“Achraf is like Ronaldon – just in a different scene”
Well over 1000 people are queuing in front of the pop-up store of the streetwear label 6PM in downtown Frankfurt on Saturday to shop, but also to meet the young Frankfurt designer Achraf Ait Bouzalim. The 26-year-old is celebrated like a pop star.
He’s coming!” shout young men in white tank tops, holding up their smartphones. A young woman is almost crying with excitement and says: “I’m getting goose bumps.” Well over 1,000 people are already queuing on a hot Saturday afternoon in front of the Frankfurt streetwear label’s pop-up store at 6 p.m. in Fahrgasse, not far from the Main.
Fans from all over Germany, but also from Switzerland, are angry; Most are male and between 14 and early 20. They came to buy hoodies and track pants (ranging from baby blue to grass green) by young Frankfurt designer Achraf Ait Bouzalim. And to meet him in person. As he gives her a high five in greeting, one fan can’t believe it, saying, “Oh my god!”
The 26-year-old is celebrated like a pop star. In 2017 he founded his label 6PM and built his community via Instagram. Rapper shows himself in his clothes. For two years he has been so successful that his limited collections are sold out within minutes. According to its own statement, the brand generates sales in the high single-digit millions.
collection to buy in advance
Now the fashion online shop “About You” has also got involved and is bringing out an extra collection, which for the first time is not limited, called 6PM+. These will officially be available for purchase from July 8th. As a promotion, fans could now pre-purchase them in pop-up stores in Berlin, Hamburg and now Frankfurt in just one day each.
Raul (14) from Bingen was already in Berlin and, like 19 others, slept in front of the store in Frankfurt: “I slept on the floor. But it was really worth it. It’s just a great feeling to have things before everyone else. The more clothes the better,” he says. By 3 p.m., many of the nearly 2,000 items are already sold out. A DJ hangs up.
People are only allowed in in groups: the store itself is not crowded. Just outside the door, which is the entrance and exit at the same time, there is so much pushing that the security staff call the police to help them. The Maurer gallery is a regular visitor to this shop. “I wanted to go to the gallery. That’s probably not going to happen today,” says a woman from Frankfurt.
Ramon (15) is angry with the bus from Zurich. Around him, people over 30 keep asking: “What’s going on here?” A tourist from Cologne says: “At first I thought they were coming to view an apartment.” She laughs. Ramon explains the hype as follows: “Achraf is like Ronaldo – just in a different scene.” He buys two tank tops, a sweater, trousers and socks for 190 euros and has the white ribbed tank top with 6PM written on it signed by Achraf . Achraf is a role model: “In the beginning things didn’t go so well with the label. He was in debt, but now he’s really made it.”
The designer presents his expensive cars and luxury watches on Instagram, while remaining approachable, writing to fans and even comforting people who are heartbroken. That so many people are celebrating him overwhelms him. “It’s blatant and honorable. Not even in my best dreams would I have thought that something like this would happen in my life.” He spent hours signing everything that his fans handed him: mobile phone cases, shoes, shirts, plastic bowls – both in the shop and outside on his salmon-colored Ferrari If you wish, he will even sign a ten-euro note. He takes photos with everyone who wants to, stays relaxed and chummy. He calls his community family. “Achraf is the best. He cares: Who else has pizza delivered to their fans at night? He even sent security to make sure nothing happened to the guys who stayed here,” says a fan from Mannheim.
Another fan gave up disappointed at 2 p.m., he had been there since 6 a.m.: “People pushed in front of each other. The organization should have been better.” A mother from near Wuppertal drove her 20-year-old son here: “I think it’s cool, an unforgettable experience for him.” She doesn’t understand what’s so special about the brand: “Sweatshirt stop.”
The customers see it very differently: Angelo says: “Simple, comfortable, super quality and goes with everything.” His girlfriend Viola (17) also likes the things and has put on Angelo’s black track pants. The clothing is unisex. Deniz (18) from Ulm says: “The things are just great.”
Camping chair instead of a bed
The students waited the longest with his two friends Murat (18) and Eris (16): They were here exactly 25 hours and 50 minutes before the opening. They spent the night on camping chairs. With very, very tired eyes, they stand at the very front. Because they were among the first 20 in line, they can choose one item of their choice for free and each choose a hoodie for 89 euros. Super satisfied, but totally exhausted, they drive back to Ulm in the afternoon with the 9-euro ticket. She simply didn’t have the strength for the after-show party in the evening at the Gibson Club. Deniz says his mother has little understanding for the sleep-deprived action: “She said: ‘Deniz, that’s stupid what you’re doing.'” He laughs.