MAHARISHI_BC_ARCHIVE
A collection of products and special projects that I had the chance to lead or be involved in. Page will be updated often as more products become available on the webstore.
MAHARISHI x ANDY WARHOL ESTATE SUMMER 22
The Andy Warhol x Maharishi collaboration is a long standing relationship that highlights the artists work. I had the opportunity to work with the estate to properly respect and provide a different context of the artist's work in the form of apparel and accessories.
MAHARISHI x ANDY WARHOL - FLOWERS FIELD JACKET
The Flowers Field Jacket highlights one of Andy Warhol’s most notable works, screen printed flowers against a background of grass, often seen in groups.
This jacket takes the composition of the flowers and places it on an olive field jacket, reminiscent of the grass background the flowers were printed on. The groups of flowers were embroidered on the left front shoulder and the lower right hand sleeve. Available in Black and Olive.
Collaboration facilitation, Creative Direction, Apparel Design by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the Andy Warhol Estate.
MAHARISHI x WMT SPRING SUMMER 22
After a successful start to our first collaboration, Maharishi and WMT watches have joined together again to create 3 more watches for Spring Summer 22. This time highlighting some iconic watches seen on the wrists divers and soldiers as well as reworking some styles seen from last season.
MAHARISHI x WMT - RIVERINE DIVER
The RIVERINE DIVER is a reworked version of the Seawolf watch. The watch was brought back for the second collaboration because of its historical value amongst military and watch fanatics. For that reason this watch was reworked to appear more accurately to the original Tornek Rayville diver, executed in a Maharishi manner.
The lower center part of the dial where the circular moisture indicator once was, has been replaced with a tilaka, an orange dot. In hinduism the tilaka is generally worn for rites of passage, to honor victory, and for protection. This graphic fuses the eastern influence that Maharishi draws from and places it on the watch as a symbol of protection for the divers who wore this watch.
Collaboration facilitation, Creative Direction, Watch Design, Packaging design by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the WMT team.
MAHARISHI x WMT - THE GREEN MARINE
The GREEN MARINE watch is an homage to the famous submariner watch worn through out history and a favorite for frog men and navy SEALs. This watch is was recreated with a green bezel and a black dial (also known as the kermit color way) a sought after color way amongst submariner collectors, but also to give it a subtle nod its military roots.
Collaboration facilitation, Creative Direction, Watch Design, Packaging design by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the WMT team.
MAHARISHI x CLAUSTRUM SPRING SUMMER 21
The Maharishi x Claustrum collaboration was the first project I led, as a response to shift towards producing high quality iPhone cases instead of opting for plastic cases. Maharishi since its inception, has always looked far and wide for sustainable and eco friendly materials to craft their collections with. The brand has been offering plastic cases for many seasons and would like to move away from that to remain true to their promise and intentions. From that problem birthed the start of a long collaborative relationship with Tokyo based brand Claustrum.
Claustrum is a small studio in Japan that began as a metal workshop, and eventually formed into a brand that makes metal accessories for everyday use. The raw finish of their product creates a brutalistic aesthetic and a canvas for time to create a beautiful patina.
MAHARISHI x CLAUSTRUM - WAR & PEACE
The Claustrum War & Peace case was inspired by custom engraved zippo lighters soldiers use to carry along with their cigarette rations. These engravings were done by local craftsmen in Vietnam near the end of the war to create a souvenir for soldiers to bring home and remember their time in Vietnam.
This case was made as a modern adaptation to those zippo lighters, meant to be carried daily just as those soldiers did with their zippo lighters.
Collaboration facilitation, creative direction, case graphics by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the Claustrum team.
MAHARISHI SPRING SUMMER 21: APPAREL & ACCESSORIES
A collection of apparel and accessories I designed for Maharishi Spring Summer 21. Drawing inspiration from the Vietnam War era, and the cult classic film Apocalypse Now, I designed these objects with subtle nods to the era and theme, as well as utilizing a fictional tailor shop in the Vietnam war era (MAHA FINE TAILOR SHOP) as a context for these clothing and accessories to exist within. Now available on the Maharishi Web Store.
