Asystem Unveils First Apparel Collection, Bound Upwards
Men’s wellness brand Asystem launches today its first apparel collection, Bound Upwards, designed by Nate Brown, its director of art and culture.
Bound Upwards, one of Brown’s first projects for Asystem, is comprised of primary color T-shirts, hoodies and accessories featuring different sphere and globe graphics and phrases like “future perspectives” and “energetic expression.” Prices range from $14 for socks to $135 for a duo-tone process hoodie, and 10 percent of sales will be donated to Fair Fight, a national voting rights organization fighting voter suppression.
“A T-shirt and hoodie to me are essential items,” Brown said. “They are vehicles for an idea that reflects who you are. The graphic is this idea that we’re all connected. I’m a firm believer that you are your world and the globe is meant to represent being linked and connected.”
Asystem cofounder Josh LeVine said the collection is genderless and is made in Los Angeles where the brand is based. He, Brown and cofounder Oli Walsh all share a fashion background, having worked in apparel in the past.
Brown, founder of Studio Institute, was featured by Asystem in the brand’s coffee table book, The Betterment Project, and they took their relationship further in July with the appointment.
“Nate is someone we’ve known and respected for years at the forefront of culture and fashion. He has more ideas than we can keep up and we’re similar in that as well,” said LeVine and Walsh.
This year, the brand appointed Myodetox founder and physical therapist Vinh Pham as director of recovery and launched its Radical Relief system that is comprised of anti-inflammatory support pills and a CBD gel roll-on. They also joined the Brands for Better coalition earlier this year.
“We’ve been continuing to grow and gain momentum, which has been fantastic. We’ve been blessed and been seeing double-digit month-on-month growth, which has been fantastic, but we felt it was really important to use our platform to support those in need at the time,” Walsh said. The brand donated 20 percent of its Radical Relief sales to Feeding America in March, and 100 percent of its sales to Black Lives Matter in May.
Walsh added about police brutality and the ensuing and continuing protests, “We took that as a moment of self-reflection, asked ourselves what we could do better and how we can be better and put tangible actions into place. We took for granted that this is a real fundamental problem and people need to know how to help impact it for the better.”
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