‘Corporate Climbing’ is CLOT’s first drop from their FW2020 collection

Hong Kong-based streetwear brand CLOT introduced the theme of its Fall/Winter 2020 collection last week. Titled ‘Corporate Climbing’, the collection prints the nine-to-five corporate work-life mentality on t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and more. The designs are sleek and tasteful, with bold slogans ‘Zen Like A Mofo’, ‘Work Sweet Work’ and as well as silhouettes of an anonymous Mr. Office-worker stamped on top.

Let’s talk about Mr Office-worker. Working culture in Asia — especially corporate working culture — is the epitome of #riseandgrind culture. Actually, it’s not at all, because you don’t rise, and you don’t rise because there is no sleep to rise from. It is common for an office worker to take two days off work in a year. The word ‘karoshi’ was born in the 70s to describe death from overworking. The extreme working cultures in cities like Tokyo probably stems from the collectivist nature of most Asian cultures. Asian cultures generally prioritize collectivism over individualism (unlike the West), which is probably better in the quest of preserving longevity of the human race, as exposed by the pandemic.

CLOT’s photoshoot for the recent drop took the theme literally. The models grip onto the climbing rocks like we do onto our work, our career, and our idea of success. Or if you want to treat yourself, the online shopping cart as you shop ‘Corporate Climbing’. The tongue-in-cheek wit and originality is on-brand, and its new drop demonstrates once again that the company is not just responsible for making trendy apparel — CLOT should also be credited for confronting, exploring and expanding the gaps and the intersections between the East and the West.

The first drop is now available online via Juicestore, and at offline locations in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan and USA. CLOT will be releasing new items every two weeks, and we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled on behalf of our deserving readers. Shop the drop here, and if you’d like to have a formal discussion on the pros and cons of collectivist culture, our Instagram DMs are always open.

[via Hypebeast]