“Imported Goods” is the banner for Paisa Boys—a streetwear brand based in Los Angeles created by puros paisas. For the last few years, this brand has managed to represent the Chicano movement and the Mexican community that was born and raised in Los Angeles.
Their restlessness represents what their parents and they themselves lived from one generation to the next. It’s thanks to all of these experiences that we have the cultural epitome of what Paisa Boys means. This brand exalts and represents an entirely new generation of young paisas through their clothing.
“Gringos Ilegales,” “Unity at Last,” and “Fierro” are some of the slogans that they’ve used to communicate their heritage and way of life in the past, through disruptive graphics and chromo types that have achieved a new form of showcasing Chicano culture.
The Paisa Boys have often collaborated with brands like Kids of Immigrants who also use their platform to unite Latinx communities. This year, PB has been working on its own bootleg version of the Nike Cortez.
For this project, they drew inspiration from the Charro culture and the mariachi, with white embroidery like mariachi’s traditional costume all over the sneaker. This kind of art has always been part of pop culture. Nowadays, we have a lot of artists like Imram Potato, who creates a lot of bootlegs around one piece or toy and makes it art.
It’s amazing to see a potential Chicano collaboration like this—particularly because we haven’t seen one of this kind since 2017 when Mister Cartoon released his take on the Nike Cortez.
So, what’s up, Nike? Make the Chicano dream come true again!