Jay-Z protégé Iddris Sandu launches first fashion collection

Talented designer and technologist Iddris Sandu, a self-taught Californian from Ghana who speaks 5 languages, first became famous when he became the CTO for Nipsey Hussle at the age of 19 and created The Marathon Store, the world’s first Smart Store powered by augmented reality and geofencing technology. An adventure halted in 2019 by the rapper’s assassination.

After spending a year as head of tech at Kanye West’s Yeezy, Sandu founded Spatial Labs, an innovative hardware startup that develops products at the intersection of physical products and digital identity. He first collaborated with brands like Rihanna’s Fenty, Beyoncé’s Ivy Park, Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack as well as Prada and Adidas. Five years later, on Friday, he presented his very first fashion collection.

In the first Spatial Labs store opened at Platform, Culver City’s shopping center, customers can now come and discover a collection of essentials and basics in crease-resistant French terry cotton, featuring “the perfect T-shirt, the perfect hoodie, the perfect pair of pants”, and imagined as if it were the year 2040. The style is inspired by Issey Miyake’s architecture and fashion movement according to Sandu, and revolves around colors rooted in nature such as platinum, earth, arctic and carbon.

A special feature of the Core 1 collection is that each item is embedded with smart chip technology. “We think fashion lacks technology,” explains Sandu. “For example, if you take a company that has exceptional design language and expertise for manufacturing, and you add Apple technology, the result should be magical. Today, that’s what we are doing by implementing a micro-chip in every garment in this collection, keeping in mind that technology doesn’t have to feel something like disturbia but can bring people together.” 

“This technology allows users to personalize their clothing by linking it to digital journals on Spatial Labs new network, Circle, focused on in-person intimate interaction and intentional sharing,” explains Sandu. “Circle is the software layer that brings our clothing to life. After purchasing a garment, users tap it with their smartphone to create an account and design their space. From there, they can connect and share their space when another user taps on their smart chip to join their Circle. An invitation-only connection whose interface has been designed to perfectly reflect self-expression. The platforms that exist today don’t really represent who we are. With Circle, people are proud to show their work and connect on another, more personal level with meaningful connections. A space to showcase favorite videos, artistic interests, quotes, music…”

Beyond the possible new human connections enabled by Circle, Sandu also sees the opportunity to offer a whole new technology solution for the fashion industry. “Circle is not a fashion brand but a new infrastructure for all the fashion world,” adds Sandy. “In the same way that your phone is powered by IOS, we want to be the operating system of fashion.” The microchip technology could also be integrated into any luxury or premium garment and bag, connecting its users throughout its lifetime.

“It could also enable brands to provide authentication and offering complete transparency into a product lifesyle, to connect more easily with their audience, resulting in increased loyalty and consumer lifetime value,” adds Sandu. “I remember when I was a kid, I used to wonder why things that we had in the real world didn’t hold stories. I loved watching Disney movies and I always wondered why this toy doesn’t tell me the story of Buzz Lightyear, why that Marvel shirt couldn’t tell me the story of Iron Man. We are used to store our memories on social medias. But now we are storing the actual memories on the product itself. Circle actually brings physical objects to life.”

Manufactured in China, integrated in Miami into clothes made in Los Angeles, the chip technology could also be of interest to industries other than fashion, and be integrated into any object or accessory. Sandu has already raised more than $10 million to bring its project to life, with the support of numerous investors, including the very first, artist-producer Jay-Z. “It all started with an initial meeting with Emory Jones, Jay-Z’s close friend,” says Sandu. “Jones came to the opening of The Marathon Store and Nipsey Hussle had told him about me. A few years later, I received a text message saying that Jay-Z wanted to meet me. We spent a lot of time together and he decided to invest in my project. Jay-Z launched his record label Roc-a-fella at the same age as me. I think he must have seen a little bit of himself in me.”

Other high-profile names followed, including Ron Burkle co-founder of Yucaipa Capital and founder of Soho House group, entrepreneur Scooter Brawn and Peter Thiel, Chairman of Palantir Technologies and one of Facebook’s first investors. More Spatial Labs stores could open in the USA in the coming months, both to promote the new technology and to sell the Core collections. After an initial clothing line, the Core 2 collection will focus exclusively on accessories.