Gramicci - Go With The Original
Shelflife is proud to exclusively bring you a collection from Gramicci brand, the very first time the brand has been brought to Africa. Founded in 1982, Gramicci has a reputation for making functional clothing for life in the great outdoors. If you haven’t heard of Gramicci, the brand was critical in the development of what we now know as streetwear, contributing to the rise in popularity of this style of clothing.
Similar to Shelflife, Gramicci started its life in a garage when founder Mike Graham designed the first true pair of climbing shorts, featuring a diamond-shaped gusset added to the crotch of a pair of kung-fu trousers for full 180 degree flexibility. Hard-wearing canvas kept things sturdy when the going got tough. To keep the shorts fully secure, a nylon webbing belt was integrated into the waist. Taking cues from backpack straps, this cunning feature allowed the shorts to be adjusted with one hand, whilst the elasticated waistband kept things comfortable. The shorts had a number of design features that gave Gramicci an edge over its competitors and these features made its way into influencing many contemporary streetwear collections.
After the shorts came trousers—and word of these seemingly-indestructible pants—dubbed the G-Pants—soon spread. Their popularity wasn’t limited to rock climbers either, and by the mid-80s a small contingent of surfers and skaters were seeking out these hard-wearing pants with the little hand-drawn ‘running man’ logo. These features, particularly a webbing below, are now familiar in many streetwear designs but at the time were both innovative and unique.
As with all truly great functional designs, the trousers also found favour in Japan, and by the early 90s spotting a pair of Gramiccis on the streets of Shinjuku wasn’t unheard of. Those hungry for American counter-culture were creating their own interpretation of the laid-back Western style they’d seen in magazines and on TV—mixing vintage trainers with work-wear, military gear and classic Ivy-attire. Today, Gramicci still makes the original G-Pants along with a full apparel collection.
Gramicci’s heyday was in the early 1990s during the original streetwear and skateboarding boom, and Gramicci was a mainstay of skate and surf store brand rosters throughout the decade. Brands like Gramicci were the first that brought form and function in however simple a way. The fact that some of the world’s biggest brands today are still giving their shorts a nod just goes to show that, even nearly four decades on, those that know, know. At Shelflife, we are proud to showcase this incredible brand exclusively in Africa and honour its longstanding streetwear roots.
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