GRAILS: PHOTOSHOOT FEATURING @YMANIBARBEE AND @ADORE.EU #SUPREME AND TECHNICS X MARVEL.

BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Ymani and Natalie are straight dimes wearing streetwear grails by Supreme and Technics x Marvel. Ymani is wearing a more recent grail from Supreme’s 2013 collaboration with the Bruce Lee Estate.  One of the companion pieces to this collection, a white crew, can also be found in this shoot.

Natalie is wearing the Technics x Marvel Spiderman Shirt from Technics 2008 UK only release.  When these first dropped, streetwear heads combed the internet for ways to purchase these iconic shirts of our favorite superheroes and villains DJing, riding, or destroying some 1200’s.  I was able to purchase a few directly from the UK and took my chances on Ebay for the rest.  This Spidey shirt was unworn until this shoot.

Ymani and Natalie ruled this shoot in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. Gorgeous and down to earth, we couldn’t have asked for two better individuals to represent Awesome Totally Awesome (“ATA”) in our first model shoot.  Find out more about them in Spotlight On, here.

Just a few hours before we arrived at the location for the shoot, we were informed by the owner of the location that an LAPD Officer had been shot and killed early that morning, and that LAPD were conducting (involuntary) voluntary searches of all vehicles coming into the area.  Needless to say, the LAPD and the tension surrounding the area were the least of our problems.

Absolutely unprepared, we had some warm Cokes in our photographer’s car, but that was it for amenities.  We had no water, no snacks, no real changing room, no fan, no toilet paper in the bathroom, and assistants who went MIA for three and a half hours (on a Chinese food, snack, ginger ale–most likely crack and stripper run).  Ymani and Natalie dealt with it like the rock stars they are, and are the primary reason this shoot was lit.

Add to that, Todd Stockham’s genius eye, and some grailed T-shirts from OG Streetwear brands, Supreme, Undefeated, BAPE, X-Large / Grand Royal, Diamond Supply Co. x Collabo NY, Rocksmith, Manik Skateboards, Rebel 8, Technics x Marvel, Triumvir and (more recently) Alphonso Rawls Iconic–Everybody Skates, (with some other iconic shit scattered in the background), and we have ATA’s first photo shoot.  Enjoy friends.

Steve Kitagawa