Summer is quickly coming to a close, and with colder weather comes the sound of class bells, slamming lockers, and excitement (with a touch of dread) as the new school year begins. While the experience for students is different across the country, one thing seems to be common: the number of Sprayground backpacks roaming the halls. With its trademark shark mouth, Sprayground has blended practicality with fashion, creating a certified cool brand that remains high in demand. And that can be seen in the brand’s pop-up store in Times Square. “It feels amazing to be back in the city where our journey began,” Sprayground founder and creative director David BenDavid tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY.
“We just celebrated our 12th anniversary, so it felt right to open our biggest pop-up shop here,” BenDavid says of the NYC pop-up. Located at 200 West 42 nd Street in Times Square, the pop-up shop runs until Sept. 5, culminating in a runway show during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 8. Until then, fans can drop by to browse the newest collections and view the giant cherry-red T-Rex model with a belly full of backpacks. “We worked super hard to give our fans the most immersive experience ever with this shop,” BenDavid tells HollywoodLife. “Sprayground is known for breaking boundaries, so we knew we had to create something special that we had never done before, and that’s what this new pop-up is all about.”
David BenDavid – no stranger to music – knows that his brand walks hand-in-hand with street culture and pop culture. In an EXCLUSIVE interview, he shares why the brand is upping its game with more online game collabs, what the next decade holds for Sprayground – and he provides an EXCLUSIVE playlist of songs that should help any student get ready for the new school year.
HollywoodLife: Who came up with the idea to have a bright red Tyrannosaurus skeleton filled with Sprayground bags? And is it going into your foyer when the store closes?
David BenDavid: With this pop-up, we want to walk fans through the past, present, and future, and what better way to represent the past than with an iconic T-Rex structure? Both kids and grownups love it! After the pop-up, we are teletransporting the Tyrannosaurus back to the Jurassic era, AKA, my garden.
The pop-up experience commemorates the new Back To School collection. What was the vision behind this new collection?
This new collection is just pure artistic insanity in the most creative and honest way possible; each bag has its own story that makes it unique. We have included never-seen-before designs, new patterns, monograms, and re-imagined styles that are overloaded with our swag; and fans are loving it!
What would you say is the current taste of the current generation? What would you say GenZ is into as opposed to elder Millennials? What’s in and what’s out, if you could say?
We have also seen an upward beat in gaming collabs, and one not to be missed this year is our Call of Duty capsule collection. We got duffles, backpacks, cross body’s, bears, and even a gaming chair! The gaming world just keeps growing and growing. We have also done very cool collaborations with Fortnite, League Of Legends, and Street Fighter this year; they have been a huge success for us, and fans keep asking for more.
I see GenZs and Millennials collecting our designs, and that’s the magic of Sprayground. We make designs for everyone, whatever your personal style is, we have something that will help you express yourself.
Sprayground has embarked on its second decade. The brand has become synonymous with backpacks and has since expanded into luggage and bags. Where do you see Sprayground going next? Do you see it growing more or refining itself, so it stays on the cutting edge of backpack/luggage fashion?
Thank you! It’s been an amazing journey, and I couldn’t feel more blessed. We have lots of cool surprises on their way, we don’t plan to stop! We are currently working on footwear. Fans have been asking for shoes that match their backpacks – that is in the works! We also want to do something in outer space, so stay tuned for surprises!