976 x Pardon.Supply

We know what you are thinking. How the fuck did this just happen?

Well let us talk you through it.

When we started Pardon. we had a clear vision of what we want the brand to be. Pardon. is all about the stuff we would like to wear ourselves. Both having a background in fashion, one designing and the other writing about it, we have been influenced by loads of brands. From the rollerblading industry it has always been 976 that stood out the most for us. 

So for the people just tuning in, what was 976? This brand was founded during the golden era of rollerblading. Mark Heineken and Vera were already closely connected with the rollerblading scene thanks to their work at Senate. And we all know Senate right? The creative brand Arlo and Brooke started and that professionalized when Mark joined the team. Well as a side project Mark and Vera founded 976. Vera was the Brand Manager for 976 and responsible for all the art work and clothing designs. Mark was more or less the business side of 976. 

976 was way ahead of it's time. If you're into current day fashion it's easy to see how 976 these days would be a direct competitor of Aimé Leon Dore, Noah and such. The items were so basic they even used the tagline modern basics. Hence our tag line we use for Pardon., New Modern Basics.

Sure all the designs were stand out. But they didn't scream rollerblading. If anything the designs were just nineties fashion staples. And their collection was broad. They had anything from boxershorts and socks to belts and sunglasses. They had a whole line of watches too actually. Next to some of the most iconic tees, sweats, caps and jeans. 

976 launched with a stand out team. But more importantly it was Vera who decided that the first items they released were the team jackets for their team. And these were just way too classic. Remember the windbreaker we had in a previous collection, yeah that was because of this jacket that 976 released.

It is safe to say these days 976 is the first true fashion label in the world of rollerblading. Yes, later we had England, Ucon and Artysm, but 976 was the OG. Thanks to 976 rollerbladers in the nineties didn't need to wear skateboarding jeans and tees. When we started Pardon. we always had 976 in our crosshair. Now fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. Just a simple chat between Ralf and Camiel:

 

 

After this conversation we went silent. You know when you pitch an idea you have to an audience you kinda know but have no clue of how they will react? Yes this was like that. Probably was like that for an hour or 10. until we got this:

Safe to say we didn't knew how to react. But yeah, there you go the OG responded. We won't share all the details here. But after some back and forth chatting, Mark got us in touch with Vera. And her reaction was priceless. She was very happy for us to reach out with a crazy idea like this and have a whole design plan ready. It was a huge trip down memory lane. And we got the go ahead. 

That brings us to today. We are beyond proud to present you all the 976 x Pardon. collab collection. We will have it available online for 9 days, 7 hours and 6 minutes. Give or take. And yes we know this all started out as a joke. But when the OG's tell you to go through with it, you just do. 

So thank you big time Vera and Mark! We love what you both have done for rollerblading. And we are so damn happy to have your blessings with this adventure. 

Below you see one of the 976 catalogues from back in the day. If you haven't seen it before, you will probably now understand our love for this brand.