Aimé Leon Dore‘s success isn’t contingent on the clothing or collaborations alone. Streetwear loyalists have long known this. Quality and transparency are certainly pillars to any brand, but it’s not everything. Whether you’ve ever stepped foot in one of their shops, there is a vibe that emanates from the part streetwear, part menswear mainstay. The best labels have always possessed this ability — be it high or low.
One of the biggest ways ALD has cultivated this presence is in its curation, from their timeless lookbooks, the way the shops have been laid out with vintage sports ephemera, classy Oak furnishings and Persian rugs to more subtly in the music played across their speakers and SoundCloud mixes.
Banking off the latter, the New York-based label has announced a new monthly DJ series produced exclusively through Apple Music, dubbed SOUND. The inaugural edition features legendary New York-based DJ, Stretch Armstrong, who guides listeners through an hour-long set filled with a pulsating blend of funk and soul.
Housed at ALD’s flagship location at 214 Mulberry Street, Stretch flows from one 45 to the next like a surgeon in an operating room, featuring tracks — from Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You” (1976) and “Something’s Got to Give” (2015) by the Afro Cuban Band to The Temptations’ “I Need You” (1973) and “I Wouldn’t Change a Thing” by Coke Escovedo. The brand already has a suite of upcoming mixes in the works, including KITTYSAYWORD and Eli Escobar in New York, along with Benji B, P-Rallel and AAA in the newly minted London shop.
Check out the full mix with Stretch Armstrong in the gallery above.
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