Vests, jackets and hats once classified as a "working class" uniform have recently transcended "blue collar" and found a home in contemporary streetwear.  In a sea of all black textiles, tech clothes and high-end materials; Hi-Vis bucks those trends. Comfortably seated in the 21st century zeitgeist, Hi-Vis is represented everywhere from Main street job sites to Milan's cat walk.    At TheZ1 we are inspecting the crossroads of the Hi-Vis functionality within the context of working class apparel and the visceral response that these color pallets can have on the eye of the beholder. These colors are brighter than ever, irresistibly eye catching...

I’ve been absorbing hip hop in all its forms for over two decades. My grandfather was a Jazz pianist, my mom a poet and a jazz singer and my dad was a congo player and percussionist. Some of my strongest musical influences are Q-Tip from Tribe Called Quest and the legendary J Dilla who both heavily utilized jazz samples to create their art. The sonic worlds of Hip Hop and Jazz have been colliding throughout my life, and recently I’ve stumbled into a deeper understanding of the threads that tie these genres together.  I moved to the Bay Area in...

Jordan did it again!  The Z1 Production Lab has begun it's collaboration with Snapchat! Check this out: https://523.snap.com/en-US/about Basically, this partnership will highlight the work of the Z1 for the coming year with a focus on black content. What does that mean for us? We have yet to fully grasp the full scope of the 523 program. Since we have so many projects in the hopper it is clear that Snapchat picked the right guys for the job. From Elliot's newest collection of paintings to Jordan's newest bars; Snapchat has no idea what's coming. The Gallery is coming along wonderfully, The...