JAWN's Curated

From tags that can be found as early as 2009 across Wellington, New Zealand (Aotearoa), chances are you've seen the tag 'PORK', 'PORKER' or 'PORKE' somewhere.  Whether it be a large colourful tag on a building or a small black marker tag on the stairs.  There's a certain consistency to the tag. Simple and stereotypical bold letters with shadows. Though he does spice it up here and there with his larger tags.  Repeated enough, it starts to feel less like vandalism and more like a presence. In cities like Wellington and Auckland, you don't just see it once - you see it almost everywhere. Pork's tags have been spotted overseas as well and also recorded online. Across cities in Australia to Europe, such as France and Germany. The extent of Pork's tags extends to even GTA V. That honestly says a lot! Back in Aotearoa, the name 'Pork' comes with media attention. Auckland Council recorded close to 1,000 incidents of Pork's tags across th...

Polo shirts have always genuinely been such an interesting clothing item to me. I t sits in this odd middle ground where it's professional casual, a little preppy, a little tidy. Safe to say, pretty conservative. But worn with trackies, a cap, and any other form of streetwear? The energy is completely different. The contrast is massive. That's exactly what eshay/adlay/Australian street fashion did with the polo. It flipped it and created the antithetical. It omitted loud, noisy, abrasive, bold, and rebellious energy. It took the polo's conservative, intended visual weight and just disrupted it entirely. And I honestly feel like the brands themselves made this intentional too. Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Nautica, Fred Perry, Tommy Hilfiger, Gant, Sergio Tacchini, all of them were marketed to the upper middle class and above. Promoted as golfing wear, yacht club attire, tennis club fashion, and symbols of wealth.  Instead, they got adopted by inner city housing commission estates ...

In anticipation of the NRL season, I reflect on the National Rugby League (NRL). Its influence and place alongside the street culture in Western Sydney in the early 00s and 10s. An era defined by style, pride and a desire to emulate the success that surrounded you. Growing up in Western Sydney, if there was one thing intertwined both out on the streets and within Rugby League, it was ensuring that you carried yourself with style and pride. During the early 00s up until the 10s, Rugby League was hallmarked by its ruthless, calculated aggression, and its yet equally skilful superstars.  Rugby League helped transform playgrounds into schoolyard casinos (who can forget footy cards lol), and had lads thinking they were a young Sonny Bill Williams on the oval. Emulating success, however, was not something only restricted to the footy field for many kids in Western Sydney.  The emergence of Sydney's street culture and fashion preceding and during this period introduced a new generati...