LOS ANGELES — The head of Benjamin Franklin and an illustration of a Russian cargo ship adorn a new limited-edition line of cell phones designed by the six-member streetwear collective, The Retail Mafia.
The group of New York designers was approached by Boost Mobile, the Irvine, Calif.-based subsidiary of Sprint Nextel Corp., to come up with a collection of phones that would appeal to cell phone users who like their handsets edgy and urban.
“It’s the first time, as a collective, that we’re doing something like this,” said Mike Malbon, owner of Frank151, one of the members of The Retail Mafia, the antimainstream collective of streetwear labels. Companies such as Alife, aNYthing, J Money, situationormal and SSUR have created a total of six different designs, which will be sold packaged with a T-shirt for $299. The collection went on sale in mid-November, and officially will be unveiled at a downtown loft party tonight. There are a total of 300 handsets in the line.
“It’s a cool thing,” said Malbon, who added that Boost Mobile gave the group complete creative freedom with the phones.
“Any other company would have given us perimeters. But that’s not what we’re about. We all came up with our own concepts, and we wanted full creative control of the phones.”
The result is a collection of irreverent designs and inscriptions. The Benjamin Franklin model features the slogan: “Put your money where your mouth is.” Others might feature a glossy purple wood grain, or The Retail Mafia logo backwards.
“It’s hard to find a really cool cell phone,” said Malbon. “Versace and Nokia have done some, but there are not many out there that are really good or personal.”
The phones will be available through each brand’s individual stores and online.
For Boost, the decision to collaborate with The Retail Mafia came about as a result of a lack in the market of uniquely designed phones that spoke to a thriving consumer base.
“These are superhot brands, and we wanted an opportunity to collaborate with them in some way,” said Jeff Park, business development manager at Boost Mobile. Andrew Schulenburg, the company’s business development brand manager, said there was “not a lot out there” for people interested in distinctive handsets.
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“Phones have become a fashion accessory, and nobody wants the same thing that everyone else has. We wanted something that was different, that had some attitude.”