RIOT
OR
DIE

暴動またはX死

Streetwear and Lifestyle Brand · Brooklyn, NYC

The Brooklyn streetwear brand the VHS Digital team co-founded before starting the agency.

100% Sell-Through

60–80% Profit Margin

Zero Paid Advertising

2xSold-out drops

~50Jackets per drop

10+Collaborators

Musician playing bass in a Riot or Die shirt — New York nightlife and music videos · The collective and its collaborators

Riot or Die button-down and varsity jacket at a New York night event — New York nightlife and music videos · The collective and its collaborators

The vision

Build an anti-fast-fashion streetwear brand from scratch with two founders, grounded in Brooklyn’s underground creative community.

What we did

Blended NYC underground, UK counterculture, Japanese lettering
Cyberpunk visual language was a fourth reference. The designs drew on Bushwick, Williamsburg and Greenpoint street culture, with Japanese lettering on black garments and trap and hip hop references in the graphics.
Co-created every piece with local artists
Artists from Bushwick, Greenpoint and Williamsburg were paid commission and credited for their work. Flushing tattoo artist Wei Chen brought the signature skull to life in its brush-stroke style. Ukrainian graffiti artist VIP.RAP worked on graphics, and our 10+ collaborators also included models, musicians, tattoo artists, artist collectives and a filmmaker.
Shot every campaign on location in NYC
Campaigns were shot on NYC streets with the brand’s collaborators, including British IMG model Thomas Pearce, the face of the brand in 2016. Our lead designer directed the photography, and Brooklyn filmmaker Elisha Nilsen made the campaign and editorial video.
Dressed musicians and wrestlers, including custom pieces
Smacked Records, founded by Kelsey McBean: its artists wore Riot or Die live and in several music videos, including custom pieces like Mr. McBean’s varsity jacket.
Custom piece · Mr. McBean
Kaiju Killer Klan of the ElevenSixtySix artist collective: many performances and music videos.
Underground deathmatch wrestler Casanova Valentine (@mcdeathbear), from the Superchief Gallery nights at Tender Trap in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He had been an artist for Scumbags & Superstars, one of the brands that inspired Riot or Die early on.
Casanova Valentine’s mirror · Riot or Die beside Scumbags & Superstars
Limited seasonal drops
Each drop was a limited run of about 50 jackets. Version 1 sold out within the first month of release with zero paid advertising. Version 2 did the same, with no retail partners or paid media.