What is Eastern Western?

Eastern Western was started in April 2022. I was a junior Advertising student at Pace University, studying the Marlboro Man ads in one of my classes. Simultaneously, I was reading different books on Taoism and Buddhism that my dad passed down to me and encouraged me to research.  
 

When I was a kid, I never listened to my dad when he would regularly talk about these religions and their impacts on his life and way of thinking. But as a 20-year-old finding my own life path, I found that I really resonated with the concepts of Taoism in these books. The teachings articulated a lot of things I felt deeply but could not articulate myself. In contrast, I also loved the Americana aesthetic of the Marlboro Man, but of course, I did not love the principles behind it. So, I wanted to find a way to use the aesthetic in a more positive, forward-thinking, and sometimes satirical way. This is where I discovered the central concept of E.W.
 

My initial concept for Eastern Western was juxtaposing the peaceful, free-flowing teachings of Eastern philosophy with the hyper-masculine, hyper-capitalist aesthetics of Western Americana; Thus, “Eastern Western”.  
 

The brand and my work have continually evolved since 2022. Now, I would describe Eastern Western as an Americana-Streetwear brand, guided by Eastern philosophical principles. For example, “Stop Trying” is a central motif and guiding principle to E.W. and all of my work. It essentially means to not interfere with the creative ideas that flow through us, allowing our most natural, personal, and unrefined ideas to come to the forefront, and execute on them.  
 

Another central principle of E.W. is the brand being approachable to anyone. I don’t like to use the word “inclusive” because it has become a neo-liberal buzzword that sounds demeaning; But I want everyone to feel comfortable approaching the brand under their own agency, and that they can actually wear the pieces in their everyday lives, making them feeling confident and fly. This includes a union construction worker in my hometown of Ashland, Massachusetts who will live and work there for his whole life, to a Dimes Square demon who pays $5,000 per month for a studio filled with rare Kapital pieces and has no bedframe.