maharishi joins forces with Undefeated for a collaborative capsule that encompasses apparel and a two-part footwear pack in conjunction with adidas Originals.The lineup includes everything from outerwear to sweats, bottoms and accessories, which all feature maharishi’s signature camou age motifs and Undefeated’s bold graphics. Highlights from the range include a stadium jacket with a large embroidered oriental tiger at its back and the black camo jersey with printed graphics adorning the rear.

See below for an interview with James Bond of Undefeated and Hardy Blechman of maharishi as they discuss their partnership in detail.The comprehensive collection will release on December 5 at both Undefeated and maharishi.

How did this collaboration come about? What brought the two brands together?
HB: Considering the shared vision in blending streetwear, military, sportswear and workwear, it came very organically once we got together in a room. I’ve always been a fan of collaboration in general. I like it when it re ects the general East comes West, West comes East dualistic nature that is at the heart of maharishi, so I enjoyed the LA versus London aspect.

JB: In my opinion, collaborations allow me to work with brands that I’m a fan or supporter of. I’ve always respected Hardy and what he’s done for our industry. Anytime you get to build with someone like Hardy it’s not only inspirational, but it pushes you to do your best work.
How were you two able to blend each of your brand’s signature aesthetics in this collection, be it sportswear and militaristic design?

HB: James suggested creating a camou age pattern inspired by street basketball, which formed the basis of the collaboration. I’m always keen to create new, original patterns and ensuring that in the future, camou age
will be more symbolic of nature and design than it is of the military. We then bounced graphics and clothing design back and forth, each adding avour and moving towards a capsule collection that truly represented us both.
Technical aspects of the collection include a Coolmesh hockey top and zipped pockets as well as including maharishi’s Custom Pant which features semi pre- formed ergonomic pattern work.

JB: I like to think we both have iconic logos and individuals who can take them and make them one. I gured if we came with a strong concept and asked Hardy to create an original pattern, everything else would be a plus. Once we exchanged artwork and patterns it was pretty simple.
What’s the meaning behind “Blacktop Butchers” as featured on the back of one of the tops?

HB: Check with James as this element was one of the contributions from
the LA side. I understand it’s a logo for a ctitious street basketball team, Blacktop referencing the asphalt playing surface and Butchers is a reference to Undefeated’s ethos of an uncompromising win at all costs mentality, as per their “Play dirty” slogan.

JB: Blacktop Butchers was inspired by some patches we have from Vietnam. We changed the original phrase to the Blacktop Butchers, but kept the same vibe and direction for the entire collection and asked Hardy for a blacktop camo based on the Vietnam era tiger stripe. Who best to recreate an iconic pattern than Hardy?

From theTigerstripe camo and the phrase “Tiger Blood,” to straight upTiger illustrations, what’s the signi cance in incorporating this feline predator as the central gure in the collection?

HB: Initially, it was based on the pattern being inspired by the Vietnam-era tigerstripe camo, but another joint inspiration we share with Undefeated is
a love of martial arts and tiger style. MHI has heavily referenced martial arts imagery and design since its inception.The tiger style is one of the ve styles of Shaolin Kung Fu and is traditionally more based on controlled aggression and attack rather than defence, which would likely be the Blacktop Butchers favoured style of play.

JB:Tiger style and a lot of our ethos at Undefeated is hunt or be hunted.You have to wake up every day and ask yourself ‘do you want to be the prey or the predator?’
I’m sure it’s tough to choose, but what is your favourite piece and why?

HB: In terms of apparel it’s probably the stadium jacket. It features our signature hand-worked embroidery and most overtly draws reference to the LA x LDN connection that brought this collaboration about.There’s also a couple of pant styles; the woven track pant and a custom cargo pant that we’ve been developing and re ning for the last few seasons too. My favourite of the two shoes is the ZX 5000. I am a big fan of the currentZX series.

JB: My favourites are the shoes and the eece pieces.

Will we see more Undefeated x Maharishi collections in the future?

HB: I’m down if Mr.Bond is, its been a good experience, so we’ll likely revisit in the future.

JB: I hope so.

Text courtesy of Hypebeast