story / Sydney Scott
Madrid based Shoop has quickly become the up-and-coming label that everyone wants. Miriam Sanz and Yohei Oki created the streetwear brand in 2011 and have since put out collections that have bloggers and fashion junkies salivating.
After last season’s New World collection, which included sporty pieces and a trippy glitch print, the duo is back again with their well-known aesthetic and a wave print inspired by Soundcloud for their newest collection, Bounce. Miriam and Yohei took a little time to chat with me about their new collection, the 90s, music and the one person they’d love to see in Shoop.
Who are you?
Yohei Oki from Tokyo and Miriam Sanz from Madrid.
When did you start Shoop and why?
I studied styling and fashion design and have worked in the fashion world for many years. So I decided to create my own label under the concept of a unisex streetwear brand with prints in June 2011 and later Yohei joined in 2012 with Old Map collection.
Your last collection, New World, had these really awesome glitch prints and your new collection Bounce was inspired by Soundcloud. You guys seem to be really inspired by technology, what role does it play in your lives?
More than technology, we are inspired by the present and things in our life. We think that technology inspires us unconsciously because we are completely surrounded by technology.
So, Bounce reflects what we think about technology, virtual life and real-material life, on this collection.
How did you come up with the idea to do a collection based on digital music and sound waves?
We decided to use sound waves as one of the prints of this collection because we listen to music everyday on Soundcloud and it´s very cool to see these digital visualized waves and it seemed interesting since Shoop is inspired by music.
I read somewhere that one of the songs used to create the prints was a Justin Timberlake song, is that true? Did you use any other songs? Why did you pick them?
Hahaha, yes. it´s from a Justin Timberlake song called “Strawberry Bubblegum”. We chose it because Miriam loves that song and those waves were pretty too.
Not only do you play around with the theme of technology, but Shoop is a unisex clothing line. Do you think technology and gender neutral clothing go hand in hand? Is that wear clothing is headed?
We think that technology and unisex clothing don´t need to go hand in hand. We love unisex clothing but all items can´t be unisex because the proportions of the body are very different between men and women.
I’ve talked to you guys about it before, but the name Shoop comes from a song, correct?
Hahaha, yes. SHOOP came from a Salt-N-Pepa song.
Your clothes have a very 90s vibe, is 90s music one of your influences? Who are some of your favorite musicians from that time?
We think that SHOOP has many influences from the 90s like hip-hop culture. However, SHOOP is not only 90s but a set of inspirations from various eras and new trends. Our favorite musicians from the 90s are Aaliyah, TLC, Usher, A Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde, Dr Dre, Gang Starr and Common.
Is there any genre of music today that influences you? What do you think of the musicians we have now?
Of course! We love genres like contemporary R&B, bass music, juke and Jersey club. We think there are many great musicians at the moment like Sinjin Hawke, Cashmere Cat, Pelican Fly, Soulection, Hippos in Tanks, Donky Pitch and artists from label’s like LuckyMe.
If you could see anyone in your clothes, living or dead, who would it be and why?
M.I.A because we respect her. We like her as an artist and we love her style, she’s cool.
What’s next for Shoop?
We don´t know because we are just getting started.
