Johnson Chon isn’t your average kid from the ‘burbs. He’s 22 with a lot of ambition. Balancing time between work, bboying, and also his clothing line, Lies. Through this interview we explore the past, present, and future for Lies clothing.
Sickest Addictions: So when did you wanna start doing this stuff?
Johnson Chon: since high school, yea, I started getting into street wear a lot.
SA: Was it brands like Supreme or The Hundreds?
JC: actually, I was really into Premium. I met my friend Mikey and he introduced me to BLACK SCVLE and thats where i draw a lot
of my inspiration from.
SA: yeah man, I can tell. you really play on darker and simpler colors. nothing too out there.
SA: so, in terms of designs, what really inspires you to create these?
JC: Well, my basic theme for my company is the “underdog”. One of my shirts “keep their heads rolling” was drawn from the French Revolution. And also my shirt “swear to tell” with the hand based on the hamsa to swear off evil, but I kinda made it more evil looking haha.
SA: haha yea man, you even got the devil jersey thing going on in the back. It’s dope!
SA: What was your journey in creating your company? How did you create funds and also how did you find printers to screen your shirts?
JC: Well, I started in 2008 and I printed my first tees. It was $300 for 25 of ‘em.
SA: Damn, really?
JC: yea, haha, I got kinda ripped off, but I also didnt have a job back then so a lot of it was allowance I had saved up throughout the year. After that though, I didn’t really have much money to continue so I took a break. In 2011 though I had relaunched it. I was hired at Guppy’s so I was able to pay for things and I mostly went to Newport Beach to get my screens done. After that I was trying to find a ways to get it done cheaper, so I searched the internet and I found some sites like ALIBABA and t-shirt forums. Through the forum I found Snowcap in Mexico and thats where my 2nd season came from.
SA: Man, thats intense dude haha. So, where do you see yourself taking this company? Has your brand reached out beyond LA?
JC: Yea, I mean, I’m definitely still trying to build locally. I got some fans out on the east coast mostly. A lot of my sales go there. I’m still taking things one step at a time, but yeah, it would definitely be dope to be recognized across the nation.
SA: good stuff dude. Well can you tell the good people reading this where we can actually find and order your clothes?
JC: Yea, I got a site/blog. it’s at www.liesclothing.com. Also, i’m listed in Hypebeast as well.
SA: thank you for time man and I can’t wait to see what you’re gonna drop next!
JC: Thank you for the interview!