Sycamore Style: The Wallabee Kingpin - Page 2

Source: SYCAMORE STYLE / SYCAMORE STYLE

On the classic skit on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah had crazy visions about customizing their Wallabees. The following year Ghost hit us with a memorable cover art for his debut Ironman album showcasing a flavorful collection of the Wallabees. Since then Wu-Tang Clan fans and fashion aficionados alike have always wondered where and how they can get their Clarks done the same way.

Urban myths started to pop up of mysterious Chinese men on New York City’s Canal Street area that dyed the shoes, but no luck. Now years later Sycamore has emerged as the Wallabee style champ.

Specializing in dying Clarks and Timberland construction boots, Sycamore has been customizing clothing and accessories since 1995 exclusively for a handful of celebrities and recording artists. Now with an online store in place, we all finally achieve the blue and cream dream.

Sycamore recently caught up with Hip-Hop Wired to discuss his come up and how he got it dripping like it’s marble cake.

On the classic skit on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah had crazy visions about customizing their Wallabees. The following year Ghost hit us with a memorable album cover art for his debut Ironman album showcasing a flavorful collection of the Wallabees. Since then Wu-Tang Clan fans and fashion aficionados alike have always wondered where and how they can get their Clarks done the same way.

Urban myths started to pop up of mysterious Chinese men on New York City’s Canal Street area that dyed the shoes, but no luck. Now years later Sycamore has emerged as the Wallabee style champ.

Specializing in dying Clarks and Timberland construction boots, Sycamore has been customizing clothing and accessories since 1995. Now with an online store in place at www.sycamorestyle.com, we all can finally achieve the blue and cream dream.

HipHopWired: How did you get started with customizing Wallabees?

Sycamore: I started customizing Wally’s in ’95, but [I’ve] only been doing it for the public the past two years or so. Up until then it was exclusive to a handful of celebs and artists.

HHW: For years people have been trying to decode the mystery about how custom Clarks are done. What drew you to the Wallabees?

Sycamore: The thing that drew me to the Wally was the “Glaciers Of Ice” skit on the Cuban Linx album. I was already wearing Wally’s and dying Timbs before the album dropped, so when I heard that skit I was already dying them in my head that same summer night in ‘95. I was having visions of a baby blue and cream Wally’s that night instead of blue and cream. The next week I was already dying my Wally’s. I was dying and two toning the Wally in different styles before even seeing the Ironman album cover. Baby blue was the color I wanted and different colors of dye were hard to find back then.

Even if you hunted the streets of Manhattan and hit up all the shoe repair guys in New York the only colors they really carried were black or brown and if you were lucky they had blue.  I was using blue on my Timbs already so I wanted baby blue. The first Wally I actually dyed was dyed with my own baby blue potion. To this day baby blue can not be purchased it is a color made by me as well as many other colors and color hues in my collection.

Source: SYCAMORE STYLE / SYCAMORE STYLE

HHW: What’s the process?

Sycamore: My process is a secret. But I will tell you this – it involves a lot of late nights.

HHW: Ghostface Killah has actually cosigned your work. How did you hook up with him?

Sycamore: I linked up with Tone through Iron Sheek a mutual friend of ours, who is a Wu Tang affiliate producer.

HHW: What does the Clarks skit on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and the cover to Ironman mean to you?

Sycamore: The skit on the Linx album as well as the cover of Ironman to means pure inspiration [to me]. When I first met Tone I thanked him sincerely for that. It took something I was already playing around with and took me to the next level. Til this day every time I hear the skit it takes me to that summer night in ‘95. I remember everything about that night, where I was, who I was with, what I was wearing even how that night smelled.

Everyone has their favorite line or lines from that skit. Mine is the one which is probably the least favorite or forgotten. It’s the very first line when Rae says “Yo Sun you gotta take me to go get them Clarks man – the colored joints”, I made that me.

Back then in the mid-late 90s NY based record label street teams used to pound the pavement hard with promo for upcoming  albums. So I had a cardboard  promo poster of what the Ironman cover was gonna look like months before it came out. It was almost the same as the actual cover but crazier with the Wally’s, which creatively  brought me next next level. I remember I had that Ironman promo poster up on bedroom wall with “THINK BIG” black and white promo stickers holding it to the wall. The same stickers that were on the rims of that Green Suburban in LA that horrible night we lost BIG.

HHW: What was his reaction to the Blue and Cream’s?

Sycamore: The first pair of Wally’s I did for Tone were of course the blue and creams. He reaction was “yup, those are them. That’s my sh-t right there.” The rest is history.

Source: SYCAMORE STYLE / SYCAMORE STYLE

HHW: Do you have a background in fashion?

Sycamore: I have no background in fashion as far as education goes. I never took a design or art class except for the ones in grade or high school.  I was just always the flyest most dipped cat in the room. I was the kid on your block that you bit off and wanted to dress like. I was dressing myself in kindergarten and customizing and making my own clothes since the 7th grade. Everything I make and crate was self-taught and God given.

HHW: You also custom Timberland construction boots too.

Sycamore: I recently just released a 5 color Timberland line called “New York City”. Each color is my own hue and represents a borough of New York City. It’s dedicated to and in memory of [Notorious] B.I.G. I was re-inspired to do the Timberland boots by Rihanna. She requested a pair of Timberlands in an apple green color and wanted to know if I could pull it off. It is the “Big Apple Green” Timberland in the line and reps Money Making Manhattan.

HHW: What’s next for Sycamore?

Sycamore: Next for Sick will be the Sycamore Style custom clothing line. I will set it off with custom jackets and tracksuits. After that you can expect the live Sycamore Style store coming to a Manhattan block soon – hopefully sometime in 2014. I also helping put together the cover of that Supreme Clientele Presents… Blue & Cream: The Wally Era. [I’m] just waiting on Tone drop that joint already.