The Shaolin Chamber: Enter A 30-Year Design Archive

Three decades of conceptual blueprints, artisan prototypes, ironclad visual provenance, and landmark commercial artifacts from the private collection of a foundational Wu Wear designer and Wu-Tang Shaolin Style executive producer.

"Nobody really believed that it would work... They thought my cousin was a little crazy for putting money into it. But he took a gamble and it worked out beautifully."

- Duane Grant

AN UNMISTAKABLE IDENTITY

Duane Grant was eighteen years old when his cousin, the late Oliver “Power” Grant, enlisted him to design hoodies for a nascent Wu-Tang Clan to give away in their Park Hill, Staten Island neighborhood for free. That project developed into Wu Wear, the pioneering apparel brand and retail store that opened the floodgates for hip-hop brand extensions when it launched amidst the Wu’s empire-cementing solo project wave of 1995.

Though Duane, Wu-Tang Clan's merchandising empire stood as the first artist-run brand hip hop had ever seen, changing the way we interact with artists and their branding forever.