Gold Coin, a San Francisco based clothing company, considers the products they sell collectible art first and clothing second. With an identity all their own, Gold Coin is very laid back, a bit funny and all San Francisco. Example: each piece they sell comes with a gold coin, and they encourage buyers to collect the coins and later redeem them for special items. They don’t take themselves too seriously, like some of the L.A. or N.Y. based street labels that pride themselves on images of brass knuckles and tattoo artwork.
Instead, their designs touch on street art, sneaker culture, and video games, most notably Super Mario Bros. Gold Coin uses bold colors, crispy graphics, and limited quantities to sell their product. At first I was skeptical about the label because the graphics were a bit too much for me, but after digging deeper and seeing some of the more basic pieces I understand their point of view a bit better.
Most of the t-shirts are standout, loud, colorful pieces that showcase great graphic design. But as we know streetwear shouldn’t always be about what you can say on a t-shirt. Its not so much the t-shirts, but their less flashy items (turtle crew in black and 1up rugby sweatshirt in black or their basic outerwear with just a touch of Gold Coin graphics and/or embroidery work) along with their website and blog that made me a fan of this label.
The first page of their site flashes “insert coin” (click there), the second page is a slide show of the current season accompanied by the music of Big L and a clock that lets everyone know what time it is in San Francisco.
When you’re done looking though the look book slideshow, check out their blog. It’s entertaining and frequently updated, touching on toys, graffiti, kicks, art and clothing.
