Silknode - Shifting Cultural Power Structures
With the digital archiving and curated moodboard scene growing by the day, it opens a path for those who are looking to leave their mark on the industry that extends beyond realms we ever imagined.
This article was produced in collaboration with Sabukaru by Ali George Hinkins who is exploring grassroots movements in the fashion industry, looking to shake up the current landscape of design. Striving to provide content outside of generic media output, he immerses himself in the realities of those working inside the industry and translates those stories.
Exemplified by Organiclab.zip’s late collaboration with Salomon, a cultural and industrial shift is underway whereby the power is being taken out of the hands of large corporations and placed in the possession of the independent creator. The rise in independently run physical and online publications, multidisciplinary creative agencies and burgeoning fashion labels is a signifier of this democratisation which allows for further community empowerment and peer to peer collaboration.
‘We are mobilising energy outside of the status quo and the things that we can do with it extend much further than an Instagram moodboard. New models of independent influence and creativity are quietly being constructed everyday.’ - Z, Silknode Whitepaper.
Yeti Fleece jacket from Silknode + Explora
In 2022, the internet and all of its associated accompaniments are by no means a new phenomenon, but the amount of information we have access to remains astounding. Speaking in the context of clothing design and fashion, we can uncover digital scans of magazines dating back to the glory days of the Urahara movement or browse through older, forgotten Oakley runway collections with a simple search. While it may seem obvious, knowledge and information are powerful tools.
For some of us, having grown up surrounded by the internet and everything that comes with that kind of interconnectivity, this is all we know. We have become accustomed to a cornucopia of information at our fingertips. Different people interact with this medium in their own way; some are passive consumers and others take on a more active role in how they digest information, digging deeper into the online archives to uncover obscure cultural nuggets that may have seemingly been lost to time. For those who take it that step further, discovering innovative technical product and art projects that may have fallen by the wayside and re-presenting them to a wider audience is becoming increasingly paramount. Both for their own personal interest and their livelihood.
Silkflames T-shirt
There are a number of smaller cultural entities coming into frame that are set to shake up the groundwork that was previously laid before them. Exhibit A: Silknode, an emerging pioneer looking to alter the current landscape. Silknode credits the likes of Techspec, Organiclab.zip and Hidden NY as early facilitators for this movement, but hopes to iterate on top of what they've achieved with new dimension. It is written in the recent Whitepaper that, ‘Communities like Silknode’s are few and far between. At surface level, what makes us special is our collective knack for finding and enjoying uncommon things, yes. But, what is even more special is the idea that all of this has occurred completely organically.’ A genuine passion for highly functional, purposeful and considerate design can truly go a long way, and when it’s expressed in a setting such as this, it is as organic as it comes.
We sent Ali George Hinkins to interview the mind that functions behind the Silknode moniker: Z.
Ali: Hey! With an aura of anonymity surrounding Silknode, could you just tell us what Silknode is in its purest form?
Z: Ali, what’s up man. It’s hard to put succinctly, but I’ve been describing it as the prototype of every creative platform, ten years from now. It’s an entire suite of things really. You see the curation/archive/mood stuff on Instagram, but beyond that, I’m also running design projects, a publication, a comic strip, a product outlet and building a community around all of it. It’s a lot.
Ali: Whilst there are numerous carefully curated pages out there, we rarely hear about their ambitions beyond that or how they plan to shake things up. When I saw the Whitepaper, my mind was blown to read the level of depth and complexity that is going on behind the scenes.
Z: Thank you, for real. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into putting that whole vision together in one place — think it was like 8 pages? And, even so, the day after publishing I was like, “Man, I really need to start working on V2!” (Laughs)
Ali: Where does the whole anonymity come into it, though? Like, what’s the motivation behind keeping up that mystique?
Z: Anonymity is great in a lot of circumstances and I’m heavily in favour of preserving my ID when possible. I know you and I have talked a bunch about anonymity in this space, moving certain ways and putting less emphasis on IDs. I’ve been on that tip for a few years now, even on ACG Archive with like 9k followers I’ve never cross-promoted to my personal or anything. It’s not necessary for that light, it’s benign - nobody really needs to know who runs that.
But with Silknode’s ambitions, it feels slightly different in that we need a figurehead or some kind of a semi-visible, vocal leader to rally behind. Pseudonymous at the very least. It’s like a movement, you know? Movements need leaders and I feel like I can be one of them for us, among others.
Ali: You mentioned some design projects you are running, could you elaborate further on that? Like, what can we expect to see going forward?
Z: As for design projects, it’s a bunch in the works. Off the bat, with Silknode it’s going to be challenging to make gear that’s as technically sound as I’d like. It’s super expensive and Silknode just doesn’t have all the means yet. But there are a couple of projects slated for release once ecom gets set up on the site in the next couple of weeks, and I’d say one of them is pretty technical. It’s this Dyneema-reinforced fleece jacket with an external hood security system, Polartec fleece and all that. I made it with my friend Simon Skates, we’re both really excited about it. I’m also a part of a design collective based in New York called Éminence Grise and we have some really crazy pieces on the way.
Ali: Hearing the way you describe such projects, despite having seen some already, just elevates the whole thing to another level. There is little room anymore to establish yourself with a t-shirt line like there was 10 years ago. It’s either go big or go home. Do you feel pressure when it comes to releasing design-related projects under Silknode because there is an assumption that it must be indicative of what is shared on Instagram?
