“Pro Club is a lot different for me,” says Jess Cuevas, who creatively directed an homage to the outfit with Pablo Simental as the model.
(Jesse Sandoval)
From LA to San Diego and back to San Jose, the Pro Club is a sacred California outfit. From the very beginning (opening the packaging, breathing in the pleasant chemical smell of the new t-shirt) to the end (withdrawing it properly when it loses its pristine snow white color or the collar no longer fits snugly) as before), a club Longevity Specialist filled with reverence born of love. The way we honor a Pro Club comes up over and over, governed by personal etiquette: Customize it with a screen print at your local t-shirt supermarket, wake up when the world remains quiet to create crisp perfection. There is a level of respect that comes with wearing an outfit that is so unique. You are called upon to keep it beautiful – wear it every day as a salute to freshness.
Jess Cuevas, a multimedia artist currently a freelance art director for Nike and brand art director at Willy Chavarria, has many fond memories of Pro Club throughout his life. As a teenager of the ’90s, he was deeply inspired by kids’ club culture, rave culture, goth culture, and Latino culture — groups that share a common interest in this common outfit. , is worn in different ways.
“Pro Club is a lot of different things to me, but my connection to it is definitely the feeling when I first open the package,” Cuevas said. Consistency, the knowledge that every time you’ll get the same clean white t-shirt or tank top, how the brand gives the brand an opportunity to experiment with its wide range of sizes (wear XL to the knee) when you’re really average) it’s a rite of passage after all) — The pro club gives what it has to offer.
In Cuevas’ stylistic vision, deeper cuts, such as a heavy-duty mechanic’s jacket are paired with patent leather work boots.
(Jesse Sandoval)
“It was the perfect tee shot,” Cuevas said. “You get it at the liquor store, you get it at the flea market, barter, it’s everywhere. It is woven into the fabric of California, LA. It’s been defined for decades. And so when I opened it, I felt proud. You just feel like you’re clean, you’re ready to go, you’ve got that wrinkle. Boom.”
Recently, Cuevas wanted to honor Pro Club through an homage shot that could bring the iconic t-shirt back to its roots — one of the brand’s LA warehouses. “For a long time, we’ve seen Pro Club photographed in front of liquor stores,” says Cuevas. “I think that’s beautiful. It’s great to walk into a liquor store in LA and pick up a t-shirt. But I also think there are other ways to picture it.” When Cuevas connected with Brian Lee, son of the founder of Pro Club, who runs marketing and e-commerce for the brand, he was not only impressed — but pleasantly surprised by the goodwill. brand cooperation.
“It makes a lot of sense for Pro Club to be willing to see their work in a different way,” says Cuevas. He directs the shot amid the natural clutter of the warehouse—boxes and boxes with the Pro Club logo, old Tupac frames, and “The Last Supper.” It was important for him to capture space in its natural state. “I love that work environment,” Cuevas said. “They were set to create the perfect backdrop and the perfect lighting. But I don’t want that. I want to use what’s there. Don’t clear the table, don’t dust anything, let us do this.”
Cuevas directed the shot amid the natural clutter of the warehouse — boxes and boxes with the Pro Club logo, old Tupac frames, and “The Last Supper.”
(Jesse Sandoval)
“I wanted to experiment with the traditional ways that we see Pro Club,” says Cuevas.
(Jesse Sandoval)
For the shoot, he worked with collaborator, friend and fellow artist Pablo Simental, who modeled the clothing, styling it in a way that was intended for viewers to see Pro Club again. Deeper cuts like a heavy-duty mechanic’s jacket are paired with patent leather work boots; a crisp white tank top is layered over a longer glowing white t-shirt, creating a corset-like effect. Part of Cuevas’ own artistic work is adjusting the proportions of objects in the image to give a new perspective. With the shot, he distorts the shape of the clothes a bit, creating large shapes in the pants, belts, and shoes that stretch in a cartoon style. He explains: “It almost goes back to early 90s Y2K drawings, JNCO, even graffiti characters.
If wearing the Pro Club is a sacrament, the LA Pro Club warehouse is a church. Cuevas describes the energy in the space as humble and industrious, unlike the puzzle pieces they store away day in and day out. Bringing it back here is a full circle for Cuevas, a way to understand where our relationship with Pro Club is headed by capturing its roots. “I wanted to experiment with the traditional ways we see Pro Club.”
Cuevas slightly distorts the image of the costume, creating large shapes in the pants, belt, and stretchy cartoon-style footwear.
(Jesse Sandoval)
Creative direction, style and image distortion: Jess Cuevas
Model: Pablo Simal
Photographer: Jesse Sandoval
