PONY x DBTK: When New York and Manila collide
A cult brand since its beginnings in 1972, PONY (Product of New York) has always symbolized the ethos of a city that’s built on dreams, grit, and hustle.
It has since taken its Brooklyn attitude out of the Big Apple through various creative collaborations, and this time, for the first time, the brand joined forces with disruptors from this side of the globe.
Don’t Blame The Kids (DBTK), a local streetwear brand founded by brothers Emil and Vince Javier, collaborated with PONY for a limited collection that features two of PONY’s most iconic silhouettes: the classic City Wings 85’, and the perennial favorite Shooter 78’.
“We were drawn to City Wings because of its rugged style, which is my style,” says Vince. “As for my brother who likes timeless style, Shooter was perfect.”
The PONY x DBTK collaboration sneakers’s designs play subtlety and bold statements against each other.
City Wings is made of premium black textured leather and suede uppers, a white leather PONY chevron, and classic gum sole bottoms. Each heel tab features a tonal embossed PONY or DBTK logo on either side.
The Shooter is designed with buttery suede leather in deep black and a subtle perforated chevron pattern. Heel tabs feature the classic DBTK character logo—a throwback to the brand’s earliest days.
All pairs come in an exclusive PONY x DBTK shoe box that showcases the New York and Manila cityscapes—an homage to the birthplaces of the two brands.
While no stranger to collaborations, this is the first time that DBTK has worked with a footwear brand. Emil says, “When we were in high school, we idolized (local bands) Hale and Bamboo and we’d see their collateral materials with PONY. That was our first introduction to the brand and its products.”
“We started [DBTK] from nothing; we didn’t have any background or connections on how to start the brand,” he adds. “Where we are now [didn’t happen] without struggles. We learned that we just had to keep moving forward.”
PONY x DBTK City Wings and Shooter are now available at select Complex Lifestyle Stores (Glorietta 2, TriNoma, Eastwood, Alabang Town Center, Uptown BGC, Festival Mall, Marquee Mall), and the DBTK store in Project 8, Quezon City, and online at the Pony, DBTK, and Complex Lifestyle Stores websites.
