These days, streetwear cannot be painted with one brush. The street culture has so many angles and avenues, so many branches of sub-cultures that come from the same tree. The tree is ever changing, ever growing, and ever evolving, but the roots are deep, and the roots are strong.
In the second instalment of Hometown Streetwear Spotlight we travel to the home of The Bombers. The centre of the map where the heart of Canada beats, as Killa Cam once said: “ice like Winnipeg”. We talk to Myles Genido from Mighty Malicious X Delicious, a label that like our last spotlight caught my eye with its classic streetwear essence and evolved styles.
My first question is as always… Where does your brand name come from and is there a meaning behind it?
The brand name is reflection of our brand. It kind of says it all while leaving it open for interpretation.
A break down of our name
Mighty (Strong, Can’t be fucked with)
Malicious (Mean, with intent)
x (with)
Delicious (Nice, Done tastefully)
Strong, Mean, & Nice; Strength with Finesse like a healthy D.Rose.
Malicious Delicious is also a Notorious BIG lyric in “Brooklyn’s Finest” but I found that out after creating the name.
Going through your lookbooks I felt like sports and music may be some of your inspirations, and with your spring/summer ‘15 book possibly photography. I may have just picked up those ideas because they’re inspirations of my own, but is it safe to say they’re yours as well? What else inspires your designs?
Yes you’re absolutely right. Sports and music are big inspirations behind a lot of the designs. This brand is a reflection of us, our interests, and our experiences. Those are some of the things we grew up around and that are still prominent in our lives today. Aside from music and sports, Art and Life also play a big role when it comes to design inspiration. I think as we grow and go through new experiences, it will give me more to draw inspiration from when creating future designs and collections.
Your line has the classic street wear vibe, but there is something I can’t put my finger on that makes it different, I want to say a modern look but at the same time I want to say a retro feel with some of the designs. Can you let us in on your ideal impression your clothing will leave on someone?
Well before being an owner of a streetwear brand I was a fan first. I’d say a lot of the brands that were popular before have a big influence on my style of design but I try to incorporate a modern twist to it. Things like experimenting with logo placements, color combinations, and materials. I think most streetwear brands now are more fashion focused; the shape of a garment, the different types of fabrics, & all the small details like added zippers etc. Street wear brands before had stronger graphics and messages behind their graphics. I try to balance that with our brand. We focus on quality, fit, and fashion, but also have a strong focus on our graphics and the message behind the graphics. I think what sets our brand apart from others is there’s thought, emotion, and meaning behind our designs. We don’t just slap logos on shirts. We have passion behind our design and the clothes we create. Ideally, I’d like our end customer to have a feeling of confidence to take on their day while wearing our clothes. When you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, you perform better, you feel more confident being yourself.
Accessories are something I like to pick up when I’m hooked on a label. Your umbrella design is super dope! What made you decide to go with the scarf, lighter holder and umbrella?
We always try to squeeze in an accessory of some kind with every collection. It just showcases that we can design things other than clothes. I also like accessories because it gives me an opportunity to design on a different canvas. The umbrella, scarf, and lighter holder just worked with the current line we we’re producing.
Winnipeg could be considered overlooked in terms of the attention other major Canadian cities receive, which might make it harder to get your label the attention it deserves. It also might give you more support from your city and Manitoba all together. What’s it like bringing up a brand in the land of the Jets?
While the internet and social media have definitely made the world a lot smaller. Trying to create a brand in a smaller market definitely has it’s challenges. But everybody has their own uphill battles to fight regardless of their situation. Even rich kids have their own hurdles to overcome. We don’t look at being in a smaller market as a negative, We try to focus on the opportunity we have to make our own mark without being in the shadows of giants. We’re trying to become the giants casting the shadows. We understand it may to be a long process but we’re willing to pay our dues. I’m really enjoying the journey of growing a business and appreciate each step towards progress we make. In the end, the longer it takes for us to blow up the better prepared we’ll be to maintain our spot when we get there.
After mentioning to a designer I would be doing this piece with a brand out of Manitoba, he actually mentioned MMXD by name saying he would like to collaborate with you (*Monkey covering mouth emoji how Ronnie Fieg might do lol). We can discuss that at another time but. Are collabs something you would consider? Have you done any in the past?
We’re definitely open to doing collabs if the situation is mutually beneficial. We’ve done one collab with a good friend of ours and local photographer (s/o Khammy P). We’ve talked about collabs with other local brands but have not released anything official yet. S/o to Myles out in Calgary from LHC, holla at me. Also S/o to some other Winnipeg brands doing their thing Ordnry, SJA, Oak + Oar, Skater Sh!t, Hybrid Clothing, and Friday Knights.
I appreciate you taking the time to chop it up with us, is there anything else you would like our readers to know?
Thank you to TheBragAffair for highlighting the brand. I’d also like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this.
S/o to everyone that supports our brand! We appreciate you. Look out for our Fall/Winter delivery. Follow us on instagram to stay up to date @M.M.X.D
This brand fuels passion for life, life fuels passion for the brand. We’re trying to make a living doing what we love.
R.I.P
Jonas Bevacqua
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