Z: That's a great question. There’s definitely a certain standard that has to be met when it comes to product but I wouldn’t call it pressure. At this point, I think we’re all familiar with the mission and we aren’t going to settle for much less. If there’s the pressure it's all self-inflicted and I’m cool with that.
However, that’s not to say Silknode isn’t going to put out a quality t-shirt or hoodie at some point. I think accessible stuff like that is going to be really key too. A good graphic tee is like one of the coolest art pieces. I think V said something like that.
Ali: It’s a good benchmark to set as well because people will think, ‘Damn, these guys really mean business.’ Speaking of Virgil, would you like to talk about some of your influences and who has maybe paved the way so you can run?
Z: V has been monumental in space, I think he influenced everything and everyone. Showed people what was possible. I don’t mean to get into all that super deep but it’s just a fact. Rest In Peace.
I will always be the first to tell you I wouldn’t be here without Organiclab.zip or Techspec. I’ve told both of them that too, on numerous occasions. ACG Archive never would have happened in 2018 without OLZ putting everybody on the game for cool outerwear and I never would have worked on projects for Drake and Arc’teryx if not for reaching out to Techspec. Some real wavemakers with incredible visions and so much drive. I feel really lucky to have found myself in this space to learn from then when I did.
Yeti Fleece jacket from Silknode + Explora
Ali: Two names there - Techspec and OLZ - that are almost impossible to miss out on when talking about this subject. I still remember just being amazed and thrown back by Techspec. That page made me see functional design in a whole new light and that it is so intertwined in our day to day life.
Z: 100%. And Techspec has been here for like 10+ years. Foundational support figures. I feel super grateful to be learning from these guys and getting handed that torch in a way.
Ali: Passing the baton for someone else to pick up - like a relay! (Laughs).
Z: Yeah exactly. You can ask people in the space now about how that works and my role in that too. It's all trickle down.
Ali: In that case, what is Silknode’s purpose in that?
Z: Just enabling culture. Empowering the right people, getting the right minds involved and talking to one another. For instance, I’m in NYC right now just to camp out with Unknown Store for the week and find synergy. Gasman’s Garments pulled up too. I was on the phone with Organic the other day talking about the Whitepaper. Setflames and I text every day and work on projects. Group chats popping. There’s so much energy in this ecosystem. I just think it’s inevitable that we do something impactful with it. It really feels like a Urahara type movement, except none of us, are in one spot.
Ali: It’s like the Urahara movement but 30 years later, digital tools at our fingertips and an abundance of information to pick at.
Z: It’s the blueprint for real. I’ve been saying that now is like the new Urahara just with all that creative spirit and influence and synergy in these online communities. Nurahara. Building off of all that old foundation but in new ways. It’s not the same and I don’t want it to be — we are not a 2.0 and it would be limiting if we fully identified with that idea. But there are so many parallels.
People don’t think that these kind of grassroots movement can happen again in today's digital environment or whatever, but I’m telling you I’m here seeing it with my own eyes every day.
Ali: Who is Z? Nigo? Jun?
Z: Who I’m compared to is probably someone else’s call. This is all new and we don’t want to be carbon copies. I’m just Z. Silky. Webweaver. Whatever you wanna call me works (laughs).
Ali: For people reading, I think it shows that you don’t have to have 50,000 Instagram followers to make a difference in some way because it is all about community and outreach. It just takes one, two or three conversations to build a legacy and credential platform. I hope people take something from that.
Z: That’s what underground is all about really. We don’t want 50k people if they’re not all on the same tip. Quality over quantity energy.
Ali: Numbers look fancy on the surface but it’s all about the relationships and conversations going on beyond that level. That’s where the real shit is. Behind the glamorous social media facade.
Z: Forget clout. One meaningful connection will take you way further than 1000 followers that you don’t talk to. It’s about finding mutual fulfilment in your relationships and seeing what happens.
I moved to LA for an internship off of a sub-1000 follower Instagram page about ACG and an email connection. Was sleeping on the floor at one of my best friends' cribs for 4 months with no income but it was the most formative experience of my life.
I mean that’s how we met too, right? Just going back and forth online talking about stuff we’re passionate about forever.
Ali: 100%. A lot of my network has been built around a genuine passion for products and a mutual interest in design. Let's take a little detour and leave that as it is and touch on the implementation of Web3 and why it’s important. You touch on it in the Whitepaper but maybe, for those who haven’t read it, you could expand on it further?
Z: For sure. Web3 is basically like the democratisation of the internet. Web2 infrastructure is built around extracting money from your attention and disincentivizing you from transacting with your peers. There’s always some sort of middleman structure that you need to go through in order to manage your finances, your data, your creativity… Web3 infrastructure is moving away from that model and returning the power of the internet to the people. I’m planning on writing a ton of introductory stuff to put out as resources for the community to help bridge us all over. It’s like the promised land. (Laughs).
Ali: That whole concept is very relatable to Silknode in the respect it is built on community and ownership. Written resources would be great! This kind of thing can seem very daunting to some people so education is key.
Z: That’s what I’m trying to get across. It’s challenging to talk about with people who haven’t looked into it very much because the stigma of crypto is so bad. Say the word “NFT” on Twitter and you get ratioed like 80 times plus a death threat. (Laughs)
I would really like to be one of those gateways though. I think that could be so impactful for the space in the long term.
Ali: I’m glad you’re thinking long-term, make some real changes in that time!
Thanks for your time, Z. Is there anything you’d like to add?
Z: I think we’ve probably covered everything we set out to. It’s all my pleasure bro — thank you for yours and shout out Sabukaru!
Ali: Until next time!
