“RESPECT PEOPLE OVER JOB TITLES” Interview with CELL , the founder of WHOOSIS

Nana: Fashion has infinite possibilities, and new power is born from it. As a carrier of culture and times, fashion encompasses everything. From trendy to traditional culture, from celebrities, idols to everyone’s daily life, and from West to East, it is our discourse, our power, our time. Through Asian Voice, we hope to spread the local Asian fashion culture to the world by moving cross languages and borders.

In this issue, we welcome WHOOSIS, a successful street brand growing in China, Chongqing, is loved by over millions of people. As a DJ, as well as the founder of WHOOSIS, CELL believes that music and fashion tightly connected with each other. The brand actively incorporates costume culture into the music scene in different ways. Started experimenting in 2015, the brand has been developing and maturing the music project, as well as collaborating with many famous musicians all over the world. The founders of WHOOSIS have a sincere and passionate love for music, clothing, trends, and everything around them.

Instagram: WHOOSIS

Nana: How was WHOOSIS found, and what is the concept of WHOOSIS?

CELL: WHOOSIS, founded in 2015, appears in the domestic public’s vision with a novel American style. The subsequent brand activities were carried out with street, photography, music and other themes, trying to build a street scene belonging to WHOOSIS in their own city. Its brand’s SLOGAN:”RESPECT PEOPLE OVER JOB TITLES”, which translated as “focus on things and people as they are rather than titles”, also expresses the idea of pursuing the essence of what you love.

Those of you who know us well know that the first WHOOSIS was not only me, but also WANGRUI and KD. In daily life, my brother WANGRUI would share with me a lot of understanding of streetwear and lifestyle, KD has a lot of his own ideas in the genre shooting, we have been together for 7 years, complementary personality, mutual trust and friendship make us come so far.

WHOOSIS has entered its seventh year this year. As a DJ and brand manager, I do not limit WHOOSIS to the launch of clothing products in every season. Instead, I actively integrate clothing culture into the music scene through different ways, so as to express my enthusiasm for music parties.

When the brand started experimenting with WHOOSI parties in 2015, and in 2016, AMOEBA Event, an independent music activity, was launched for him to be active in different party scenes. In 2017, WHOOSIS Radio, a monthly radio station, was launched. In 2018, WHOOSIS officially launched its party project”WHOOSIS RECORDS WORLDWIDE” dabbling in Rap, Boombap, Grime, UK Garage, Footwork and other music…

In the five years (2018-2022), WHOOSIS RECORDS WORLDWIDE brings many well-known musicians at home and abroad to our own party scene. In 2021, WHOOSIS executive produced their first compilation album, This time, I gathered the emerging forces from Chongqing, Chengdu, Shanghai,
Taiwan, Tokyo and other regions — Thomeboydontkill, Icy White, Tiva, Peatle, Cash Trippy, Nyijambby, Charity Ssb, Loota to support.

With WHOOSIS as the link, this album connects the jigsaw puzzle of fashion and music as a whole, which is also the most intuitive embodiment of the music gene in the blood of the brand.

For WHOOSIS, clothing and music have always been closely related, and we are also exploring and exporting the relationship between them. Every year, every stage, a new breakthrough is what we pursue, do not forget the original purpose, is what we have been telling ourselves for seven years.

Nana: Why did you initially create the brand and name it “WHOOSIS”?

CELL: Because I love clothes, I think my energy needs to have a place to show, and it is the best way to show it on my own brand.

WHOOSIS expresses a group of people or things without names. I think it is sincere to love something, and the most important thing is to pay attention to itself.

Nana: What are some of the inspirations for the brand? Has any Chinese culture, trends influenced your brand?

CELL: From our life, we live in a very wild city called Chongqing, here has taught me a lot, shaped my character, achievements of me, in this city I have a lot of supporters; Of we are proud of being a Chinese brand, we have a very deep Chinese culture as our inspiration to create many things, my brother and I are a Chinese force.

Nana: How do you come up and decide on the themes for your collections?

CELL: We don’t deliberately create a theme. When we don’t have a specific theme in mind, we design around the classic elements of WHOOSIS. But when my brother WANGRUI has an idea, he makes a series of designs about that idea, and that’s what we’re talking about.

Nana: Is it possible to let readers know a little about your next drop (collection)? If so, what has inspired the theme and the pieces in them?

CELL: Next spring and summer, we have a collaboration with hello kitty, we have a collaboration
with the Chinese classic animation Uproar in Heaven, and we will continue to work with play boy, which we love.

Nana: In what way do use social media to promote your brand?

CELL: I use Chinese Tiktok, Weibo and other social media to share my life, and my brand is also an important part of my life.

Nana: Can you tell us about some of the most challenging experiences you have had during the process of building your brand?

CELL: This question is a bit of a cliche, difficulties are periodic, so are victories. We need to stay humble, stay hustle and let us break through at every stage, after all, the environment is more stringent than ten years ago.