Words and interview The Kanto team
Images Raco Ruiz for New Era Philippines
Razzl is seven years old, shy, prone to daydreaming, and always dressed for whatever world he’s currently imagining, usually as a clown. He’s also a caricature of Raco Ruiz’s childhood self, and the real author behind Ruiz’s contribution to New Era CO11ECTIVE‘s 11th anniversary capsule collection, where Ruiz was tasked with interpreting Pride. Ruiz built his piece around a personal color rule: no red, blue, or yellow, favoring pinks and purples in what he calls “a quiet form of rebellion” against what’s expected of him.
Ruiz talks us through Razzl’s world, what it was like working alongside Jethro Olba, Lei Melendres, and Nicolo Nimor of Nick Automatic, and what he hopes wearers take pride in beyond the New Era merch itself.
You’ve made a rule for yourself to avoid blue, red, and yellow, going with unconventional pinks and purples. Why so?
Raco Ruiz: This has always been a design rule I’ve kind of committed to ever since I started building my identity as an artist. They’re not hard rules, but as much as possible I like giving myself that little limitation because I think it helps make my work recognizable, especially at this stage of my career.
I chose pinks and purples because it’s a quiet form of rebellion. It’s almost expected for guys to gravitate toward the classic red, yellow, and blue palette, and I remember thinking, why can’t I use pink and purple? I wanted to say no to what’s expected of me and just be unapologetic about the colors I genuinely enjoy using.
Looking back, I think that naturally became my own definition of pride. It’s really just having the confidence to embrace what makes you different instead of trying to fit into what’s expected.
Pride, across your body of work, registers as loud color and unflinching confidence. Walk us through how you translated that same feeling onto a cap and a tee collection, formats that can be a lot more literal than a canvas or a mural.
Raco Ruiz: For this collection, I wanted the design to feel like it came straight out of Razzl’s imagination. Razzl is a seven-year-old caricature of my childhood self. He’s a shy, introverted kid who’s always making things up and living in his imagination. He loves dressing up, especially as a clown, and completely commits to whatever world he’s imagining.
That’s why the artwork is filled with playful elements like Dopa with flower petals around his head, outer space, pizza, and other little things kids naturally find fascinating. I wanted it to feel like the kind of design a child would make without overthinking whether it was cool or made sense.
To me, that’s what pride looks like in its purest form. It’s just confidence, and that’s the feeling I wanted people to wear.
A lot of what you do processes chaos, both onscreen and off, into something bright, humorous, and unapologetic. Where or in what manner does that same tension show up in your New Era CO11LECTIVE piece?
Raco Ruiz: I wanted this piece to feel effortless while actually being very intentional.
It really comes back to committing to the way a child sees confidence and pride, without worrying if something is weird, too niche, or different. It’s really just a glimpse into the things a child would unapologetically be proud of because they genuinely love them.
The world can get pretty complicated, but I wanted this piece to respond to that with sincerity, playfulness, and zero shame.
Leaning into the New Era CO11ECTIVE collab more now. You and your outsized personality slink easily between painting, TikTok, and brand collaborations. But did designing for a streetwear institution like New Era change your process in any way?
Raco Ruiz: Honestly, New Era was one of the most open-minded brands I’ve worked with.
They basically told us to go wild, and there were barely any revisions. If anything, I probably gave myself more revisions than they gave me because they were so trusting of the work from the beginning.
That kind of freedom made the whole process really enjoyable. I think the best collaborations happen when brands trust the creators they hired instead of micromanaging every decision. That’s usually when the real magic happens.
Art+ once described your work as a lifelong embrace of what makes you different. What do you hope wearers of your New Era piece take pride in about themselves, beyond the novelty of owning a limited edition shirt or cap?
Raco Ruiz: More than anything, I hope people feel proud of who they already are.
Of course, I want people to enjoy wearing the cap and the shirt, but I also hope it reminds them that pride isn’t just about what you wear. It’s also about the values you choose to live by.
To me, it’s about being authentic. Not pretending to be someone else just to impress people, fit in, or chase opportunities. I know there’s a lot of gray area to that, but I think people can tell when someone is genuinely comfortable in their own skin.
If this collection helps someone embrace what makes them different, even just a little bit more, then I think we’ve done something special. •
New Era Philippines turns 11 this year, and celebrated with New Era CO11ECTIVE, a capsule collection handing its core values, Individuality, Collaboration, Authenticity, and Pride, to four different Filipino artists to interpret however they saw fit. The result: a red 59FIFTY carrying tonal embroidery and an undervisor combining every artist’s work, a deep green Camper with swappable Velcro patches, a navy 9TWENTY embroidered with all their visual languages at once, and a commemorative tee that folds each artwork into a single design. Every purchase also comes with a blind pack, a randomly selected print from one of the artists, while supplies last.
