a topic hot on everyone’s lips and minds, not a day goes by in which you aren’t bombarded by the sensationalist media about the negative effects globalization is having on your life, your job and your country. Well, let’s turn it around on them, start thinking globally and act locally. Like with everything else in life, every negative has a positive, thus, surely, Globalization has some positive aspect which you can use for yourself. Let’s take the ability to have instant access to global information for example, you are no longer dependent on the knowledge with which you were infused with in your local settings, be it by your parents, social surroundings or teachers. You can, today, gather information about every subject from anywhere in the world in an instant and thus find solutions to problems from outside of your traditional think box. An amazing situation to be in, yet it is generally ignored. To give an example of how that concept of thinking and acting was done successfully in today’s world we decided that we were going to interview Michael Kopelman fo our title story. Michael Kopelman is the owner and founder of Gimme5 in London. Gimme5 is the umbrella company that launched Stüssy in the UK and Europe, introduced labels such as Supreme, PAM, Visvim to Europe as well as making their own lines, Gimme5 and GoodEnough UK. On top of that, Michael owns and runs four of the world’s most influential and respected stores, the Stüssy Store, Foot Patrol, Hideout and the A Bathing Ape Busy Workshop. Sure, you could ask yourself what the big deal is, and why we would dedicate 4 pages to his story. The fact is that these labels and stores are the most influential, wanted and respected brands in street culture. Furthermore, these labels inspire the major players such as Levi’s, Adidas and Nike, for example, and result in collaborations with Michael’s brands that are among the most sought after products of our time, 25 of which are about to appear for Stüssy’s 25th Birthday.
Michael took what he had learned from his time growing up in New York and Tokyo and applied it to his local setting, London, and in turn made that city what it is today.

We dedicated this entire issue to brands, artists, stores and objects of interest that all shine because of their great positive international appeal and thinking. We are thus proud to have features on Surrender, James Lavelle’s new incarnation in Singapore, Stereo Skateboarding out of San Francisco, Franklin & Marshall out of Verona, an exclusive report on Hong Kong’s street scene and culture and an interview with Invisible:Man. Of course, the usual highlights of stores from around the world as well as great previews of the upcoming trends for this summer are not missed in this issue. Not wanting to simply report and bring you these great stories from around the world though, we did our bit as well and officially extended our international network of friends of colleagues and hence are proud to welcome our international representatives from Canada, America, Spain, France, the UK and Singapore to the streetwear today team, a move to bring you more from them and bring them more of us.

Enjoy!

Steven Vogel for streetwear today team