MAHARISHI SS21 - RIVIERINE KIMONO ROBE
Taking the popular kimono silhouette Maharishi is well known for, and giving it a refresh in a new context, a new essentials piece was born for the long summer days by the water. The Kimono Robe kept you dry, warm and comfortable with its lush terry cloth fabric. The Kimono Robe is equipped with 2 deep pockets a center strap, and a jacquard woven logo at the bottom. This robe has the utility and comfort that makes this a useful yet subtle piece to join the Maharishi catalog
The Kimono Robe was designed for the Riverine pack which was a collection of products geared for summer and festival use.
Apparel design, graphic design, and creative direction by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the Maharishi Development team.
MAHARISHI SS21 - APOCALYPSE T-SHIRT
This t-shirt design was a subtle nod to the classic movie poster of Apocalypse Now. Taking a minimal approach to reinterpreting the poster, the design comprised of the primary focal point, the sun, and the division of the sun into various sized strips. This allowed the negative space to resemble the smoke from the napalm and artillery that clouded the sun in the scene.
The graphic is then paired with a quote on the back from Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) that was spoken in narration that set him off on the mission to kill Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando).
Apparel design, graphic design, and creative direction by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the Maharishi Development team.
MAHARISHI SS21 - JAPANESE RECYCLED NYLON CAP
The Recycled Nylon cap is an addition to Maharishi’s long standing sustainable program. Carefully sourcing well made recycled fabrics from Japan, and crafting it into a cap to be worn daily.
This Recycled Nylon cap is paired with embroidered technical graphics and text as an ode to the labels commonly found in military surplus clothing. Available in Black and Olive.
Accessory design, graphic design, and creative direction by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the Maharishi Development team.
MAHARISHI SS21 - MAHARISHI FINE TAILOR CAP
One of the primary narratives in SS21 was the fictional Maharishi fine tailor shop. This tailor shop draws inspiration from the Vietnamese tailor shops that serviced G.I.’s during the war, retrofitting their combat uniforms for tropical warfare, as well as hand sewing patches and insignias in a distinct style.
The Maharishi Fine Tailor Cap was designed to be part of a collection of fictitious promotional items given to loyal customers who often serviced their uniforms at the Maharishi Fine Tailor Shop.
The Cap is embroidered with the Maharishi Fine Tailor Shop logo in front and Fine Tailor Shop in english and Chinese characters on each side. Available in Black and Olive.
Accessory design, graphic design, and creative direction by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the Maharishi Development team.
MAHARISHI SS21 - JACQUARD TIGER CAMO SOCK
The Jacquard Camo Sock uses Maharishi's DPM: Tiger Camo woven into the neck of the sock paired with a dragon peaking over the forefoot of the sock. The jacquard camo sock was designed as a more premium option for buyers who seek to pair something interesting with their sneakers.
Accessory design, graphic design, and creative direction by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the Maharishi Development team.
MAHARISHI SS21 - PAX CULTURA/CUD SPORT & TABI SOCK SET
The SS21 sock offerings came in 2 options, sport socks and tabi socks. Each offering of socks had 2 symbols knitted into the front as well as the script logo knitted into the back.
The 2 symbols are synonymous to the Vietnam war and The Cold War. The Pax Cultura symbol (circle with the 3 dots) was first used during WW2 and through out other various wars. It normally appeared on flags and banners to indicate to the enemy that the location is a cultural artifact or place and is not to be bombed or destroyed.
The second symbol is a the CND sign (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) now used universally as the peace sign. It was developed during the cold war as the world felt the tension between the U.S. and Russia. The Logo is flipped upside down as a reinterpretation as a CUD symbol (Campaign for Universal Disarmament).
Accessory design, graphic design, and creative direction by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the Maharishi Development team.
MAHARISHI SS21 - IPHONE CASES
The SS21 iPhone Case offerings came in 2 options, The Heart of Tygers case and the Mil-type case. The Heart of Tygers case uses the seasonal graphic that is references Joseph Conrad’s book Heart of Darkness and William Blake’s poem The Tyger.
The Mil-Type case is a silicone case with embedded graphics that reference military specification tags, usually found on clothing and equipment that displays important information that can be used for easy reference. The graphic and writing style of these tags were designed to be extremely efficient listing out important information.
Accessory design, graphic design, and creative direction by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the Maharishi Development team.
