Official [5] is both the name of the company recently founded by Jason Maggio (who also serves as its Creative Director) and an apt description of the brand's real-deal streetwear.

A co-founder of the skateboard lifestyle magazine Vapors, Maggio conceived of Official while designing for another apparel manufacturer when he identified a void in the market for top-shelf, statement-making headwear that wouldn't break the bank. Or, as Maggio mysteriously puts it, he likes to pull "elements from different realities and loosely position them in a common medium."

Official has rapidly gained a cult following by releasing limited-edition styles every two to three weeks, encouraging fans to jockey for new gear. The caps come in a witty and often rowdy assemblage of patterns and prints, such as an oversized "Tati" houndstooth on brushed corduroy or a lumberjack print in a fuschia and black colorway.

Maggio even considered adding an Eames homage into the mix, in the form of a hat sporting a vivid print of the design duo's classic Lounge chair. The style never made it to production for fear of reprisal from the Eames Estate, but that didn't stop what Maggio called "astronomical" bidding for the original samples from the keen folk at Design Within Reach [6].

—Roger Joseph