Courtesy of Sprayground
Luggage is not the most stylish or interesting market to break out into, but leave it to Sprayground to permanently change the way you think about suitcases. Right on cue with holiday season, the ultra-cool range of artful backpacks, duffle bags, outerwear, and more recently, luggage— known for its playful, super limited edition collections that are never re-released— is now available in the Middle East, meaning you can eschew your plain clunky, luggage in favor of rebellious suitcases and travel bags that are far more stylish than those basic, black roll-ons.
Hailing from New York, the statement brand, which was founded in 2010 by creative director David Ben-David, was born out of the desire to transform the “mundane into insane.” Speaking to vogue.me, Ben-David reveals that the idea came to him while he was browsing for a new travel bag eight years ago. “Everything was so generic— It was just an ocean of black bags,” he says. “So I thought what if I could express myself through art and put it on bags?” He adds. Shortly after debuting the first piece, Sprayground went on to be sold at the top retailers in America such as Nordstrom, and found itself on the backs of A-listers including Rihanna and Beyoncé, and has collaborated with the likes of Marvel, NFL player Odell Beckham Jr., and astronaut Buzz Aldrin to name but a few (The first collaboration was with Chris Brown in 2013.)
Sprayground’s most recent collaboration is with Dubai-based Rashed Belhasa, more commonly known as “Money Kicks” to his 1 million Instagram followers, for his envy-inducing sneaker collection. The 15-year-old, who’s exotic family farm is frequented by virtually every celebrity that touches down in the UAE, first came across the brand during a trip to New York last year. “It was my first time visiting the city, and almost everyone was wearing the brand,” he says to Vogue Arabia. Belhasa’s eye-catching backpack was inspired by the Yeezy Boost 350 Moonwalk trainers and wild animals, and features a blue snake wrapped around a bundle of the tonal grey Yeezy’s. It made its debut during Sole DXB at the Sprayground booth (It was the first time the brand presented at Sole DXB). “I feel really great, like I accomplished something so cool at 15,” says an excited Belhasa. “We worked really hard, and I can’t wait to do another collaboration with David soon.”
Echoing on his statement, Ben-David adds “We were fortunate to have Rashed as a fan, so it was an easy transition to bring the brand to Dubai. When I came here to meet him, it was chemistry at first sight. We collaborated on the product, and his father decided it would be a good idea to bring Sprayground to the Middle East.” The collaboration is available on the 15-year-old’s newly-launched website, which at the moment, only carries Sprayground products.
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