MAHARISHI SS 21 - STICKER PACKS
An assortment of SS21’s graphics that strongly capture the theme of the collection and a capsule collection sticker pack for the Year of the Ox, that highlight different guest artists that collaborated on this capsule.
Accessory design, graphic design, and creative direction by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the Maharishi Development team.
MAHARISHI x WMT SPRING SUMMER 22
This collaboration began as a suggestion I gave to expand Maharishi's product line. Which soon led me to facilitate and develop the first of many watch collections with Honk Kong based brand Watch Experimental Unit (WMT).
Watch Experimental unit specializes in recreating vintage iconic watches between 1950s-1980s. Combined with their hand aging process, the end result is a truly unique time piece that captures the beauty of time aged watches.
MAHARISHI x WMT - RM 1950 "BRANDO"
The ROYAL MARINE 1950 "BRANDO" watch is an homage to the Rolex GMT master that Marlon Brando worn on set when shooting Apocalypse Now. The stories surrounding this watch was both strange and iconic to the character that Brando played (Colonel Walter E. Kurtz).
During the filming of the movie, Director Francis Ford Coppola told Brando that his watch did not fit into the time period of the Vietnam War, and that he would have to take it off. Instead, Brando decided to rip off the top ring of the watch on set and asked Coppola if it was obscure enough to resume filming.
That careless action of ripping the top ring off a precious time piece complimented the role of his character so well that it made his watch an iconic movie prop that is still talked about to this day.
Since the original watch was auctioned off, Maharishi wanted to recreate this watch with WMT so that fans of the movie and watch enthusiasts alike can own a special piece of Iconic history.
Collaboration facilitation, Creative Direction, Watch Design, Packaging design by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the WMT team.
MAHARISHI x WMT - "SEAWOLF"
The SEAWOLF is a nod to the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms watch, which has become the most coveted watch to collect from the Vietnam war. The coveted status of this watch comes from its historical story in the field.
During the Vietnam war the U.S Navy was rigorously testing several watches for underwater operations. The Fifty Fathoms watch survived all tests perfectly, beating Rolex, Bulova, etc. However the U.S Navy was unable to contract Blancpain to make watches for their troops due to the Buy American Act. Enter Allen V. Tornek, an american watch dealer with a Blancpain license, who convinced Blancpain to produce 1000 units under the name Tornek-Rayville to bypass the Buy American Act.
The design of the watch had many interesting features, such as the caseback, stating that the watch must be returned to the navy for proper disposal. The watch case was made of beryllium for a low magnetic signature to keep naval divers (first form of navy SEALs) safe when disarming sea mines, and the indices were coated with a radioactive element to independently glow in dark underwater environments.
At the end of the war, many of these watches were disposed of due to its unique features which makes the remaining ones highly sought after.
Collaboration facilitation, Creative Direction, Watch Design, Packaging design by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the WMT team.
MAHARISHI x CLAUSTRUM AUTUMN WINTER 20
The Maharishi x Claustrum collaboration was the first project I led, as a response to shift towards producing high quality iPhone cases instead of opting for plastic cases. Maharishi since its inception, has always looked far and wide for sustainable and eco friendly materials to craft their collections with. The brand has been offering plastic cases for many seasons and would like to move away from that to remain true to their promise and intentions. From that problem birthed the start of a long collaborative relationship with Tokyo based brand Claustrum.
Claustrum is a small studio in Japan that began as a metal workshop, and eventually formed into a brand that makes metal accessories for everyday use. The raw finish of their product creates a brutalistic aesthetic and a canvas for time to create a beautiful patina.
MAHARISHI x CLAUSTRUM - SPEC OPS CASE
The Claustrum SPEC OPS case was inspired by identification cards operatives used to carry. Special operation operatives were required to carry these cards because they did not wear military uniforms all the time. Many operatives participated in surveillance missions that required them to wear civilian clothes to blend in as tourists or journalists. Therefore the identification cards were the only item they can use to enter U.S military bases.
The SPEC OPS case has reformatted the identification card into a modern day context, and inscribed onto a case that you carry daily.
Collaboration facilitation, creative direction, case graphics by Hardy Blechman and Benjamin Chang with support from the Claustrum team.