Streetwear Spotlight: Fur Face Boy

Article written by: SoJones Asmara
Posted on: October 28, 2009

Don’t we all love debuts?  SoJones.com interviewed the camera-shy Fur Face Boy at a fashion industry show called MAGIC, where he showed SoJones.com his first apparel collection. His source of inspiration? A devastating break up. Peep the details below…

Introduce yourself and describe how your brand was started? What’s with all the mystery?
My name is Ha Mai. I’m pretty much just your average everyday guy who’s always been into comics, cartoons, video games, toys, art and design. Back in 2008 I was going through a really tough break up. During this time I found myself not only heartbroken and alone but also confused and lost. The only time I felt at ease was when I was designing or drawing something. I loved getting lost doing what I wanted to do without anybody judging or hassling me. This seemed to be THE only time I was happy and THIS is what I wanted in life. While away from personal art projects, I found myself not only choked up over lost love, but also depressed with life in general. It seemed like all of my friends and family were moving forward with their lives by getting married, buying houses, getting promoted and opening up businesses while I was stuck in reverse. I had enough of it and soon decided to create my own T-shirt brand, Fur Face Boy! This brand would be the ultimate outlet where I could create and design whatever I wanted and how I wanted! Plain and simple – THIS is just something I enjoy doing and it makes me happy.

Why do I keep my identity a mystery? Truth is, I just want to, that’s all. I’m known to be kinda shy and I hate receiving attention nor do I want it. I want everybody to just to see me as Ha Mai and not as Fur Face Boy, so if people knew who I was they’d probably hassle me about this and that about shirts, when really I just wanna talk about comic books, stupid stuff and clown around. If someone does know what I look like then that’s cool too, cause then people could be like “Ooooh I know what FFB looks like, do you?” It’s kinda like it’s a side mission in the quirky world of Fur Face Boy.

Describe this season and next season’s looks. Include any sources of inspiration
Well, for my newest line up (Series 2) I pulled inspiration from a variety of things I like (which is what the brand is based off of) I have a Ramones shirt inspired by their song “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” / the fact that I like how they’re known to always wear cartoon character T’s. I of course also have a Michael Jackson inspired design, comic book related designs, sneaker related designs along with some graphic design inspired /referenced designs.

What celeb or well-known figure(s) exemplify the brand?
Truth is, I don’t design with a figure in mind at all. I just think it’s for whoever is down with the brand. So I don’t care if Brad Pitt wears it or if it’s Jay-Z. I mean that would be really, really, really cool but these shirts are intended for the people, not the people are intended for the shirts. Y’know?

Any product placements on celebs, in movies or videos to keep an eye out for?
Hmmm….not really. I mean I got a few celebrities rocking FFB (JoJo Simmons, Dom Kennedy, Ato Essandoh, Raushanah Simmons and Karin Anna Cheung) but it’s not like they’re Oscar or Grammy winners or anything, either way they’re the people are all cool as shit! And that’s all FFB needs, cool as shit people rocking it!

Any expansion plans?
Since Fur Face Boy is such a young brand, I haven’t really thought of any expansion plans as of yet. I really do want to make kids sized clothes sometime in the future though, that’s for sure. In the meantime, I have thoughts and ideas bouncing here and there with other brands for special collaboration shirts, but that’s pretty much it for now.

Looking ahead over the next year or two, what themes/looks/styles do you see your brand gravitating to?
To keep the brand consistent, I really want to stay within the roots of the brand and sticking with fun, quirky, bright and identifiable branding. The T-shirt is definitely the staple piece of the brand, but look for hoodies and sweatshirts to start coming into the line pretty soon. Also look for continued themes based off comics, cartoons, music, toys and other popular culture staples in future designs.

What themes/looks/styles do you see your brand moving away from?
Well, Like I said earlier, the brand is still very young, with the T-shirt being the staple product. So I guess I can’t really move away from anything. Let’s just say my brand has butterfly collared shirt – I’m gonna move away from that.

What has been a surprise fashion hit over the last year?
I’m definitely no fashion expert, but from what I noticed plaid has gone BERSERK-O! It’s all over the place. In some cases it’s used spot on to perfection, while in other cases it’s just overkill. I like it alot, that is, if it’s used the right way.

The bold designs of Fur Face Boy mostly feature the logo mascot a.k.a. the designer’s alter ego, and witty sayings and slogans that are well-thought and executed.  Talking too much about the brand will not do too much good, so you might as well see the real stuff.  Fur Face Boy also thinks highly of the ladies, therefore he provides women’s sizes for each design.

Here are some of SoJones.com’s Fur Face Boy favorites:

Fur Face Boy t-shirts are sold between $28.00 up to $36.00. You can take a peek on their online store at www.furfaceboy.com.