Most shoppers visit Procell, a tidy boutique on the Lower East Side that specializes in vintage 1990s fashion, in pursuit of nostalgic, age-softened eye candy, even though some weren’t alive when Red Hot Chili Peppers tour shirts and Erykah Badu promo tees were screen-printed. But Timbaland is not the average customer. As a renowned music producer, rapper and collaborator with Aaliyah, Jay-Z and Missy Elliott, he had an all-access pass to the cultural renaissance reflected in the store’s neatly hung racks.
When he showed up at the store on a chilly Thursday evening, it wasn’t just to shop. With a backdrop of era-appropriate dancehall and shelves freighted with “South Park” dad hats, Polo-branded basketballs and yellow Sony cassette players, Timbaland offered a running commentary on past creative partners and far-flung musical inspirations. “This represents the weed smokers,” he said, after spotting a shirt for Cypress Hill’s 1993 “Black Sunday” tour on one of the racks for $300. A 1994 tee showing KoRn, the nu-metal outfit with byzantine haircuts, was $150 and conjured recollection: “That tour bus was wild, like, wow.”
*nytimes.com
