American Pro Wrestling is as varied as its geography and mix of world cultures, impossible to pin down and hard to forget. In this collection we try to visually describe what it is we love about American Pro Wrestling by melting it down to a series of easily digestible icons.
Lucha Libre is part of Mexican national identity, it feels like Lucha was there the day the country was founded and in some ways it predates it. The masks worn by modern luchadors are inspired by the animal identities taken on by Maya and Aztec warriors and the legacy of the pre-invasion cultures is carried on in venues all over modern Mexico. The mask and the style of performance is globally iconic and wrestling fans all over the world consider Lucha to be a part of a shared identity for our favorite pastime.
Pro Wrestling was brought to Japan in the wake of the second world war where it quickly became a popular pastime and eventually a source of national pride. In the Land of the Rising Sun, wrestling is respected as both sport and spectacle, wrestlers are both serious athletes and incredible performers. The mix of the minimal and the maximum, the humble and the humongous is a constant in Japanese Pro Wrestling and its this spirit that we’ve tried to reflect in this line. Clean, minimalist yet still proud and loud.