This Hollywood Trading Company "Snake's Eyes" Belt was worn by our Melbourne Store Manager -- Ray, who shares:
"This HTC belt was a customized, one-off version that I asked Zip Stevenson to make for me 13 years ago. It was my very first HTC belt, and I requested many customized details specifically for this piece. I felt so lucky that Zip allowed me to have this belt made for me at that time, since getting a fully customized HTC belt is almost impossible nowadays. After 13 years of wear, I have come to see it as my lifetime friend.“
"I love teacore leather, but at that time I already owned a few pure black teacore belts. So Zip suggested that I use his specially developed 'Midnight Black' teacore cowhide. It was an ultimate black mixed with ink blue, which made the belt look more like a dark navy when it was brand new. After about a year of wear, I noticed that the belt gradually turned closer to black, but it still shows a beautiful blue hue under sunlight."
"After a few years of wear, I started to see some reddish-brown color emerging underneath as the teacore leather began to develop its aging character."
"I used to be a sneaker pimp and loved loud colors. For the 'Snake’s Eyes' part of the design, I asked Zip to make the snakeskin blood red to match my Red October (Nike x Yeezy). I chose 'Umbrella Studs' for a Chrome Hearts vibe, along with different colors of crystal stones. I jokingly called it 'Meth High',lol ~"
"13 years ago, Zip handed this belt to me at CORLECTION x HTC’s first Sydney event. He autographed his name and wrote “PLAY HARDER!” on the back of the belt. I guess he knew me well — I was definitely aiming to play harder! lol~"
"Time flies~ 13 years later, I have sold or lost most of my sneakers; however, this belt is still with me. 'The quality never dies…' I sometimes whisper to it. Sometimes, a lifetime was just once upon a time…"