FAiRFAx DiSTRiCT
The Block Is odd FUTURiSTiC STYLES
F ROM L A’ S
FAiRFAx DiSTRiCT
it’s early summer in Los Angeles. Slash swaggers down the sidewalk in front of Supreme, sans top hat, dodging gracefully through a group of skateboarders clacking down the sidewalk, each uniformed in tight plaid button ups, shorts and high tube socks. Paramore’s front-woman Haley Williams browses through T-shirts at the The Hundreds store while Taco and Lucas from Odd Future loiter and annoy pedestrians a half a block down in front of Diamond Supply Co. next door, at Will Rise tattoo shop, veteran pro skateboarder turned tattooist, Eric Dressen, inks Vice Magazine columnist Chris nieratko who’s in town visiting from new Jersey. in a sense it’s just another star studded afternoon in LA, but this isolated crossroads of mainstream celebrity and underground cool is no coincidence. This is LA’s Fairfax District. Flanked by the trendy boutiques of Hollywood’s Melrose strip to the north and the bustling Mid Wilshire neighborhoods to
36
Text cULLeN PoyThress Photos JULiaN BerMaN
the South, Fairfax Village is a quarter mile segment of Los Angeles asphalt that’s become a cultural watering hole for the young and creative. Formerly the center of the city’s Jewish community, Fairfax is now infused with skate and streetwear shops, record stores, art galleries, tattoo parlors, niche restaurants and speciality salons. Hebrew paragons like Canter’s Deli, The Kibitz Room and Schwartz Bakery now line up next to brands like HUF, Supreme, Diamond Supply Co., The Hundreds, Hall Of Fame, Flight Club and Fresh Jive’s Reserve. But Fairfax isn’t just some street wear strip mall. Despite its burgeoning popularity, the Village has retained its authenticity over the years and continues to attract taste-making
young people who gather not necessarily to shop, but to interact, collaborate and just plain hang out. This amalgam of creative influence has spawned an entire wave of forward leaning fashion, music and art that some say ripples the culture space at large. The neighborhood’s most recent exports are a network of musical hood rat teenagers—OFWgKTA or Odd Future. The group was born here and can still be found in spite of their new found fame chilling on the bench in front of Supreme or playing SKATE in front of The Hundreds. The world views these kids as the latest precedent in hip-hop, but Angelinos know them as global ambassadors to the unmistakable style and attitude of Fairfax.