An Inevitable Yet Unexpected Collaboration Between Two of the Biggest Brands in Smash
SPIF, the go-to name in Smash fashion, is partnering with Slippi for a limited-time collaboration that celebrates both brands' contributions to the scene, and above all, is a love letter to all the members in the Melee Community.
SPIF has been doing its thing for a long time now. Born from a bygone era of hypebeast-inspired logo flips and cheeky designs, we have evolved over the years not only in style and fashion, but in content as well. While we make lots of different things now for a lot of different fandoms, it was different in the beginning. Initially, we attended Smash events exclusively. If you knew us from the beginning, you'd know we attended dimly-lit venues and heat-pressed custom hoodies with peoples' main(s) and gamertags on the floor when we didn't have enough table space. You'd know we drove (and still drive) to every major tournament in a crammed minivan, even if it was 30+ hours away. And you'd definitely know that we absolutely love Smash.
Elsewhere... Queue Slippi, which revolutionized and revitalized an entire scene with its advancements in netplay. All of a sudden, this grassroots community that was held together by little more than hopes and dreams and the hard work of a handful of TOs across the world, had access to playing Melee 24/7 with people anywhere. And it wasn't some rudimentary stuff, either. It was good. I don't think it'd be an overstatement to say that we probably wouldn't even have a good number of the top players we have today if it wasn't for Slippi. Furthermore, it's hard now, in 2024, to even imagine what Melee content would be like without the ability to tune into streams and watch players on Slippi. And the preservation of the scene through modern technology that Slippi has been able to accomplish goes without saying. Above all, the democratization of access to the game and competition has completely opened a door for realistic and consistent growth for the Melee scene. We could glaze all day, but if you are one of the few members of our audience who isn't familiar with Slippi, check it out here.
So yeah, we've orbited the same spheres for a long time. But why now? Who reached out to whom? Well.. the answer is kind of funny.
The simple answer is that we did! SPIF. Following the success of Slippi's previous shop on start.gg, we reached out to Jas (aka Fizzi, the creator of Slippi) to congratulate him on his success, and to honestly just gush a bit about how big of fans we were. However, through talking, we found out that Jas actually reached out to us all the way back in 2019 for a collab, and we just never got the email... In some alternate universe, we collaborated pre-pandemic, and who knows what kind of crazy stuff we could've made.
But we're in this timeline, and probably for the better, since between 2019 and now, we've been able to level up a lot of our design and manufacturing capabilities. So without further ado, let's dive in to SPIF x SLIPPI 2024:
1. The SPIF x SLIPPI Boxy Tee
100% Cotton with a modern, boxy fit. Screenprinted design with embroidered details.
When approaching the design, we wanted to really push the envelope in what we could expect from a Slippi product. Previously, almost all Slippi products were simple logo hits on various types of garments. We still kept that familiarity on the front, with our Oni kid x Slippi mascot collaboration logo, but jazzed it up with some embroidered blue flowers to make it really unique. On the back, we wanted to subvert expectations by using a realistic depiction of a frog/toad, and juxtapose its organic form and textured halftones against the precision and cleanliness of the typography.
"I love designs where, the longer you look at them, the more there is to see. I especially love implementing typography in designs, and I think the [SPIF x SLIPPI Boxy Tee] is such a great conversation starter piece, especially for those who aren't familiar with Slippi or the Melee scene in general." - Alex Nguyen, lead designer for SPIF x SLIPPI
2. The SPIF x SLIPPI Corduroy Hat
Unstructured crown with adjustable metal clasp. One size fits most.
Sometimes simplicity really is the answer. Previous Slippi hats have always been hot commodities, and for good reason, too. The logo itself looks good, and dad hats pair effortlessly with almost any style. When we were tasked with putting our own twist on a classic, we kept coming back to a more simple presentation, opting to only put our Japanese "SPIF" wordmark underneath the mascot. This piece is all about the details, and really shines in the colors and textures of the corduroy, the accent strap and eyelets, and the woven label inside to seal the deal.
3. The SPIF x SLIPPI Clip
Our signature keystrap has gone green! This little accessory is one of our best-sellers, and we couldn't resist giving it the Slippi treatment. With all green hardware and leather accents, we made one of our most original products 100% more fun. As a special offer for this colorway specifically, all Slippi clips come with the option to input your Slippi tag (or other text of your choosing) on the included hook-and-loop (like Velcro) attachment.
Fun fact: All tags will be done in the original Melee font from the game as well!
Part of the experience and magic of Slippi - and the smash scene in general - is meeting people from all over, even if you just know them by their tag, and forming lasting relationships as friends or rivals. We really wanted to emphasize that in this product, and keep the spirit of customization alive in our own brand as well, as that has been setting us apart since day 1.
Unlike the other items in this drop, keystraps are limited to a quantity of 500. Once they're sold out, they're sold out!
4. The SPIF x SLIPPI Coaster Set
Absorbent ceramic top with soft, cork base.
At SPIF, we've been working really hard to expand the types of products we offer. Mainly from boredom, and often as a personal challenge. At the end of the day, we just want to make cool things, and we want to make unique items that are simultaneously stylish and functional. I'm happy to admit that we really hit it out of the park with this one. The 4 coaster designs included fit snugly in our limited-edition box, and how perfect is it that it's like opening a little green Gamecube complete with a game inside?
Design aside, we worked with multiple manufacturers to compare print quality and coaster quality, and are happy to have landed on a product that works insanely well. The absorbent ceramic face is SO good, while the cork on the bottom helps protect any surface you might be putting these little guys on.
5. The SPIF x SLIPPI Work Jacket
A SPIF drop honestly feels incomplete without a piece of outerwear. When approaching this particular piece, we wanted something that would really tie everything together. The green fabric was an obvious choice, but we made it more mature by picking a darker green. The corduroy contrast collar is a brown color to warm things up overall, and the inner lining is a custom pattern featuring more iconography representing both the SPIF and Slippi brands. Not only does it have more stylized depictions of the Oni Kid and the Slippi mascot, but it boasts foliage from both Texas (bluebonnets) and Florida (Orange trees), where the respective brands make their home.
And that's it! If the collection does well, who knows, we might cook up some cool things in the future.
But for now, you can shop the collection at spifspace.com. Pre-orders end on January 12, 2025. As of the posting of this article, most items are already in production, and final numbers/sizes will be adjusted based on pre-orders (with the exception of key straps which have a hard limit of 500 available units).
If you want to press your luck, you can try and catch us at any events we'll be at in 2025 if there's anything left!