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"Just start to chase your dreams / Socialize, get down, let your soul lead the way / It's a livin' dream / Love, life, live." - Afrika Bambata on "Planet Rock"
Kazuma Hataraki and Huy Dieu followed the advice from the classic "Planet Rock" song and saw their dream become reality with the launch of their own company, Dream Team Clothing. The über talented German street brand recently introduced their Spring/Summer '09 line, established a distribution channel in the States, and are on the verge of the Fall '09 collection already.
 We're hopping back in time, to when the pieces of the puzzle were slowly being put together. "It has been over a decade now when I first met Huy. I had just moved to Düsseldorf [Germany] for university and I began jobbing at a streetwear/skatestore in town to earn some cash to finance my studies. Huy was already working at that spot and that is how we basically met. He was pretty young, like 15, 16 years old, and I clearly remember how I taught him how to smoke cigarettes back then (laughs). We shared the same interests for sneakers and clothing and hung out together a lot ever since," Hataraki tells BallerStatus.com about his friendship with his partner.
Although the idea of launching a clothing line had been on their minds for a long time, the duo slowly but surely composed a strategic plan. The concept finally came to life in 2006, a year before introducing their first collection of shirts at the highly reputed Bread & Butter tradeshow in Barcelona, Spain. "Until then, we were acting more on a local level, but Bread & Butter was the chance to become more global."
The passionate business partners saw their collections find their way beyond borders. However, the duo appreciates the local scene more than anything. "The idea of launching our own brand was basically born when we realized that the European -- and especially the German street wear scene -- was still tiny compared to the American and/or the Asian scene and we wanted to show the world that Europe shouldn't be underestimated and the world better should have an eye on Europe as well." With cities like Paris, London, Milan, Antwerp and Barcelona, Europe has always been known for its haute couture. These days, the street wear scene has become a booming business as well, especially in Germany, whose capital Berlin is hip, hot, but also hard to describe. The city is known for its luxury stores, Galeries LaFayette and KaDeWe, but now adorns itself with small vintage and street wear boutiques and artistic local brands. Even Bread & Butter migrated from Barcelona to -- once again -- ride the nostalgia wave in Berlin, the city where their first show took place. All together, Germany seems to be an excellent base of operations for Dream Team Clothing.
 Having a passion for sneakers and clothing is not enough to make it in the tough, competitive fashion world. But with years of experience under their belt and a strong network of peers, Dieu and Hataraki know what they're up against. Both of them built a steady name in the design sector. Before launching the company, Dieu worked on a wide range of creative projects for Carharrt, Adidas and Asics among others. "Huy was doing business with those brands with his design bureau GOOQ. He was involved into some creative projects and of course he was able to build up relationships and networks to those brands and to all persons being involved in such bigger projects. Same with me, being a skateboarder since I was a kid, I had the chance to meet a lot of people from brands in the skateboard industry which definitely helped our brand to get there where it is at the moment," Hataraki explains.
The new Spring/Summer '09 collection mainly consists of tees and hat wear for men and women, and has just been shipped out to European stores and online at places such as DigitalGravel.com, who became the first to carry Dream Team Clothing in the United States. "We are also re-working our online store at the moment, which will allow us to ship worldwide and to reach people in regions with no DRMTM account in the near."
Dream Team Clothing chose basic shirt colors like black and white, but also decided to create bright designs with colors that pop, like turquoise, pink, red and green. "Besides that, we also have some 'darker' designs like the Ju-On shirt with the face of that Japanese kid on the front. This is my personal favorite of this collection as the face glows in the dark. So, now you know how to freak out your girlfriend the next time," Hataraki jokes.
When asked about their company philosophy, Hataraki admits there is no deadlocked philosophy they follow. "We took inspiration for our designs from our everyday life -- like our childhood, youth, music, skateboarding and parties among others. Actually, everything that has shaped our lives so far is inspiring us to create our clothing line. And, in the best case, the people out there can relate to our designs and get our stuff for their selves."
Basically, anything that happens throughout the day can be an inspiration for their next design, whether it's a song Hatakari listens to or a skateboard video he watches. When people buy their shirts, it often means they can relate to the message and design, but Hataraki does not think it is important for people to understand Dream Team's direction and inspiration. "By wearing our shirts people are showing us love and showing us that they like the stuff we do. I really appreciate it when people understand our direction and inspirations, but I don't think that it is important to understand it. We are not a sect. We are just a street wear brand that wants to have fun." 
Dream Team Clothing continues to chase their many ambitions, with a good perspective for the future, since a lot of their dreams have been brought into this world successfully so far. Their official website recently had a make-over and will be updated on a daily basis, covering all sections of the street wear scene. "We have added a section called 'Stories & Features' where we will feature brands, artists and many more to provide our readers a behind-the-street wear-curtain-view. The reader now has the possibility to have a deeper look into the industry insiders' thoughts and opinions. This section also gives the artist the possibility to present their new projects or products to a wide range of interested readers. Let's say we are not only pushing our own products on our website, but also giving other brands a platform to show their stuff to our readers and consumers," Hataraki explains.
Furthermore, the company will have a busy schedule for the summer. Party and event series are planned throughout Europe and the brand will make an appearance at various national and international trade shows to give a sneak peak at the Spring/Summer 2010 line.
Dream Team Clothing will be present at the Bright Tradeshow in Frankfurt, Germany, and Bread & Butter in Berlin, Germany on July 1-3, 2009.
For more info, go to the official website Drmtm.de.
US citizens can purchase the brand at DigitalGravel.com
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