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FUCT's 'Due in Time' Lookbook Video

VICE is proud to debut Due in Time, FUCT's latest lookbook video. Shot on the claustrophobic streets of Bangkok, Thailand, it serves up raw imagery you expect from the OG streetwear brand.

All animations by 8-Ball Tony

FUCT is such an iconic streetwear brand, I really shouldn't have to introduce it to you. But in case you have absolutely no taste, I'll break it down. It was started in Los Angeles in 1991 by Erik Brunetti, and since its inception, it has permeated all youth subcultures from skateboarding and graffiti to punk rock and hip-hop. Deeply rooted in situationalist theory, FUCT was the first brand to really push logo re-appropriation and the recontextualization of imagery. Unlike so many of its peers from back in the day, FUCT has managed to stay relevant. The company is a rarity in the modern streetwear scene, where everybody else is more focused on making quick cash than making clothes with integrity.

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Today, at the helm of FUCT's creative direction is JR Ewing. Under the watchful eye of Erik, JR has been tasked with overseeing the brand's latest seasons. He has since taken a thematic approach, drawing inspiration from the past, present, and future while flirting with controversial ideas and imagery that resonate with the brand's aesthetic and long-standing relationship with the roads less traveled.

FUCT always finds inspiration from unique places. Last season, for their Raging Bull collection, they gleaned themes of immigration and the war on drugs from Juarez, Mexico. This time around, for their Due in Time collection, their muse was the claustrophobic streets of Bangkok. They filmed the lookbook video above on location, and came up with something raw and exciting.

I was so inspired by Due in Time on a personal level, I called up JR to pick his brain about it.

VICE: What was the inspiration for this delivery?
JR Ewing: Working under Erik, I have to be cognizant of choosing themes that the masses will feel. We deal with themes that have an underlying message that closely relates with the dark underbelly of modern culture. More importantly, these topics should hold meaning among all the generations of people that support the brand.

Is that why it’s titled Due in Time?
We called it Due in Time because all of us have been locked up at some point, or have close friends and loved ones that have served time. Jailed for living outside of what society deems "healthy living" or “normal.” These shared experiences have molded us into who we are today. To take that meaning one step deeper, we applied this theme to people not physically imprisoned, who can still relate on some level to doing time. You're technically "doing time" in a relationship, job, or situation where you might start to feel the dissent that comes from being stuck in a rut.

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Seems like it's also a play on words.
Yeah, Due in Time is meant to show the optimism and light at the end of life's dark hallways. We wanted this theme to translate into having faith no matter what shitty situation you may be in. While locked up, whether mentally or physically, you can strive to make the best of it, and use what you've learned to your advantage when you're finally free of whatever binds you.

The inspiration for last season's delivery was Juarez, Mexico. This time around you guys found yourselves in Bangkok, why is that?
Our team is into the bizarre side of life, the roads less traveled. That's always been a driving force behind FUCT. We document our travels to show we're drawing inspiration from outside the street fashion bubble. We chose Bangkok for the undesirable trades and harsh realities of everyday life there. Even though on the exterior Bangkok’s a first-world city with 7-11s and Starbucks on most corners, we felt that the fast pace and suffocating vibe could feel a little like a jail sentence.

Being locked up abroad is no joke.
Actually one of Erik's close friends, Steven Wong, is currently locked up in Thailand, serving a life sentence. Thailand wanted to give him the death penalty. But after a lot of judicial proceedings, he got life. Wong was a major figure in the history of the FUCT subculture since he and Erik were in a band together called Lucifer Wong.

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Who produced the video?
The whole team had a hand in producing it. Adam Rossiter shot the picture lookbook with help from Jazz, I directed it, and Tony filmed it. When we first told Tony that we were heading out to Bangkok, he just grabbed a video camera and decided to come along. He'd never filmed anything prior to, and definitely doesn't have any experience with editing video or anything like that, but that kind of spirit is what FUCT is and always will be about.

Was that the attitude with Thailand? Had any of you been out there before, or were you guys just winging it?
No. None of us had been to Thailand. There’s something to be said about going to a country where you don’t speak the language and showing up on a scene already in motion. We all love the excitement of showing up unannounced and experiencing a city as organically as possible and the uncertainty that accompanies that.

Buy pieces from their latest delivery Due in Time from their store

To enshrine its position as a driving force in contemporary street culture, FUCT recently just released a beautiful compendium published by Rizzoli Publications. Buy that here.

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