I originally had an article drafted last week on a few interviews I found on the internet by way of the hype machine. But friends of the Consortium, Better Than Yours, put me on to an interesting development — a little blogosphere beef between Heron P. and the writers over on the Complex Blog surrounding an interview Heron did with NYC coolguy A-Ron.

Basically what I drafted last week still applies. Here’s my take on the whole thing:

I don’t have any beef with Heron for setting up and broadcasting the interview. (He put us on to the whole blog game and is considered a friend of the Consortium.) It’s cool that he’s at least to some degree a player in the whole NYC LES/street scene. There’s plenty of interest in the interviews as evidenced by the whole controversy. I don’t think the Complex writers need to attack Heron personally and knock his hustle.

That said, A-Ron is a completely polarizing figure and the post over at Complex touched on this fact.

First, aNYthing wasn’t anything special as a brand. To me, it looked like A-Ron was just a flunkie/junkie who just wanted other people to pay for his good times. They had one shirt and one design. The store on Hester was just confusing. While other brands were developing strong retail presences that reflected the mentality of the brand and gave it a physical identity, A-Ron seemed to lack a clear direction.

Secondly, any businessman who would enter into a deal with an investor without the foresight and prudence required in such matters is no businessman at all. It seems A-Ron dropped the ball and I don’t feel sorry for him.

I say all that to say this: A-Ron got lazy. He’s emblematic of the problem plaguing the streetwear game today. He had a design, a little tshirt that caught on. He got a little money and sat back thinking that the money would just stack up. He never elevated the brand into a cultural identity and made it more than just a clothing line. He never pushed it forward. The apparel business is a fast and fickle mistress. What’s hot now won’t be tomorrow. You gotta think two steps ahead.

And now, trying to rebound from his failure with aNYthing, the interview gave me the impression that he hasn’t learned much. His new “members-only” spot just sounds like a place where he and his friends can hang out and party. That’s cool. I like to hang out and party. But for A-Ron, I won’t contributing to his coke fund unless he can really do something new and innovative with his Off-Bowery line. But when he says he’s trying to start at least another 15 brands, it just seems like the odds are against him. He couldn’t do it with one, what makes him think he can do it with 15+.

If you want to check out some real creative, innovative shit, check out Bobby Hundreds’ interview with jeffstaple of Staple Design featured in The Hundreds Zine. jeffstaple is someone who I’ve always had great respect and admiration for. Reading these two interviews back-to-back really sets the stage for two, almost competing views of the whole “streetwear” game. It’s companies like Staple Design that are on the cutting edge, while people like A-Ron are playing catch-up.

Feel free to disagree or add your two-cents in the comments.

…oh, and a tupac t?! WTF