<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"FacebookPinterest\n\nThere are plenty of labels and trends that come and go in the menswear world, so the trick for us here at GQHQ is to determine which ones have actual staying power (i.e. ones real men can actually wear) and which are a better barometer of what's relevant right now in men's fashion. That brings us to #BEEN #TRILL. It's a streetwear brand that\u2014thanks to the Internet\u2014has now become \"a thing.\" A thing you've seen on our style wave, on Twitter, on Tumblr, and on Instagram\u2014 you might even have the #BEEN #TRILL app, which allows you to impose the brand's aesthetic sensibilities on your own pictures. They launched an overhauled website earlier today, but there are still plenty of people scratching their heads wondering just what #BEEN #TRILL is.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nIn their own words, #BEEN #TRILL says it's \"an art collective and DJ crew whose image and sound is defined by the frenzy of new youth culture found on the pages of the deep web and on the blocks of big cities.\" Its members include Heron Preston, Matthew Williams, and Virgil Abloh, guys who've had stints as creative directors for Lady Gaga, Nike's resident \"cool hunter,\" and acted in various creative consulting ways for Kanye West. Like many of today's popular ear-to-the-street brands, they developed a massive following on their Tumblr, a hodgepodge of mixtapes, music videos, and images with the words \"BEEN TRILL\" superimposed over them, stylized in a bloody typeface (a nod to New York City's culture of defacement, where subway posters and wheat-pasted ads often get stickered over or written on for no other reason than simply being there). From an entomological standpoint, the \"been\" part simply refers to being up on something long before anyone else, while the word \"trill\" is a portmanteau of \"true\" and \"real,\" and owes its proliferation to Southern rappers like Bun B who frequently used it.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nThe #BEEN #TRILL collective parlayed their Internet cred into apparel like T-shirts and snapback caps. However, many of its members and associates have the advantage of working closely with fashion industry heavyweights including much-hyped labels like Hood By Air and buzzworthy performers like Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, and Rihanna. Last year, when Kanye West released his A.P.C. collaboration, there was even a flocked #BEEN #TRILL T-shirt that was sold in European markets, but the brand's biggest mainstream moment was when they announced a special collection for PacSun, effectively making their logo-heavy gear readily available, and affordable. Before, #BEEN #TRILL T-shirts hovered around the $100 mark (their new site offers $115 long sleeve graphic tees inspired by incarcerated Chicago rapper Chief Keef), whereas the PacSun merch peaks at $85 for a hoodie.\n\nThe fact that both products depend on the graphics rather than the craftsmanship as a selling point is indicative of both #BEEN #TRILL's high/low appeal and the renewed prevalence of visible branding in men's fashion. Established logos like Nike's Swoosh, Polo's pony, and Lacoste's crocodile have influenced niche brands they now compete with on some menswear level, whether its Supreme box logos, #BEEN #TRILL's digital slang, or Hood By Air's subversive use of screen printing. In a menswear landscape picking up more and more influences from the worlds of hip-hop, streetwear, and competitive sports, standing out is the new blending in. Whether or not that obvious branding will have legs outside of menswear's in-crowd remains to be seen, but there's no question that the #BEEN #TRILL movement is not slowing down."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/what-is-been-trill>