The idea behind the design came from something we had been noticing for a while. More brands are using Chinese characters in their designs. It shows a growing interest in the Chinese language and culture. But most of the time, the design stops at the surface. The translation is there, but the understanding is missing. Chinese becomes a visual texture, something graphic and profitable. NUNCHUKX comes from both Chinese and American culture, so we put effort into approaching Chinese design from within. We wanted to come up with something real, rebellious, and alive — not just decorative.
The design is about what happens when a fashion reference enters Chinese language and becomes something else: a joke, a meme, a remix, and a new form of ownership. A clean tee would not have made sense. It needed to feel worn, damaged, dirty, and alive. During product development, we rejected multiple samples because they kept coming out too clean — the distressing was too soft, not the worn-out effect we wanted to have. Every time the sample came back looking too polite, we sent it back and pushed it further. The final piece is simple at first glance, but it carries a larger conversation: Chinese language in fashion and cultural ownership. The Chinese MM Distress Tee is not clean because the idea was never clean.
We wanted the campaign video to treat the garment like something that had already lived a life before anyone wore it. The dirt, distressing, and damage are proof that it has been hidden, chased, fought over, and wanted. Actors switching between English and Chinese, the video also reflects the world where NUNCHUKX comes from — not fully one side or the other, but built in the space between both. 🇨🇳🇺🇸
The campaign was shot from places that felt personal to the project. Part of the campaign was filmed at Aldrich Park, the center of UC Irvine's campus — the place where many of us first met as freshman in college. Years later, returning there as NUNCHUKX crew felt surreal. What started as shared taste, random ideas, and campus conversations had turned into a real brand, a real shoot, and pieces we were proud to make.
The still images were shot at Noguchi Garden, in Costa Mesa. We were drawn to its clean white walls, desert landscape, rocks, and geometric installations. Against the dirty, distressed texture of the garment, the space created the right contrast: artificial but natural, calm but strange at the same time. Two locations carried the whole shooting story of the piece — memory, process, friendship, and the feeling of building something that once felt impossible.