Snow & Palms
The juxtaposition between Marcus Robinson Jr.’s avalanche-clad home of Nebraska and his cousin’s residence in the golden state, California, inspired his streetwear brand “Snow & Palms”.
By: Bryn Palmer
Though created after meeting his cousin and twinflame, the brand took off last year. Growing up with dreams of being an NBA All-star, the 28 year-old’s adoration of sneakers, established his desire to pursue a career in fashion. With this in mind, he wanted to create a brand that appealed to his fellow sneakerheads and streetwear lovers. With his signature varsity jacket(‘Teen x Athletic Department Super Heavyweight Varsity Letterman Jacket’), he does just that. Marked by its bulky red silhouette and creamy leather sleeves, the jacket epitomizes every teen athlete’s rite of passage onto the varsity squad.
“It has a lot of juxtaposition and duality, which my brand embodies,” said the retired high school athlete. “If you said my name, I would want that product to pop up with it.”
Nebraska’s notoriety for agricultural prosperity strongly contrasts the fast paced fashion industry. The Omaha native believes “Iron sharpens iron,” and the scarcity of local clothing lines hinders Robinson Jr.’s ability to find a collaborative cohort of creatives. Instead, he enlists travel and personal experiences to fuel his creativity.
The best selling ‘Sneaker Free Agent Ultra Heavyweight Luxury T-Shirt’ presents Kobe Bryant as a deity with a blown up photo of him surrounded by smaller pictures of the legend in different pairs of shoes. The Kobe fan designed the shirt as a bridge between him and his audience. Robinson Jr. knew the hype behind the Lakers legend’s “insane” shoe collection combined with sympathy for his tragic passing in 2020, would “invoke some type of feeling in people's mind when they saw it.”
Robinson Jr. wants his brand to be emblematic of the diversity amongst world cultures. His Black History Month collection highlights the spectrum of shades and the different trailblazers of the community. His next collection, set to release in April 2023 consists of Japanese art inspired by an exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
At his current rate and with his clothing holding significant cultural relevance, Snow & Palms could become a household name in the future, just as its founder wants.
