Zoo York Taps Photographer Horst Hamann For Latest Zoo York x Founders Drop
Zoo York, one of the East Coast’s first true street culture inspired lifestyle brands, is introducing the third edition of its Zoo York x Founders drops, created in collaboration with the brand’s founders, Rodney Smith, Eli Morgan Gesner and Adam Schatz. For their latest collection, Zoo York’s founders have teamed up with photographer Horst Hamann, a longtime Zoo York collaborator. Zoo York is one of almost 30 brands owned by Iconix Brand Group, Inc.
No photographer has impacted the aesthetic of Zoo York more than Horst Hamann, who first started working with the brand when Gesner came across Hamann’s iconic New York Vertical photography book in 1996 and sought him out to feature his images on Zoo York skate decks. New York Vertical went on to become an international bestseller, with more than 300,000 copies sold. Hamann was an early pioneer of the vertical photography style featured in the book and has received numerous accolades over the years including a six-month solo exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, a vertical installation at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Station viewed by more than 12 million visitors, and a United States Postal Service stamp featuring one of his New York City photographs. Over the years, Hamann’s distinct cityscape portraits have appeared in dozens of Zoo York graphics.
The latest Zoo York x Founders capsule celebrates the longstanding collaboration between the brand and the photographer, along with their shared love of New York City. A soccer jersey, windbreaker, hat and skate deck are all emblazoned with a camouflage-inspired collage composed of Hamann’s iconic imagery of New York City landmarks. Additionally, one of Hamann’s favorite subjects, The Chrysler Building, is featured prominently throughout the collection. The six-piece offering also includes a long-sleeved t-shirt printed with an image Hamann shot of his assistant while they were on location on top of the Chrysler Building, while the back of the shirt features one of Hamann’s signature shots of Dumbo. Hamann’s work perfectly captures the New York City street culture that inspired the Zoo York brand. The collection is showcased by Luke Lenski of the Zoo York Skate Team.
“I will never forget when Adam, Eli and Rodney invited me to the Meatpacking District just after my New York Vertical book was released,” said Horst Hamann. “Little did I know what was about to happen. When they started drilling holes into my new book right in front of my eyes, my jaw dropped. The rest is history. I got adopted by the Zoo York family, who taught me what being a true New Yorker really means,” added Hamann.
The new Zoo York x Founders capsule will be available only through Zoo York’s Instagram page and ZooYork.com, starting on January 15, 2020.
More images and high resolution images are available here: http://bit.ly/ZooYorkDrop3.
About Zoo York
In 1993, three skateboard enthusiasts, Rodney Smith, Eli Morgan Gesner and Adam Schatz, teamed up to develop the East Coast’s first true street culture-inspired lifestyle brand – Zoo York. The trio took creative inspiration from New York City’s rapidly evolving skateboarding, music and art scenes to produce a variety of culturally relevant products that were dark and gritty like New York City. What started off as a simple line of skate decks and t-shirts steadily grew into a full–blown apparel collection that was designed to withstand the city’s rugged terrain. Today, Zoo York is a highly evolved, globally recognized brand with an unbreakable East Coast attitude and dialect. Iconix Brand Group, Inc. acquired Zoo York in 2011.
For more information on Zoo York, please visit ZooYork.com.