Contributed by Sunny's Newest Fan Lingjie Tuang
Malaysian streetwear has always looked towards the West, think Supreme, Vetements, and Kanye.. West. This has brought upon a somewhat lacklustre scene where everyone kind of dresses the same. It’s a good look, but it’s someone else’s good look. Other than Japanese and Korean labels, Taiwan definitely comes to mind for having a distinct voice and aesthetic in streetwear culture.
It’s no surprise why Imperial Taels flew off the shelves at Major Drop over its exclusive launch last weekend. Having the label’s founder-cum-actor-cum-model Sunny Wang over to help us celebrate the occasion was definitely icing on the cake, too.
For someone named Sunny, Mr. Wang sure does a really good job at blocking out the sun while standing at a casual height of 6-foot-2. Other than being a popular actor in both the Taiwanese and Chinese region, he also shares an impressive background of being an NYU graduate, an almost-pro collegiate basketball player and the owner to one of the hottest streetwear brands in Taiwan, Imperial Taels.
Meeting and hearing Sunny speak about Imperial Taels at the launch party shows how much he embodies the brand itself, from its design cues right down to the styling. The brand which is an amalgamation of both Chinese heritage and some old school hip-hop truly reflects Sunny’s third culture upbringing, from the Leehom-esque accent to the way he muses about his experiences in Malaysia.
Lucky fans who shopped the collection got the chance to not only meet Sunny but also have their purchases signed, an imperial experience indeed. The lines of fans waiting outside the store were pretty civilized, patient and courteous, even as they were leaving their signature for their beloved idol — a scene starkly different from a line of scalpers waiting for a limited-edition shoe release, or an Korean music festival. Sunny definitely took his time to greet and take a couple of selfies. Pretty safe to say that even when Sunny wore an In-N-Out parody tee, his presence in the store was definitely not in and out.
Shop the Imperial Taels collection now, exclusively available at Major Drop Mid Valley, and http://www.majordrop.com
