Hard Style of Past & Future
Ambition Worldwide was established in 2013, by Devin Lee, Founder/Creative Director, as a contemporary streetwear brand born from New York City style, with a mash-up of sharp, minimalistic, effortless fashion and lots of sass, swagger, sensibilities; easy to rock streetwear that stands out in the best way and hits the nail right on the head.
The Collection is real, authentic, solid; premium, heavyweight, all cut and sew; beautifully rendered, sourced globally fabrics; fine, hand-tailoring, excellent fit, with an easy, direct agenda; celebrating a sense of cool, youth culture and sophisticated elegance through simple, functional, wearable clothing.
Everything is created and manufactured in New York City, providing jobs locally and ensuring that quality always comes first. Playing off its name and roots, the Company’s Mission Statement strives to always keep ambitious people of all walks of life motivated through positive messaging and striking imagery.
Brand New, Right Now
Tattoo inspired T-shirt Collection; boxy fit; right on trend with today’s standards; done in off-the-beat tones; Desaturated Yellow, Light Slate, White, Black, and Avocado-Olive Green. For Lee, who has always a fan of traditional tattoo artworks –from the OG Sailor Jerry to Ed Hardy, “the way they’re drawn, the way these pieces are shaded and most certainly the way the colors are used; Teal, Yellow, White, Black and Red, just seems to pop out at the eye.
It was a ton of fun working with this motif, since I feel like I rarely design with more than 3 colors for a single artwork. I haven’t seen anything or anyone using this style of artwork since the late French designer, Christian Audigier. So now, with the 90’s and 2000’s being back in style, I felt that it was only right to pay homage to this iconic artist, as well.”
Tracking the Collection
Top line, generously cut hoodies, tees, shorts, pants, all affordably priced from $50-$200, feature eclectic 3D and puff graphics; tags like Lady Liberty, Try Your Luck, Thank You For Being Ambitious, World’s Fair, No Manners, Black Panther; broad color palette of good enough to eat shades like Peanut Butter, Mustard, Pistachio, Oatmeal, Salmon, Black Grape Ice.
Since its inception, Ambition Worldwide has earned a cult reputation, continually growing; drawing attention and credibility from an ever-increasing fan-base of high-profile, fashion, commerce, sports, Social Media, entertainment industry insiders like Director, Spike Lee, Pop Star, Halsey; Rappers like 50 Cent, Lil Uzi Vert, Bobby Shmurda Rowdy Rebel; DJ Envy, DJ Prostyle, DJ Jayfive; model, Latecia Thomas; Detroit Lions Wide Receiver, Geronimo John Allison; Youtuber, Static Jon; stylist, influencer, Nicholas Bailey.
The Company, which began as Ambition Apparel NYC (“AANYC”), came to be for many reasons, Lee says, mainly because he and his former partner Juan (or Blanco as he was known in the industry) both hailed from New York; both focused their efforts into something which would capture that particular New York aesthetic. But, after Blanco’s passing, and in some ways because of it, Lee had to reconsider how the brand embodied so much more than just one city.
That one key word, ‘Ambition’, originated when Blanco came up with the name in late 2012/early 2013. “He approached me when I was freelancing as a graphic designer; he liked my art and my taste in clothes. He initially had the idea to sell shirts because there were emerging local brands at the time that were starting to make a name in the marketplace and he wanted in.”
Launching and growing his Company took time, focus and effort, says Lee. “From the start, I had a close eye on emerging street, athletic brands like Kith; really liked how they were growing, and I wanted to emulate their aesthetic with our brand to look more polished.”
Prior to Blanco’s passing, Lee changed the Company’s name to Ambition Worldwide, because he wanted to be seen as a global, designer brand, vs. exclusively New York. Personally, Ambition has gained a much deeper meaning to me since my friend’s passing; what started out as a fun project for us turned into something which fuels me every day.”
Even as a young kid, Lee’s creative, edgy, artsy side was always there, and although he was never exposed to designers or artists, he would sketch and draw well-known cartoon and anime characters. And, while he did not pay much attention to fashion until he was thirteen, when, as he puts it, “appearances became more important amongst peers”, his interest in style popped and grew, as he was growing up in a city, especially NYC. “I really got into mixing, matching, pairing pieces, putting things together like the way the cool kids did.”
Lee’s target is to obviously give Ambition Worldwide as much exposure as possible; “we have a lot to say; we have made good progress so far; we’re featured in glossy magazines like Esquire; popular blogs like nicksaysgo.com; talked about and showcased all around Social Media. And, while the clothes are carried in major NYC Boutiques, we’re already looking closely at “in the works” plans for more stores across the country to be added to the roster.”