Streetwear Spotlight: Pyneapple+ Sponsors a SOJONES GIVEAWAY

Article written by: Asmara Wreksono
Posted on: December 11, 2009

PYNEAPPLE+ T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY

We’ve got THREE Pyneapple + Tees and goodies to give away via a “SoJones Forum Comments Lottery”. Here’s how it works:

1. Every SoJones comment posted on this page from Dec 11– Dec 18 counts as a “lottery entry”. Also make sure when you comment, have a link to somewhere we can contact you (like your SoJones account, you facebook, etc.). It makes it easier to contact you if you win.
2. Drawing for three winners will be held on Dec 19. Winners will be announced on this page and on the forums page (http://www.sojones.com/forums/).

Forum Comments Lottery Rules

• One item per winner
• Duplicate comments will not count, like posting “I love this forum” or “hi” 50 times.
• Garbage or nonsensical comments will not count, like “awr#$ASFasdfkl”
• Comments hating on other people will definitely NOT count.
• U.S. residents only

If boldness is what you’re looking for in streetwear, you might go crazy after seeing the collection from Pyneapple+.  Their strong colors, sharp graphic designs and head-turning statements attracted the editors at SoJones.com.   So for those who like to be the center of attention, get to know the up and coming as SoJones.com talks to Chaz Reyes, founder of Pyneapple+.

Introduce yourself and describe how your brand was started?

What’s going on SoJones. My name is Chaz Reyes and I own Pyneapple + (“plus”) along with my homie of 10 years, Xavier Rubio. Were just two guys that enjoy fashion and the art behind fashion. Pyneapple + began in my mind about a year and a half ago but didn’t become a reality until this year. I was always in to graphic design since high school and actually decided to pursue it as a career. I went to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for about a year and a half and decided that it wasn’t for me. I continued to design and eventually ventured into t-shirt design. After support from a bunch of people around me and with a new business partner, I decided to begin this journey.

Describe this season and next season’s looks. Include any sources of inspiration.

This season’s look was all about making a statement. We thought since we are new to the game, there is no better way to get noticed than by making a statement. I was always inspired by typography and I played with that throughout this collection. Making art with words has always impressed me. One music video I remember that does well with this is “Good Life” with Ye and TPain. That video was so dope to me and inspired a lot of my typography today.

Next season is going to be even better though. We definitely are beginning to realize what type of brand we want to become and the style we want to bring to the table. I don’t want to give out too much information but we’re call this collection “Don’t Wanna Grow Up”. Its inspired by many things we all use to play with when we were younger but with a new school twist. I know the customers are going to love what we have coming up for them.

What celeb or well-known figure(s) exemplify the brand?

I couldn’t really pin point a certain celeb that would exemplify us. Our brand has always been about wearing what you feel. We’ve sold tees to people ranging from the straight hip-hop heads and also to the “artistic” hipster types. I don’t like to stereotype people by the clothing they wear. BUT, if I had to pick one I would definitely have to say Lady Gaga. That chick will wear whatever the hell she wants and gets away with it…… sometimes. And if you listen to her music you’ll notice the versatility, she’ll be on an electro track one day and then on a hip-hop track with Wale the next day. That is something we want to build upon with this brand, versatility.

Any product placements on celebs, in movies or videos to keep an eye out for?

There aren’t any placements that to my knowledge that are out now. It is possible it has been seen somewhere and I definitely would love to know about it. Hopefully after this feature we’ll start seeing it a lot more often.

Any expansion plans?

As of now we are focused on tees. First expansion we are going to do is defintiely women’s shirts. I can’t take my girlfriends nagging anymore. Ha. In the future (maybe near future) we want to get some hoodies and some caps released to compliment the tees of course. A lot of brands nowadays want to venture into a lot of cut and sew type products but I think we just want to keep it original for while. There is nothing better than a fresh tee and some jeans. Keep it simple.

Looking ahead over the next year or two, what themes/looks/styles do you see your brand gravitating to?

We see the brand moving into all types of themes but keeping the feel of Pyneapple + into each product. Like I said before we want to be versatile in what we bring but also keep our simplistic style. We don’t want to venture too far out from the basic tee. It is something that has been around longer than any of us has been alive. Were just here to freshen it up a bit and if we set our own trends along the way then so be it.

What themes/looks/styles do you see your brand moving away from?

The typography was fun for me this season but I’m sure we will be moving in the opposite direction with the next collections. You will see this when next season drops. There are still some play on words I would say, but it will not be the focus of the product. Also, we will always keep it simple so never the all over printed shirts; it is just too much to look at.

What has been a surprise fashion hit over the last year?

Well I’m from the east coast and I can dig a nice pair of slim fit Levis but the west coast skinny jeans are on another level for me. I was surprised that caught on and it is beginning its way to this side too. A lot of these guys can pull it off though and I’ve seen some of them colorful jeans paired well with some of our tees.

Pyneapple + has quite a collection and you can check them out on their official website, www.pyneappleplus.com.  They’re reasonably priced too ($20 – $22), so for those who like to experiment with fashion, you can probably get them all at once.  Here are Pynapple + in action.

And here are what you can win from Pyneapple + x SoJones.com giveaway:

Haters Love Me, worth $20.00

Fly As a Baloon, worth $20.00

Be Different, worth $20.00