Growing up, basketball was everything to Alexander Martin Jr and his younger brother Christian Martin. They started playing in elementary school and fell in love immediately. They lived just a few minutes away from Oracle Arena in Oakland and would frequently attend Warriors games. They had SLAM magazine delivered to their house and decorated the walls with posters from the various issues.
Today, the Martin brothers continue to express that love for hoops through their own clothing brands. Christian founded Collect and Select, which combines vintage sportswear designs with a modern streetwear twist, utilizing old-school NBA logos to evoke a sense of nostalgia. Alexander founded Who Cares, which strives to empower individuals by spreading the message to live freely and authentically, unbothered by outside noise. Players have been seen rocking both brands through the tunnels of NBA arenas.
After building their companies separately, Christian and Alexander came together to create the widely-known “WHAT THE” swingman shorts. The design—inspired by Nike’s What The Dunks—meshed together the retro logos of 13 different NBA teams. When the shorts first dropped at a pop-up in the Bay Area, hundreds of people lined up to get a pair. “WHAT THE PT II” and a pastel colorway released soon after and sold out instantly.
Collect and Select and Who Cares recently joined forces again, this time collaborating with SLAM on the ’92 Gold Shorts. The new product celebrates the 30th anniversary of The Dream Team, the iconic, unrivaled USA squad that took home the Gold at the ’92 Olympics in Barcelona.
“The whole vibe was centered around the Gold medal,” Christian says. “On that Gold medal, you’ll obviously see these intricate details that we tried to kind of mimic and convey in our own style. If you were to take their Gold medal that they won, along with their [USA] uniforms, and kind of deconstruct that and put it back together, that’s the main vibe that we were going for.”
“Just to connect to our childhood and make that full circle moment work on a pair of ’92 Dream Team shorts, it’s crazy,” Alexander adds. “I just can’t wait for the release.”
SLAM x Collect And Select x Who Cares: ’92 Gold Shorts are available now.
The post SLAM Collabs with Collect And Select x Who Cares on ’92 Gold Shorts to Celebrate The Dream Team appeared first on SLAM.