Are you the sort to wear your smile on your sleeve? Then you’ll definitely fall in love with this label. Ever since its inception, Malaysia’s Water The Plant has been making headways in and out of the region. The brainchild of entrepreneur Ronald Chew, Water The Plant is a follow-up to his first streetwear brand, the already-famous NERDUNIT.

2020 will be remembered by most as one of the toughest years in recent history due to COVID-19. As a result of the hardship brought on by the pandemic, Water The Plant was founded with the concepts of self-love and self-growth as its central themes. It aims to spread positivity and good vibes through its pieces, and to bring back the joy after those turbulent years.

That being said, you can only imagine how arduous it must have been for Chew and his team to conceptualize and create Water The Plant. Yet, not only did they successfully launch the label during the height of the pandemic, they’ve also grown the brand into a global streetwear powerhouse—a clear indication that people resonate with the brand and the meaning behind it.

Water The Plant’s founder Ronald Chew at the Laforet Harajuku store—HOUYHNHNM

Within a short span of two years, Water The Plant accomplished a feat few can only dream of: opening a physical boutique in the fashion capital of Asia, Tokyo. And not just any odd street either, it’s right in the heart of Harajuku—more specifically on 1F of the famed fashion shopping mall Laforet HARAJUKU. Now, that’s something special.

As for the name itself, Chew explained in an interview with HOUYHNHNM that, just like how a plant requires water to grow, he hopes Water The Plant can become a brand that nourishes its customers. To him, it’s more than just providing people with clothes, the importance lies in the aforementioned concepts coming across.

Style

Even at first glance, one can immediately tell Water The Plant is a fun-loving label.

Being a full-time collaboration with UK-based brand SMILEY, Water The Plant is almost the direct opposite of NERDUNIT. While the latter commonly deploys more monotonous color schemes, the former often plays on bright and colorful palettes true to its ethos.

Many of their apparel come in playful fonts and graphics, with their main logo—the signature yellow SMILEY face with a sunflower on its left eye—usually as the centerpiece around their designs. Ultimately, Water The Plant wants you to be happy, to feel good, and to radiate joy to others through their clothes.

To put it simply, Water The Plant’s style epitomizes the label’s backstory. Through its use of trendy color tones and vibrant graphics, their pieces are sure to leave you smiling from ear to ear—just like it’s SMILEY mascot.

Sneakers

While the bulk of their offerings come in the form of apparel, Water The Plant has recently ventured into the realm of footwear. With two sneakers under their repertoire, the stories behind them are a fantastic representation of what Chew and his team see in the brand.

Debuting on 3rd September 2022 at Malaysia’s annual sneaker convention, SneakerLAH, Water The Plant debuted their brand new WTP Dunk line of sneakers. Yes, it is obviously modeled after the ubiquitous Nike Dunk Low, but it’s a truth the brand doesn’t shy away from.

Designed to scream positive vibes, the brand’s philosophy is channeled through their selection of the “Moss” as the debut colorway to kick things off. As explained on their Instagram page, moss is said to have given “Earth’s first breath” of fresh clean air. This aligns with the brand’s aforementioned ethos, and is a perfect interpretation of what the label means and represents to its team.

Water The Plant followed the “Moss” with the brown “Shroom” colorway, which we got to check out at Singapore’s Culture Cartel 2022. The “Shroom” colorway signifies multiplication, which symbolizes the brand’s growth into new communities. Once again, it’s in perfect synergy with the label’s mission to nurture the youth.

As we’re writing this story, the brand posted a teaser of what looks to be a new colorway of the WTP Dunk on their Instagram. Peep an early first look at it here!

Collaboration

As the saying goes, “‘x’ marks the spot”. In today’s fashion industry, cross-brand collaborations are quickly becoming a necessity for any brand looking to broaden its horizons and stamp its mark in an ever-convoluted world.

Despite being a relatively young brand, Water The Plant already has one successful collaboration under its belt (well, technically two, if you count their full-time partnership with SMILEY as the first).

Towards the tail end of last year, Water The Plant teamed up with the funky street brand SAD REBORN DOLLS (SRD Dolls) to create the “Plant & Grow” Necklace. SRD Dolls made a name for itself in the hip-hop scene when the likes of A$AP ROCKY, Post Malone, J Balvin, and even K-Pop megastar CL started flexing their necklaces.

The “Plant & Grow” necklace essentially is a best-of-both-world situation for the duo. Water The Plant’s colorful aesthetics is a perfect supplement to SRD Dolls’ signature multi-color beaded necklaces. If it caught your eye just like mine, you can still find it on their webstore.

What’s to come

If there’s one thing brighter than their tees, it’s definitely the label’s future.

We’re expecting bigger and better things to come from Water The Plant, and they’re most certainly poised to do so. With a physical boutique store situated in the middle of Harajuku, it won’t be long before more SMILEY faces begin appearing on the streets of Tokyo. And when that happens, the streetwear world will open its eyes to Water The Plant.

Their latest collection “Love & Cherry” dropped in early January and is on their website for those interested. It won’t be long before they’re pushing out the next one, so start smiling and stay tuned to their socials.

Images via Water The Plant, HOUYHNHNM

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Water The Plant

Website
Instagram
Boutique Address: ラフォーレ原宿 1F, 東京都渋谷区神宮前１丁目１１−６

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