The beige hoodies at Arcadia High School (AHS) embroidered with vibrant red “Arcadia” word art and the Arcadia Unified School District (AUSD) motto, “Imagine, Inquire, Inspire” have become quite the trend among AHS students, and the fact that they are inspired by Stüssy seems to only amplify its ongoing wild popularity.
Stüssy is a luxury fashion brand founded by Shawn Stüssy around four decades ago in the early 1980s. Inspired by the popularity of surf culture during that era, 13-year-old Shawn Stüssy’s original goal for Stüssy was to sell his handmade surfboards in Laguna Beach, California. Fast forward a couple of years later, and he’s begun the process of enlarging his brand and eventually established it not only as a local surfing brand but as a worldwide brand for non-surfers, too.
Rather than surfboards, AHS’ ASB was inspired to offer these hoodies to students for a different reason. “Stüssy, realistically, that’s a brand that I definitely grew up with in the ’90s. Nowadays, it seems to definitely be having a resurgence, so we used that to flip the script and use that to say Arcadia on it,” said Mr. Peter Vo, the ASB advisor.
Being classified as a luxury brand, the standard Stüssy hoodie costs around $130. Meanwhile, AHS’ ASB has given students the opportunity to display their Apache pride combined with a popular style at a much more cost-effective price of $35.
But just how popular exactly is it? “In total, we bought 500, and at this point, I think we only have around 250 left,” stated Mr. Vo, regarding the number of hoodie purchases.
The motivation behind the purchases of these hoodies falls mainly under two categories: because of their eye-catching design, and because they feature the Stüssy style.
“I like [the hoodies], I like the contrast of the beige and the red,” said freshman Chloe Chan.
“I really like the design of it, it’s a lot different from other Arcadia merch,” added junior Clara Youssef. Regarding its aesthetic appeal, she said, “I really like the colors, it’s really, really pretty. I like the Arcadia symbol, it looks good, it kinda reminds me of the Stüssy hoodies.”
Various people have wondered whether or not they will be able to purchase the hoodie in other colors in addition to the beautiful cream and scarlet red the hoodies currently feature.
“I think moving forward with some of these designs, it’s just gonna be a one-and-done design,” Mr. Vo said. “And so maybe it will come back in another colorway [the various sets of colors a single design has]. I know some people are requesting some black hoodies because it’s standard, but I like the idea of just selling something out and then moving on to the next design.”
Highlighting the well-received support of the Apaches, the future seems bright for everyone’s favorite hoodie, more and more people continue to showcase their very own (a number that is only set to increase as the design gains more and more traction). Apaches—grab your hoodies before they sell out!
Photo by Caroline Li
