Bootleg Luxury
Long before Instagram designer kids were punning their way through luxury logos, Freak City was already there. Hand-sewn LV monogram bikinis. Dior-print minidresses. Pieces that looked like the real thing but carried a deliberate wink. We want to create pieces that will make these luxury brands question whether they are real or not. It was not a joke. It was a genuine rebellion against who gets to decide what luxury looks like.
The clothes were sold at parties, out of suitcases, at pop-ups that felt like secret gigs. Campbell had been making jewellery since childhood. Romero had been making noise, making a scene. Together they built something the fashion world could not ignore. Nicki Minaj. Paris Hilton. M.I.A. Alexa Demie. They did not come to Freak City because it was exclusive. They came because it was real.
Fun, Crazy, Kawaii
Ask Justin Time to describe the Freak City aesthetic in three words and the answer cuts right to the bone. Fun, crazy, kawaii. It is a precise distillation of what makes the brand impossible to replicate. The kawaii thread runs through everything, and it comes directly from their deep connection to Tokyo, where they collaborated with rap duo Yurufuwa Gang on a collection merging L.A. street culture with Japanese punk aesthetics. We speak the same language when it comes to fashion and art.
The crazy is self-evident. A barcode logo slapped across the chest as a statement about commodification and identity. A Heaven or Hell graphic that parodies evangelical billboards but replaces the number with 1-800-FREAK-CITY. Sequined spray-can minidresses. Depression and anxiety crewnecks. Some of the stuff is a joke. We are making fun of ourselves or reality. And some could be really deep and powerful. A Freak City piece might make you laugh, think or question what you are being sold.
From House Parties to the World
Freak City was born from the same impulse that drives every great underground scene: there was nowhere else to go. When Justin and Vally started making music together, somewhere between electro rap and experimental hip-hop, there were not many venues that would have them. So they threw their own parties. Hollyhood. L.A. Goes Boom. The Lipstick Gallery, which eventually became Freak City itself.
The need for creative space is what gave birth to Freak City. Campbell has said this plainly. They wanted to rebel against the typical retail structure and make clothes for the freaks, the outcasts, the misfits. The parties became incubators. Pharrell and Odd Future held court there. Kali Uchis kicked it before anyone knew her name. Alexa Demie peddled blinged-out sunglasses. Nicki Minaj hired Campbell as her stylist for the Britney Spears Femme Fatale tour in 2011. The Jewel Box, a shop inside the parties, became legendary.
The Ghetto Alien Backpack
Ask Justin Time which single piece best represents Freak City and the answer is immediate. My ghetto alien backpack, haha. That is me. He is talking about the Alien mascot plush backpack, a green alien figure in a Freak City beanie and hoodie with adjustable straps and just enough room for your essentials. It is absurd, playful, kawaii and entirely Freak City.
My ghetto alien backpack, haha. That is me.
Freak City L.A.
The backpack captures everything the brand stands for in one object. Fun without being disposable. Crazy without being random. Kawaii without being precious. In a brand that prints barcode logos and Heaven or Hell graphics, the alien is not just a mascot. It is a statement about belonging to something outside the mainstream, something that does not scan, something from another dimension entirely.
What Comes Next
When we ask what is inspiring them right now, the answer is as unguarded as the clothes. Everything! Music, life and love! For a brand that has always pulled from every direction at once, from hip-hop to kawaii to bootleg luxury, it makes perfect sense. Freak City does not have a narrow lane. It never did.
And what is next? Fashion shows and music videos! Coming back to Tokyo! The return to Tokyo is significant. Their collaboration with Yurufuwa Gang in 2024 was a full-circle moment, two underground duos from opposite sides of the world. Now they are going back, with shows and film projects that will push the brand further into the space between fashion and music it has always occupied. The private showroom on Hollywood Boulevard, the one you cannot find on Google Maps, is about to get a lot more visitors.
Freak City does not follow trends. It makes a scene and then invites the world in.