Joystick Junkies is a London based fashion label that has created a fusion of digital pop culture and streetwear. The fashion label was founded on the idea of being a focal point of video games pop culture and we’re now growing it in to a global brand that champions the iconic digitial graphic heritage we all share.
We launched back in 2000, the original concept was to create this fusion of video games pop culture, parties, clothing, a web focus for anything that was to do with the culture but nothing to do with games. Our parties rocked London and LA (we hooked up with LA’s celeb party promoter Bojesse to rock Sunset Strip with Jessica Alba, Sarah Michelle Gellar and The Rock) and in London our monthly parties were infamous for bringing a smoking hot party crowd together with great DJ’s, classic arcade machines, roller girls and all kinds of madness.
Why? Well I loved clubbing, loved fashion and loved games and thought why can’t i combine them, even better the challenge of making video game insired graphics so cool that they’d get stocked in the hottest fashion stores and people would want them regardless of whether they knew the graphics.
It all started back in 1999, I’d had the idea and people eventually got fed up of me talking about it so one night I drew the logo on a napkin at The Gate bar in Notting Hill, threw a party, put together some t-shirts…fast forward to now and we’re producing t-shirts, hoodies, knitwear, jackets, polos, socks, beach shorts, wallets and belts in factories in Turkey & China to detailed design specs and I still get excited when I see someone wearing one of ours pieces.
We’ve evolved over the years, it’s not just about video games, we feel our inspiration is now digital culture – of course that covers video games, but next season is all about codes, it’s a connection to the digital world that we know and rule whether it’s 8-bit, high spec console action or the web, it’s how we communicate, are controlled or influenced today by subtle codes, and in the end how it’s little brother who rules the digital waves. You only have to look at how the digital world is connecting and empowering us to challenge what goverments and corporate culture want us to think and do, it’s no longer about big brother, we control the code from now on.
The whole range is now growing with a partnership with Exspect introducing mobile and gaming accessories, headphones and much more plus we’re adding in a ton of our own fashion accessories.
We’re now in stores across Europe, and a few in Australia, Moscow, Seoul, Tokyo plus there’s a major US launch happening right now! The team is growing – we spend the best part of the day together working our asses off to produce clothing that makes you feel good, look good and is true to our original digital heritage.
So we hope you come and find out why we had to become Joystick Junkies, and get some for yourself!
