Even if some say that streetwear is dead, it still moves a young target group. This is also proven by the Frankfurt brand 6PM, which belongs to the online retailer About You. They are organizing one together for the second time pop up tourwhich this year is making a stop in Austria in addition to Germany.
Already at the last time, the customers were flocking to the events, who wanted to experience the coveted pieces as well as the founder Achraf Bouzalim up close. To launch the new pop-up tour, FashionUnited spoke to the brand’s founder, who has more ‘fans’ on Instagram – with more than 250,000 followers – than the 6PM account (205,000 followers). He talks about guerrilla marketing, why streetwear has actually become indispensable and what trends he sees in this area.
On Saturday we’re going on a pop-up tour again. How is this tour different from the last one, apart from the additional locations?
The tour differs immensely from the last through the planning phase alone. This year we started planning extra early to give our community a great few days.
What does the community expect from the events?
In addition to the new colors of the ‘6PM+’ collection and me up close, we also provided free catering this year. In addition, we have launched a special tour t-shirt with our partner Pepsi, which will only be available exclusively in the pop-up stores. We were also able to win Motorola as a partner, with whom we came up with an activation from which our community can gain a lot. all in all the tour is a bit rounder and fuller this year.
Where do the 6PM customers come from?
In addition to the DACH region, we also have customers from Italy, the UK and a little bit from the USA. There will certainly be a few people from the surrounding countries of the DACH region [Anm. d. Red.: zu den Pop-up-Event] come. For example, last year we had a couple of guys from Denmark in Hamburg at one of our pop-up stores.
Do guerrilla actions that lure fans to locations like a scavenger hunt play a role for 6PM too?
Yes, quite conceivable. Maybe we already have something up our sleeve for the tour. You can stay curious…
Last year more than 3,000 people were at the sites. Do you expect such a rush again?
We’re already expecting the same, if not more, rush. In any case, we are prepared. With us it’s not just about ‘the clothes’, but also about the enthusiasm about me as a person that triggers the so-called ‘hype’. Actually, we don’t want to use the word ‘hype’ anymore. It implies that the craze is passing again and fast-paced.
What about the ‘streetwear hype’?
Streetwear has now established itself as a serious part of the fashion industry and as long as there is a youth culture out there, there will be streetwear. This has nothing to do with ‘hype’, the rest of the industry has just finally checked it out in recent years.
What’s the next big trend in streetwear?
You can’t really answer that, we do what we do and the response proves us right. I could imagine that the brands no longer only focus on clothes, but rather see their brand as a platform for all sorts of creative outputs and thus create a small universe.
What can we expect from the next collection?
Stay tuned.
Is there a specific piece or gadget that you would like to launch?
All Time Dreams would be a sneaker, but also furniture and dog accessories for my dog Rio.
In the past there have already been collaborations like with the rapper Yung Hurn. Are there currently any new collaborations planned?
Yes, we are working on a few projects. However, nothing is ready to be said yet.
Her never-out-of-stock collection ‘6PM+’ is only available in her own online shop and at About You. Do you also plan to work with other traders?
Not for the first time, no.
This interview was conducted in written form.