Tropical Futures Institute & Eastern Margins Dive Into Asia's Digital Diaspora
“Built for heat. Born from the tropics. Styled for the margins.”
Summary
- Tropical Futures Institute (TFI) and Eastern Margins collaborated on a special capsule collection drawing from Asian underground culture, diasporic identity, and tropical regions.
- The collection, described as “built for heat” and “styled for the margins,” features items like a sarong and bike jersey, encapsulating DIY aesthetics and rave art from East and Southeast Asia.
Tropical Futures Institute (TFI), Chris Fussner’s tropics-inspired label, has linked with Eastern Margins to produce a special capsule inspired by their overlapping focus on Asian underground culture and diasporic identity. Together, TFI and the London-based collective described as the “home of Alternative Asian culture” propose a new aesthetic that draws from the realms of digital culture, Drain Gang, and tropical themes.
The collaborators describe the collection as “built for heat, “born from the tropics,” and “styled for the margins.” Comprising a pink baby tee, a cobranded bike jersey, a graphic t-shirt, an embroidered trucker cap, and a sarong, each piece encapsulates the visual language of DIY aesthetics and rave art throughout East and Southeast Asia.
The sarong is a highlight, borrowing a common garb traditional to various tropical Asian cultures and using it as the canvas for the “tropical drainer” design by Bea Cruz. Elsewhere, the bike jersey features an airbrushed retro floral illustration on the backside and bold typography on the front.
TFI was founded by Chris Fussner in 2017 in response to what he saw as a lack of investigation surrounding contemporary culture in the tropics, particularly in the Philippines and wider Southeast Asia. In a recent statement, Fussner shared that TFI aims to represent diverse expressions across the tropics, “bridging art, design, and research.” Some may be familiar with TFI’s work with Denim Tears, which popularized the now ubiquitous “LATE CAPITALISM” graphic emblazoned on caps and tees.
First released at Dover Street Market Singapore, the collaboration is now available at the TFI web store. See the gallery above for a look at the campaign shot by Khristiandt Lerona.
