We linked up with the founders and visionaries behind Patta, Edson Sabajo and Guillaume ‘Gee’ Schmidt, to celebrate the brand’s 20-year anniversary at their HQ in Amsterdam. From the current shape of the collective to where they can see it heading next, Patta proves their global domination is far from over.
It’s a typically warm Amsterdam morning in May, and the sweet aroma of Dutch waffles fills the air. There is a homely feel in the atmosphere, accentuated when the Patta team arrives and fist bumps each of us. As the team cracks jokes, asking us how our flight was and comparing the day’s fits, the celebratory vibe is set from the get-go. Fitting, as we’re here to mark the streetwear juggernaut’s 20th anniversary after all.
“We treat everybody as family and we support each other through everything”, says co-founder Edson Sabajo, as his community of Patta friends and family mill around him. Each of the 40-or-so team members rep the brand from head to toe, styling it in their own unique way. It feels like a football team meeting for training the way they came cliqued up, ready to ball.
It goes without saying that Patta is widely considered one of streetwear’s OGs. But on their rise from cult favourites to international mainstays they have established themselves not only in the world of fashion and sneakers, but become renowned for their ability to build communities and lay the foundation for the next generation. Through initiatives like the Patta Academy – a school that mentors soon-to-be entrepreneurs and creatives – Patta has long been showing us that people are at the core of everything.
But the scene wasn’t always like this. In late 90’s Amsterdam it was near impossible to get hands on the latest sneaker drops, simply because no one was selling it. Solution? Fly out on loop to places like New York where they would pick up sneakers that hadn’t been released in the Netherlands yet and bring them back in their luggage. The demand for sneakers had touched down in the city, but supply was only arriving by suitcase and they needed to source more, fast.
“We came into this with no plan,” says co-founder Guillaume ‘Gee’ Schmidt. “It was just me and Edson finding something that could be a means to an end through the things that we liked”.
In the end, they took it upon themselves to plug the gap, and with that Patta was born. Their first store came in 2004, and where else but their home city and renowned cultural hub and lowkey style enclave, Amsterdam. “When we first started Patta, it was like a museum of sneakers, we chose what we liked [so] that people could buy”, explains Edson. It was this taste that earned them their first collaboration with Nike just two years later. The pair came together on the classic Air Max 90 silhouette and named it “Homegrown”, with design features on the sneaker paying homage to the brand’s Dutch roots. A testament to the shoe’s legacy, the pair remains a rarity, and currently resells for thousands of pounds online.
With two decades behind them, their collab game has only levelled up, with sneaker collabs ranging from multiple renditions of the Nike Air Max 1’s to the Asics Gel Lyte 3, to a Korean Soju drink… If there’s one thing Patta has: it’s range. Their expertise runs so deep that FC Barcelona even tapped them last year to do a collection which included a pair Air Max Plus’ in the Catalan team’s famous blue and red colours and a pre match training top that the Barcelona players wore before kick-off. As a lifelong supporter of the club, this collab holds a particularly special place in Gee’s heart. “We’re very specific people” explains Gee, and judging by the brands they’ve chosen to work with over the years, you can definitely tell. Nothing feels forced. The curation is a remarkable representation of exactly who and what Patta is, and where they sit in global culture.
Back to the shoot day and the stage is set. The Patta team are in formation to get flicked up as models for the day. As Chase, our photographer, begins briefing the team on the direction for the shoot you couldn’t help but notice the vitality of everyone’s demeanour. The vibes were simply immaculate.
“It makes me feel alive… I’m 52!”, exclaims Edson. “I’m not in my 20s no more! I like to have people around me that have that energy”. This is a mutual feeling between both founders: “I love to have people around me that fire me up and carry the torch.” agrees Gee. This shared sentiment is just one of the reasons why the brand is still doing its thing to this day. Edson and Gee’s chemistry and love for the game is still burning and they’re not showing any signs of slowing down. “The bond I have with Edson and the people around us, family, friends, that’s all key. The company is not what binds us. Our relationship is deeper than rap!” he preaches.
Nurturing their lovechild into something bigger than them has always been the goal. With flagship stores in Amsterdam, London and Milan, the brand has recently spread their love to Africa, opening a new store in Lagos. Nigeria’s deep connections with music, community and the culture was behind the move – after all, that is what Patta’s all about and the store is a heralded addition to the already thriving Lagotian scene.
“For us, it’s more like coming back to our origins where we all started”, explains Edson on their decision to open their Lagos outpost. Of course their relationship with Nigerian skateboarding OG and fellow brand owner Jomi Bello of WAFFLESANDCREAM (WAF), who’s been a long-time supporter of Patta, made the move feel more natural and authentic. Important, as this is something the brand takes very seriously. “[Unlike] these football federations that come into Africa and drop stuff and then leave, we’re actually working with the people over there.”
Right now, Patta are the first and only global streetwear brand out in Lagos and that speaks volumes on how much this store means to them and adds to their growing legacy. “Opening up a store in Lagos, is like a full circle moment”, explains Edson, “It’s like an actual homecoming – that’s very special to me.”
Patta isn’t showing any signs of complacency. Whether it’s 20 years in or 100, they still believe they have more places and people that need their love too. Their brand motto, ‘Out of love and necessity, rather than profit and novelty’, rings clear as a bell through everything they’ve done in the past and they’re still out here, nowhere near finished.
