Located a stone’s throw away from 1914 Huashan Creative Park, the newly reopened AMPM is shaping up to be one of the most peculiar retail space in Taipei. The new location houses a cafe, with a comprehensive selection of coffee and cocktails; a clothing boutique, which doubles as the flagship store of AMPM’s in-house streetwear brand, DAMAGE; and perhaps most unexpected of all, a huge indoor skate ramp for locals to drop in and shred the gnar.
AMPM and DAMAGE is the magnum opus of husband-and-wife duo Andy and Joe. The two ventures combine their personal passions and skill sets: street culture and design. Andy opened the first iteration AMPM back in 2005, a time when street culture hadn’t quite assimilated into Taiwanese mainstream culture. The original store, operating as an art gallery and graffiti supply shop, served Andy’s vision of making street art more accessible for Taiwanese locals. At the time, AMPM operated modestly from the second floor of Petshopsgirl, a successful clothing boutique and independent label founded by his wife Joe. While Petshopsgirl is no longer around, the experimental aesthetics the label was known for would serve as the springboard for DAMAGE.
AMPM 和 DAMAGE 是夫妻搭档 Andy 和 Joe 的心血作品。这两个品牌凝聚了他们对街头文化和设计的热情与才华。2005年，Andy 刚刚创立 AMPM，在当时街头文化还没有完全融入台湾的主流文化。最初的商店只是一间艺术画廊和涂鸦用品店，Andy 的初衷是希望能让大众更接触到街头艺术。而第一间 AMPM 就座落在服装店 Petshopsgirl 的二楼，这个成功的独立服装品牌正是由他的妻子 Joe 所创办的。当 Petshopsgirl 计划终止时，品牌标志性的实验美学风格则继续延续到 DAMAGE 上。
It’d be a decade later, in 2015, before the pair teamed up to release the debut collection for their collaborative streetwear brand DAMAGE. “It was originally going to be a one-time collaboration between me and Joe,” Andy recalls. “We weren’t even sure if it would take off, but we just wanted to have fun with it. To our surprise, it became quite successful.”
十年后， 2015年两人联手推出服饰品牌DAMAGE。“本来这只是我和Joe之间一个一次性的合作。”Andy回忆道，“我们不确定会不会成功，只是想好好享受这个过程。最后它的成功真的出乎我们意料。”
Chock-full of memes and pop culture references, each collection satirizes the world through wildly unorthodox designs (which, at times, can be borderline shocking) – from superimposing the Nike ACG logo onto a photo from the Abu Ghraib prison torture scandal to using Kim Jong-un’s portraits as a duffel bag and bucket hat designs, the duo’s no-holds-barred approach often saw them taking controversial topics and refashioning them into bold statement pieces.
品牌的每一个系列都充满各种网络流行文化和迷因的引用，以颠覆传统的设计讽刺世界时事——譬如将耐克 ACG 标志贴在爆发虐囚丑闻的阿布格莱布监狱（Abu Ghraib Prison）照片上，或是用金正恩的照片做成行李袋和帽子。两人秉持百无禁忌的风格，大胆的将一些争议话题融入设计之中。
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Despite their role in the advancement of street culture and street fashion in Taipei, Andy and Joe don’t regard themselves as trailblazers. Contrary to the loud, in-your-face aesthetics of DAMAGE, the two are incredibly humble individuals. They explain that their goals for DAMAGE and AMPM have remained unchanged over the years and revolve around two key concepts. The first is to foster a sense of community for street culture enthusiasts in Taipei, whether that be aspiring graffiti artists, young skaters, or streetwear lovers. The second is their long-standing motto of wanting to “bring something different into the world.” Even after all this time, their vision remains uncompromised. Despite facing hurdles like periods economic uncertainty or changing fashion trends, the duo’s passion and conviction have kept them going.
Beaming with pride, Andy says, “Sure, it hasn’t always been easy, but we’re still around and we have no plans of stopping any time soon.”
尽管他们持续努力推动台北街头文化和时尚的发展，但 Andy 和 Joe 并不认为自己称得上行业先驱。与 DAMAGE 品牌所呈现的那种大胆、挑衅性的风格相反，这两位创始人私底下却是出奇的谦逊。他们解释说这么多年来，他们为 DAMAGE 和 AMPM 订下的目标一直没变，始终围绕着两个核心概念：第一点是要在台北街头文化爱好者——无论是涂鸦艺术家、年轻的滑板者或是街头时尚爱好者——之间建立凝聚力；第二点是他们一直提出的口号：“给世界带来一点不一样。” 时至今日，Andy 和 Joe 在这两点上依然从未妥协。经济衰退或日新月异的时尚潮流变化往往会令很多创业者灰心，但对于 Andy 和 Joe 来说, 他们的热情和信念让他们坚持至今。
Andy 自豪地笑着说：“当然，不是一直都那么顺利的。但我们会继续下去，短时间内没有要结束的计划。”
Website: ampmxx.com
Facebook: ~/ampmstudio
Instagram: @ampm_space | @damagegroup
Photographer & Contributor: David Yen
Additional Images Courtesy of Billa Baldwin
网站: ampmxx.com
脸书: ~/ampmstudio
Instagram: @ampm_space | @damagegroup
供稿人与摄影师: David Yen
附加图片由 Billa Baldwin 提供
