Pleasures

TITLE describes Pleasures as a Los Angeles streetwear brand founded by Alex James in 2015, and FEATURE gives the same founder and year. Sneaker Freaker says it was founded by Alex James and Vlad Elkin in 2015. In an HBX interview James describes Elkin as his friend and business partner who, in May 2015, proposed an idea to start a brand.

Sources name different launch venues. TITLE says it launched on 6 June 2015 at a pop-up shop with other local artists and brands; HBX quotes James saying it launched at the 3125C pop-up shop in Los Angeles thanks to Edison Chen; Sneaker Freaker quotes him describing a month-long pop-up at Undefeated curated by Edison Chen.

HBX says the brand's inspirations are 1990s grunge and rock record sleeves and that it makes reference to 1990s punk subculture. FEATURE describes punk, grunge and rock-n-roll aesthetics. TITLE's interview names Rage Against the Machine, Oasis and Morrissey as Alex James's top three artists, and says the brand designed chairs with the Joy Division Unknown Pleasures album art.

Alex James told Sneaker Freaker his own scene was East Coast hardcore, punk rock and nu-metal, and described the streetwear of the time as misogynistic, violent, masculine and hypersexual; Sneaker Freaker's lead describes a punk rock ethos with provocative branding, and James said the brand puts inclusivity over exclusivity. FRAME says the brand originally gained traction in 2015 after its second collection included a T-shirt featuring Kurt Cobain's suicide note, which it says caused controversy and gave the brand a large amount of exposure.

TITLE mentions a Pro Leather shoe made in collaboration with Converse, tote bags, ceramics and other lifestyle products, and Unknown Pleasures chairs that it calls the brand's first furniture. FRAME lists collaborations with ROKIT, Adidas, JSP and Akila, and Foot District's Pleasures listings include Pleasures x Umbro and Pleasures x Dead Kennedys items.

In the sources we opened, Pleasures is sold through retailers including Slam Jam, which listed 19 Pleasures items, West NYC and Foot District. We did not find a brand-owned online shop.

Alex James told TITLE the brand tries to keep its prices down so that design does not have to be expensive. On West NYC's Pleasures page (no listing date shown; we checked it in October 2026) the Crash heavyweight shirt was $69.95 regular ($39.99 sale), the OJ jersey $79.95 regular ($49.99 sale), the reflective track pants $124.95 regular ($49.99 sale), the reflective track jacket $139.95 regular ($49.99 sale), and the Sponsor 5 panel snapback $46.00.

Foot District, which prices in euros, listed a Pleasures x Umbro Two Cats striped jersey T-shirt at €88, a Pleasures x Umbro Spine plaid hoodie at €127, Pleasures x Dead Kennedys DIY straight jeans at €141 and a Pleasures x Umbro Diamonds plaid reversible light jacket at €149; its Anytime watch was €157, down from €196. Euro and dollar prices are not directly comparable, and neither page shows a date, so treat all of these as listings checked in October 2026.