Widespread access to the past through digital images is a relatively new development, and all mediums are still trying to figure out exactly what it means. An unfortunate result is that nostalgia has become a blight, and memory laundering is rampant. But from the mass of superficial and opportunistic nods to the past, usually made to the ends of selling a product, some genuinely original and compelling creative projects rise to the top. 1199 is one of them.

1199 is one of those brands that looks like it’s from two decades ago, but could only exist right now. The undefined creative project of two mysterious French designers, 1199 currently sells garments and accessories. Whether that will continue to be the case is anyone’s guess.

1199 pieces can feel like collages of cultural touchpoints. Their Forever 27 Club bracelet, to take one example, brings an orthodox devotional object usually used to display religious icons together with content from western pop cultural history (the 27 Club), and markets it in homage to the 2008 iPod Nano ‘Chromatic’ ad series. The result is less a product than a feeling.

This feeling resonates with people who weren’t even born when much of what the brand references was first made. Artists like Nettspend have galvanized an intense interest in a youth that crave the feeling the brand evokes, a feeling that for them is not nostalgia but something different. Nettspend is only one of many musicians (including Uzi) who have repped the brand, a testament to the deep interconnection between the 1199 project and its core inspiration: music.

The duo behind the brand remain nearly anonymous. They’ve never given an interview before this one, and have suggested that they might never give one after. We asked them about their brand, their products, their process, and much more. Happy reading.

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Welcome: How would you introduce yourself to people who don’t know you?

1199: We are just French kids who grew up in China.

Welcome: What led you into fashion?

1199: Just having fun. It's not necessarily about fashion. Tomorrow we could do a chair if we are having fun.

Welcome: What motivates you to remain mysterious online?

1199: People don’t really need to know everything. They don’t really need to know about us. It lets people focus on the product and create their own stories with it. We feel like it’s also super cool to be free to live everyday. We were very inspired by the French Touch in music, and how Daft Punk can remain anonymous everyday.

What is 1199? How would you describe it?

We could describe it as entertainment. It sometimes uses the signature "Real Entertainment."

For now it’s clothes and accessories, but it could become anything. That's what we love about the project. It’s a lifestyle. Anything that we want to create, we're going to create it.

What is the significance of the number 1199?

Numbers won't age. They won't change. They don’t limit us. We want to feel free to do anything.

We also like the fact that you could say it in so many ways in different languages. One person is going to say “onze quatre vingt dix neuf” in french, one is going to say “one one nine nine,” one is going to say “one thousand one hundred and ninety nine.” It's funny. We let people name it what they want.

There's such a strong aesthetic reference in the brand. What about the late 2000s early 2010s era resonates with you?

It's what we grew up with. It’s probably one of the greatest eras of design in general. Maybe we are too nostalgic but this specific time in music is very inspiring too.

But it's not something that we think too much about when creating. It shaped who we are now so we are naturally very inspired.

By the way, people don’t really know about it but the music side of the brand is super important to us. We just got our own music studio in Paris.

Do you remember seeing the 2008 iPod Nano ads in person? What made you want to use those references?

Yeah definitely, and it must have really marked us because we thought about it as soon as we received all the new colors for the bracelet. It was obvious for us to bootleg this ad because most faces used on the bracelet were musicians and weirdly enough the colors we produced were almost the same as the iPod Nanos.

There's another fun reference in the bracelets video. When we were younger, McDonald's Happy Meals had a little sound box toy with different tunes, like the Jason Derulo one we picked for the video. The sound is a recording from a 10 year old video we found on youtube of someone actually playing the song off of one of those plastic music boxes.

How did you guys get tapped in with people like Nettspend and Uzi? How did those relationships form?

Mostly through mutual connections we had from before. Like Uzi was through our bro Ockboomin. Music being a big part of the brand we definitely love seeing people we listen to and get inspired from feeling the brand. It’s an ecosystem, everything resonates. Most of them gave so much love in return too, it’s crazy.

Where did the idea for the cowboy boot come from?Ideas like this will just pop in your brain. Our friend and photographer Arthur Bardet used to wear Uggs for so long, they were fake but the shape looked fire, better than real ones. It was so funny to us. We felt like adding a cowboy theme would be even funnier. Then we designed them. We got a first sample and it was crazy.

How did it feel to get a cease and desist order from Ugg?

Uh very bad.We kind of felt betrayed because in our head it was a shout out. We would have preferred discussing a collab rather than a cease and desist. The design was so different from anything they had ever done before that we didn't expect anyone to consider it as a knock off. But actually, the problem was that the back heel logo was too resemblant to the “Ugg” as we just bootlegged it with horseshoes.

In the end, all our pairs were destroyed which felt horrible because even if we weren't allowed to sell them we would have preferred to donate them or something rather than making them go to waste like that. It was a huge setback financially and for our timeline but we changed the logo then we produced twice as much and the rest unfolded from there.

You've had bracelets with the 27 Club, dogs and cats, notable figures in rap. How do you choose what images to place on the bracelets? Where do these ideas come from?

This type of bracelet was originally religious with pictures of saints, so we felt like the first one had to make some sense. The homage to the 27 Club felt right at that moment. It was a good introduction for people to the bracelet. Now we can have a lot of fun with the bracelet, it’s a perfect canvas.

What does your ideation process look like?

It just happens naturally, there’s no defined process, ideas come living day to day, being inspired by our friends. Continuously looking for more will get you ideas.

You produce a lot of interesting images for your products. Some are very realistic, some are animated or uncanny. What is the process for making/capturing images for the brand?

It really depends on our feelings at the moment. Sometimes, we’ll receive a picture from our factory and it’ll look cool so we’ll post it.

Other times, we’ll be chilling with our bro Bardet Arthur and an idea for a shoot will pop up and we’ll do it. It's always very spontaneous and super quick.

When we actually drop, we like to work with Jusa. Our good friend Cannone introduced us to him and we loved what he did with the spinning bracelet. He's real creative and doesn't only execute our vision. He has his own and he always surprises us with things we didn't even ask for.

How do you approach marketing? What is your business philosophy?

First you need a good product. Then the way you market it will dictate the way your audience will perceive. The way we market the brand could feel a lot like how a mysterious artist would market himself. For example the way Carti used to handle his image is really inspiring. Never said too much, his craft did the talking.

What does a perfect day look like?

Sunny day, Enjoying moments with our family and friends, make music. Receiving a sample or a picture of something we worked on is always cool!

What do you eat for breakfast?

We’re French, so baguette and croissant every morning I guess. I don't know, we usually go to sleep at 7am, so breakfast could be a late dinner for us.

Where do you want to be in five years?

Asia. Go back to where it all started. Big mansion in Thailand, peaceful, sunny. Swimming pool, friends, and family. Have everyone around us. Not living like society makes everyone live now. Living for real. Being in nature. Actually feeling stuff.

What is next for 1199?

Y’all got to stay in touch. It's going to be a cool year. We got some cool products. We got some good ideas. Physical appearances. Pop Ups. Music. Album.

Anything else?

I feel like we said everything. We don't like to talk too much. This is our first interview and maybe the last who knows.