Drop the umbrella – Hélas caps are now officially entering skatedeluxe. The love child of Cliché Pro Lucas Puig, Clement Brunel and Stephen Khu is now making its debut and we look forward to have another skater-owned brand from France joining our ranks.
Like almost every good idea, Hélas was born after a boozy night. Back in 2011, when five panel caps were still rare, the three skateboarders Lucas Puig, Clement Brunel and Stephen Khu decided to start their own headwear brand. With the idea of “French Lacoste Steez” in mind and a name that basically means “unfortunately” in French, they managed to found one of the fasted growing skate brands of the twenty-tens.
As the guys recently said in an interview, the brand’s name Hélas came from the song “Touch the Horizon” by the French rapper Oxmo Puccino. It was playing in the background as they were brainstorming about a potential name, so Oxmo literally whispered it in their ears. The umbrella logo on the other hand can be interpreted quite differently. Usually an umbrella is the only accessory that you carry over your head. So, the ironic idea of stitching the umbrella on the cap, because you wouldn’t need both in certain weather situations, is quite a nice touch. Together with the word hélas it kinda means that “unfortunately” you can’t go skate, because it’s raining. And as if that wasn’t enough, it is also a reference to the UK connection. Well, who would have thought that there’s such a big story behind a little stitch like this!
Inspired by the polo and tennis brands of the 90s, Hélas caps skillfully combine simplicity, elegance and relaxation. While the brand’s range has now extended to clean streetwear, Hélas flagship is undoubtedly the 5 and 6 panel.
Like the brand itself, the skate team has also grown steadily in recent years. Besides Lucas Puig himself, the Hélas Cap Club (HCC) includes Jesus Fernandez, Flo Mirtain, Javier Sarmiento, Thierry Gormit, Alex House, Kristian Krasimirov and many more. Despite the rapid growth of the team, a close relationship between each team rider is most important to the three founders. Because homies with full-time jobs are killing it just as hard as the Street League dudes. Knowing that, we can expect a few new mixtapes by Hélas and, of couse, a lot more GUCCIT!
