Get to Know Maharishi, the Label Behind Travi$ Scott's New Custom Jacket

Learn about the brand that's been innovating with camouflage since the mid-90s.

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Complex Original

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Last night, Travi$ Scott took to Instagram to showcase one off his latest custom pieces, thanking both New York-based designers Will & Rich and English streetwear label Maharishi.

The jacket features an embroidered Scott riding a bucking bronco in a country setting, with "Year of the Cowboy" along with Maharishi and Scott's alias, "La Flame," along the back of the jacket. Maharishi is an OG streetwear label, but it's maintained a relatively low profile—until fairly recently.

Founded in 1994 by Hardy Blechman, Maharishi's name derives from the Sanskrit word for "great seer." In relation to the brand, it's a name that indicates Blechman's desire for advanced, quality clothing for the future. Ironically, this has led Maharishi down a path that is inspired heavily by older East Asian imagery (thanks to time spent in South East Asia during his teens and early 20s) and the military garments of decades past.

The brand initially made a splash for its decorated Snopants, army uniform-esque drawstring trousers with an embroidered dragon at the base of the pant leg. Whether it was the pant's utility or the interesting twist on the surplus style, the Snopant became a celebrity favorite during the late '90s, earning fans among names like Brad Pitt and David Beckham. In the last few years, Maharishi has been co-signed by big names like UsherJay Z, Trey Songz and, now, Travi$ Scott.

 

 

From there, the brand quickly picked up steam, winning the British Fashion Council’s "Streetwear Designer of the Year" award in 2000. In 2001 it established sister brand MHI, which still operates as a younger companion line to the mainline offerings at Maharishi. In 2004, Blechman published one of his greatest works, a book titled DPM: Disruptive Pattern Material, which focused on the historical and cultural foundations for camouflage. Considering Maharishi's innovations and implications with camo in the label's many collections, Blechman's tome on the many faces of camo was a natural fit. It's also why many of his contemporaries refer to him as something of a walking encyclopedia on camouflage.

Eventually, Blechman's brand would fade out of the spotlight due to changing tastes and silhouettes, surviving mostly through collaborations and thanks to a factory Blechman set up in India around the time he began Maharishi in the mid-'90s. But even when Maharishi wasn't in the spotlight, it's history of buying military surplus clothing to "buy, dye, and add embroidery" allowed it to firmly remain as one of the marquee voices in vintage combat gear.

 

 

With a revival notably seen in the label's Spring/Summer 2015 runway show at London Collections: Men's, the brand has seen a resurgence in popularity as streetwear, high fashion, and military garments mix together in a menswear scene defined by the 2010's internet age. That said, the line has always had a grounding in practicality, with Blechman telling HighSnobietyafter his Spring/Summer 2015 runway show: "[The clothing] is primarily about utility, functionality, essentially wearability and, beyond that, durability."

 

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