Currently typing this comfortably in my Anti Social Social Club “Mind Games” hoodie.

Within the past year, the infamous and controversial brand Anti Social Social Club has been getting attention from influential social media personalities and celebrities alike, such as Emily Oberg, Wiz Khalifa, Kim Kardashian, and Kanye West to name a few. But with every brand coming an going in such an era of trends, how long can the momentum last?

It does not take long for a brand to lose hype (See: Gosha Rubchinskiy, Hood By Air, etc.), but Anti Social Social Club just started to get popular this past year, and surprisingly might actually have a future in the fashion industry. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of Neek Lurk's baby.

Pros:

• Anti Social Social Club is something fresh. You probably want to stop reading, but at least hear me out. Sure, the font type is relatively plain and uninspiring, but the simplicity of the logo(s) are what make the brand so alluring to the modern day consumer.

• Stussy’s social media manager, Neek Lurk, has a relatively relatable story for a lot of the kids raised by the internet (such as myself). He started out as some anti-social kid that lacked friends growing up, and apparently it wasn’t until recently that he started to come out of his shell and proceeded to do better.

• The price point (outside of resellers) is relatively affordable. Hoodies and crewnecks are about $65-70, hats and tees are at $35-40, and if you’re interested in a Prius or something, you can get that for around $20,000.

• Collaborative prowess. Think about it: The logo is so simple that it can really be slapped onto anywhere. Realistically, Lurk has already been making ridiculous progress doing collabs with iconic brands such as Nike, Undefeated, and BEAMS Japan.

Cons:

• Hype. This, unfortunately, is the only reason the brand is doing so well right now. Nothing else. With having the right celebrity cosigns, low price point, and subliminal marketing, which in all honesty isn’t actually that subliminal. It’s the type of shit you see on Tumblr that makes kids go crazy and yearn for an Ian Connor-level experience.

• Quality control. Apparently, this is actually one of their weakest points. Through some of the forums I’ve been sifting through, people have received their items damaged, ripped, people still not receiving their orders, and even going as far as someone having cigarette burns on the clothing.

• Materials. Now, I expected the first drop to be relatively cheap in materials, seeing as the brand is still relatively new, and I don’t expect people to go outside of their budget and get blank hoodies and hats made of the finest silk, but after the second or third restock, I’d assume they should be moving past the same cheap blanks they have been using (especially for the Dover Street Market collaborations, which I assume are the same blanks). This one is quite tricky though, because using blanks outside of the cheaper ends can become incredibly costly, and could be very detrimental to your profit margin and future of your brand. Though, he made so much money off of the last restock, I can only hope it improves from here.

• Creativity. I get it. Low effort logos and such are the new wave right now (See: The Life of Pablo merchandise), but what I don’t understand is the lack of creativity in regards to the latest pieces Lurk has been releasing. I know, I said that the logo is incredibly simple, but it doesn’t help that he hasn’t really shied away from the minimalism and done something a little more drastic. I’ve already seen the whole “Enough is Enough” or “This is the last time” type of shit. I’m looking for something with a little more thought behind it now.

• Levels of Corniness: At an all time high. Now, this isn’t really a big point, but sometimes one of the driving forces behind a brand is the designer’s overall vision/personality. As some people might be able to relate to Lurk’s story, most people think he comes off as inauthentic and lame. In 2016, everyone focuses on the premise of their brand being based off of sadness (Gianni Mora, Mike the Ruler, etc.), and after a while it feels like you're not really conveying emotions as opposed to propagating sadness as a reason to make money, which shouldn't be the case.

• Customer Service. If you know me, you know I think of customer service as a key factor in regards to how a brand is doing. Well let me keep this short: Their customer service is non-existent. Not only do they not send tracking numbers, but you can’t expect to get an order cancelled if you put the wrong address or anything, because the customer service email is probably a spam folder. 

What does this mean for the future of ASSC? Well, since they are still relatively new and getting incredibly popular, shit like this is honestly bound to happen. Yep, bound to happen. I don’t know how many of you have ever actually been behind a small fashion brand, but circumstances such as the ones above (although, the cigarette burns are a new one) generally happen when you’re filling thousands of orders. That’s kind of part of the risk of investing your money into something like this; it can go one of two ways: Either everything goes smoothly and your order is fine (me), or your get fucked over somehow (what seems to be a ton of other users online).

Honestly? This brand is kinda ass. I work at a hotel, so I pretty much strive for customer service. When a brand is lacking that specific aspect, it pretty much means they are only there for the money. Pretty shitty if you ask me.

Overall Score: They don’t give a shit and neither do 1/10