When I am in the market to buy a new hat, I like it to be simple and easy to wear. Most of the time when I am hat shopping I look for one in black. Every now and then something colorful may appear in my hand, but it's mainly to add contrast to all the primarily black caps I own. What I've noticed more and more is that companies are starting to work with waterproof technology so that their hats stay dry and fresh at all times. Waterproof gear like, hats, wallets, etc. are in high demand. The company that has been killing it with their waterproofing technology is Liquipel.
Dope and Starter are teaming up with Liquipel to provide consumers with an awesome hat. The collab will feature Dope's logo on the front of a black snapback, and on the back it will show the starter label on the mid section.
Dope Couture owner Matte Fields had this to say about the collaboration.
JR: What brought you and starter brand together? Why starter, when there are so many other hat brands?
MF: Starter is one of the originals. When snapbacks regained popularity in the early 2000's most people were buying deadstock Starter hats from the 90's. In our first boutique, most of our hats were either DOPE or Starter.
JR: Why a hat collab? Why not a jersey, shirt, sweater, or jacket?
MF: There was no question when we linked up with Starter that we would do a hat. The Starter snapback means a lot to streetwear, it was an easy choice.
JR: Why do you like the new Liquipel technology?
MF: Liquipel is normally used on electronics and the reasoning is evident. People drop their phones in water, they spill things on their devices. With clothing it is a little less clear why you would want Liquipel. We sent a couple test hats to some touring artists to get initial feedback on the hat, and we got some really great responses. These guys who are normally going through hats every few shows from sweating and the abuse of touring were telling us how they were able to rock the DOPE x Liquipel x Starter snapback show after show. Liquipel made it the perfect hat for touring, skating, just getting it this summer.
JR: Will Dope be doing more collabs with starter and Liquipel?
MF: We have something lined up for Summer 14, check our blog (http://dope.com/blog) for updates.
JR: Would you like to say anything else about the collab that hasn't been said?
MF: We have put a lot of focus on the technology and the collab with Starter, but I also just think this design is ill. It is minimally branded and works with everything. People need a hat like that.
Click on the link to view how Liquipel Technology works when the collaborated hat is hit with champagne!
DOPE x Liquipel x Starter Snapback from DOPE on Vimeo.
