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Wurst kicked off at the tail end of 2006 as a limited edition, vinyl-only 12″ record label. I released a series of Wurst Edits - radical reworkings of obscure disco and punk funk gems from the late 70s and early 80s, with the odd Chicago house jam thrown in for good measure. I did a couple of records, and also reeled in my friends to join in on the fun. While I initially started putting these records out for fun, they quickly caught the attention – and club play – of folks like Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, and 2 Many DJs, amongst others. Needless to say, I was quite surprised by the response my tiny little label garnered, and figured I must be onto something. In the Summer of 2008 I started slowly but surely developing the first Wurst menswear collection. I was inspired by the level of craftsmanship and attention to detail of vintage oxfords from the 60s I managed to procure through yard sales and the like; the definitively downtown antics of Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party; the irreverent sense of humor of Woody Allen; the respite from the city weekend getaways in upstate New York offered; and – much like the record label – the heritage of classic American manufacturing. (We proudly press our records in Dallas!) It wasn’t until several months later, however, that Wurst really started coming together. While in Minneapolis in late 2008 for a DJ gig at First Avenue (the club from Prince’s Purple Rain!), I met my design partners, Josh Clancy and Travis Stearns. We hit it off immediately; I loved their respective work, they loved the record label, and I needed help taking Wurst to the proverbial next level. It was really one of those magical moments. At this point, I had already commissioned my friend, Wurst Edits artist, and all around amazing designer and illustrator, Doug Lee, for the new Wurst logo, so we had a pretty amazing design foundation to start with. Josh, Travis and I subsequently spent the next few months developing the new look and feel for Wurst – including both the nascent menswear line and the new iteration of the record label. The latter, now called The Wurst Music Co, launched to much fanfare from DJs, music fans and critics alike in July 2009, and at the same time, we had honed in on what exactly we wanted the clothing line to be. And thus The Wurst Editions was born. Rather than launching a full collection at traditional retail locations, we decided to pursue a more personal and curated approach to both designing and distributing the line. Each piece will be rolled out one edition at a time, and will be produced in limited quantities so as to ensure the utmost quality. We’re selling each edition exclusively on our website so as to keep the costs to our customers as reasonable as possible. Indeed, The Wurst Has Yet To Come… |