Best described as ‘new-age streetwear’, Thailand-based brand OldSkull has a cult following across the world. Easily recognisable by its vintage-style prints featuring Japanese culture, motifs and messages, it’s primarily a t-shirt brand born in 1982. But it was only last year, that locals, Rahul Melwani and Samir Ahmed brought it to India, and started selling it at a tiny store in Ulsoor.
“Samir has been a fan of the brand for a very long time. Everytime he’d visit Thailand, he would bring some t-shirts back and sell them to his friends. I was one of them. That’s how I fell in love with the brand, and we thought why not turn it into a business. So we approached the founder and got the rights to sell it in India,” reveals Rahul.
The store has since shut but their operations have moved online completely. “Selling it online made more sense to us in a lot of ways,” he explains. While the Thailand brand has over 700 designs spanning multiple collections, Rahul and Samir have made about 100 designs available in India across two lines. “We’ve picked tees that will suit Indian tastes and needs,” he tells us.
The Ultimate Collection is made from 100 per cent cotton, while the Express collection is made from polycotton. The latter is special because it is crafted with sublimation printing, which is high definition, something that is hard to achieve through screen printing. “This is also the reason the t-shirts under this category are grey or white. Because you can’t get the desired effect on darker colours,” shares Rahul, adding that some of the popular tees are ‘Campervan’, which features a red campervan with English and Japanese text and ‘Shelby’, bearing a print of a blue Shelby Cobra 427 S/C and lots of graphics.
Rs.899 upwards. Available online