Project X Paris and street art, a great love story

An essential phenomenon of urban cultures since the 70s (and even before), street art holds a special place among the 5 disciplines composing hip hop. Now recognized as art, it is popular and respected worldwide. Street art also greatly influences the fashion world, and at PXP we decided to pay tribute to it through very successful capsules.

From the streets of New York to art galleries worldwide Tagging, graffiti, or street art as it is more generically called today, has significantly marked the global cultural landscape. The phenomenon is far from new, and humans already painted on walls in the Lascaux caves or during major 20th-century demonstrations. But those drawings always had another purpose: to celebrate an event or convey political messages. From the 70s, graffiti took a major artistic turn, having no other ambition than the aesthetic and transgressive side (the practice remains forbidden in many places even today). Whether simply to mark one’s name in stylized letters or to create a true mural with characters, street artists multiplied and their art spread everywhere.

Graffiti is one of the 5 pillars of hip-hop culture, along with breakdance, rap, DJing, and beatboxing. Along with rap and dance, it is obviously one of the most successful disciplines, as practicing street art doesn’t necessarily require much equipment to start, just like rapping or dancing. Quickly becoming very popular, graffiti is a true generational phenomenon, and almost everyone who was a teenager in the 80s/90s tried it. The phenomenon has become so essential today that even the most renowned contemporary art museums had to open their doors to street art after long considering the discipline with disdain. Street art is inseparable from hip-hop aesthetics and has therefore greatly influenced the most modern designers and fashion creators, as well as brands.

Street art capsules at Project X Paris, our love for street art is not new. Almost 3 years ago, we unveiled a mini-capsule inspired by the graffiti universe. The great man himself, Koba La D, came to give us strength for an epic photoshoot, shot by Fifou himself, the king of photos in the French rap game. Since then, we’ve stepped up our game and took advantage of the 2022 season to unveil 3 capsules inspired by street art. The first we’ll talk about is the new Graffiti capsule. A small men’s collection that smells like summer, with rather bright colors, like the green or purple gradient Graffiti t-shirt. Which you can obviously pair with the matching gradient Graffiti shorts or the sweatpants in the same colors. The graffiti motifs cover all the pieces and make this capsule a future streetwear must-have at PXP, always with that slightly exuberant side that characterizes us.

The second capsule is the Splash capsule. The collection is again directly inspired by street art, with "paint splatter" motifs that are clear nods to a somewhat destructive aesthetic often associated with street art. The motifs surround the "Project X Paris" logo on the chest, but it remains quite sober and minimalist, making the pieces understated and rather classy, like the crewneck sweatshirt with logo and splatters printed, in white or beige. If you want something more relaxed, the crewneck t-shirt with logo and paint splatter print will be perfect. Again, it’s available in 3 colors, white, beige, or black, to be paired with jeans, and why not also a jacket to complete the outfit. Again, the collection is mainly oriented towards men’s streetwear.

Finally, the third capsule, perhaps the most ambitious, and especially the most detailed in terms of the various small details present on the pieces. The capsule is called Underground, and it also highlights street art since the Project X Paris logo has been completely redesigned and even complemented by a huge "STREET" graffiti, drawn in homage to tag art. For this mid-season capsule, we have 4 pieces: a men’s hoodie in 3 colors (pink, white, and black). We also have a very design t-shirt, again in the same colors. Finally, for the bottom, we have the street art printed shorts and street art printed sweatpants, with the same color ranges, for successful sets. Numerous motifs, logos, and writings have been added at strategic points on the pieces: on the chest, sides, hood, or sleeves. A cutting-edge trend since the explosion of Off White, a brand also very inspired by street art and urban cultures. We have a big crush on the hoodie, the central piece of the streetwear collection, which can really be matched with many things while remaining a garment far from neutral.

Street art in almost all our events You’ve understood, at PXP we really love the street art universe, and we try to include a bit in every event we organize. Especially when celebrating the opening of a new store. These openings have always created quite a buzz for several years, notably with the presence of some stars. But also thanks to the various customization workshops we now often offer. Like recently, during the opening of the Project X Paris shop at Honfleur Normandy Outlet. An opening that was a great success, with a lot of people attending the weekend of March 11 to 13, 2022. To the point that we were congratulated by other shops in the center for our dynamism. The activities were incredible: the musical atmosphere was provided by DJ Tiskaz, and K€Z@ created customizations on sneakers and streetwear accessories.

Local young influencers like CallMeParadise also joined the party, and PXP really received a lot of strength for this streetwear-themed store opening. Still in this love for street art, a graphic artist created a splendid painting representing a portrait of Bosh, one of Project X Paris’s faces, during the opening of our store in Perpignan. We are obviously thrilled to be able to create bridges between street art, streetwear, and urban cultures through such small events or in our collections. And we hope many street artists will continue to inspire us all!