Inside the Creative Force Behind the Most Sought-After Underground Streetwear
In 2025, $uicideboy$ merch has become more than just a way to support your favorite music duo. It’s an entire aesthetic—a subcultural statement, a collectible, and for many fans, a daily uniform. But the question a lot of people are asking is: who actually designs the $uicideboy$ merch in 2025? Is it still Scrim and Ruby putting their vision directly into hoodies and tees, or has the process evolved with their rising fame?
Let’s dive deep into the creative process, uncover the history behind the merch, and look at how the design philosophy has changed in 2025—from hands-on graphics to collaborations, and from DIY printing to curated, high-quality pieces that rival luxury streetwear.
The Origins: A DIY Aesthetic Built on Emotion and Chaos
From the beginning, $uicideboy$ merch set themselves apart from the industry. Their music was raw, emotional, and unfiltered. It’s no surprise their early merch followed the same pattern. Back in the mid-2010s, fans remember the first waves of $uicideboy$ shirts and hoodies being lo-fi, aggressively minimal, and made with DIY spirit.
In many cases, Scrim and Ruby were heavily involved in designing the graphics themselves. They used imagery drawn from occult symbolism, distorted typography, grunge textures, and G59 visuals. The early merch often featured intentionally dark and edgy designs—reflecting the mental state, themes, and sonic tone of their underground sound.
Some items were printed locally or in limited batches—nothing mass-produced or glossy, just straight from the source. For many fans, those early releases still represent the purest form of $uicideboy$ merch—raw and honest.
Transition to Professional Merch Teams
As the group’s popularity grew, so did demand. Merch couldn’t just be done in-house anymore—it required scale. Around the early 2020s, XPLR (Explore Page) became the central hub for all official $uicideboy$ merchandise. This shift signaled the arrival of a dedicated design and production team.
While Scrim and Ruby still oversaw the direction of key releases, the technical design work was increasingly handled by professionals. These teams translated the duo’s vision into consistent collections with better quality control, wider size availability, and improved garment quality.
But despite the more polished feel, the core $uicideboy$ themes stayed intact. You still saw references to death, depression, addiction, spiritual chaos, and Southern rap culture. The aesthetic matured, but it didn’t lose its edge.
The 2025 Evolution: Who’s Really Behind the Merch Now?
In 2025, $uicideboy$ merch has reached an elevated level of cultural importance. Drops sell out in minutes. Resale prices climb high. Fans inspect every thread. So who is designing these pieces now?
The answer is layered.
1. XPLR Merch Team Takes the Lead
The XPLR merch team is now responsible for the majority of the designs seen in 2025 drops. They handle everything from concept art to sample production, ensuring that each piece aligns with the $uicideboy$ brand while pushing design boundaries.
This team includes graphic designers, merch coordinators, and production managers who work under the broader umbrella of G*59 Records and XPLR’s internal creative department. They’ve been responsible for recent trends in merch such as:
Washed black oversized tees
Bleach-stained hoodies
Hand-drawn skull motifs
Gothic, serif typography and distorted lettering
Streetwear silhouettes mixed with metalcore-inspired visuals
Most 2025 drops carry the signature XPLR tag—making it clear that this team is central to how the aesthetic evolves.
2. Scrim and Ruby: Still Creatively Involved
Although they’re not designing every shirt pixel by pixel, Scrim and Ruby remain creatively involved. Especially with special edition or anniversary drops, the duo provides inspiration, selects themes, and occasionally approves or modifies graphic directions.
Ruby’s known for his obsessive attention to symbolism, while Scrim often leans into sound-meets-style aesthetics. When they’re working on an album, they often give their merch team a moodboard or rough vision—then let them bring it to life.
In a Reddit thread from early 2025, one fan claimed:
“You can tell when Scrim and Ruby touch a drop. It feels more emotional, more narrative. Like they’re telling a story through the fit.”
There’s a clear difference between the more mass-ready items and the drops that feel intensely personal—those are usually the ones that Scrim and Ruby are directly behind.
3. Outside Collaborations and Artist Features
Another huge change in 2025 is the increase in collaborations with outside artists and underground designers. The $uicideboy$ brand has begun bringing in niche digital artists, tattoo illustrators, and horror-influenced graphic designers for limited-run items.
For example, some 2025 collections have featured:
Custom skull art from underground illustrators
Collab pieces with tattoo-inspired artists out of New Orleans
Designs referencing punk flyers, horror zines, and 90s Southern rap tapes
This not only gives fresh energy to the merch but helps support other creatives who share the duo’s artistic DNA. These collabs often result in limited-edition pieces—like hand-numbered shirts or one-time hoodie runs.
The G59 Influence: A Consistent Visual Language
Everything the $uicideboy$ team designs falls under the visual umbrella of G59 Records, their independent label. G59’s branding is now part of every major merch release, either visibly or subtly.
Designers working under G59 maintain a strict vibe: bleak, raw, anti-mainstream, and emotional. Even when drops are professionally printed and globally shipped, the intention is always to maintain that underground energy.
From skull motifs to spiritual warfare references, the visual language of 2025 merch is tight, controlled, and unmistakably G59. Even when other brands try to copy the vibe, it rarely hits the same.
Fans Play a Role Too
One thing that’s rarely talked about is how much fans influence the designs indirectly. Through TikTok fits, Reddit polls, and Instagram reposts, the XPLR team sees what fans wear most, what sells fastest, and what gets people talking.
Are oversized fits still in?
Which graphics go viral?
What items get the most unboxings on YouTube?
Design decisions for 2025 drops are often made by watching the fan community’s reaction. It’s not just about art—it’s about movement, culture, and hype.
Quality Has Leveled Up in 2025
The design process isn’t just about graphics anymore—it’s also about garment quality. In 2025, $uicideboy$ hoodies are made with thicker cotton fleece, better stitching, and pre-shrunk sizing to avoid fit issues. Shirts are no longer thin g59 merch blanks—they’ve upgraded to premium fabrics with custom dyeing.
Designers work alongside production teams to make sure each item isn’t just visually appealing—it feels good, holds up in the wash, and matches the premium price tag fans are willing to pay.
Final Thoughts: It’s Still Personal, Even If It’s Professional
So, who designs the $uicideboy$ merch in 2025?
It’s a collaboration.
It’s a system.
But it’s still personal.
Scrim and Ruby may not be manually placing skulls in Photoshop anymore, but their vision remains at the heart of every hoodie and shirt. Backed by the XPLR merch team, boosted by collaborators, and shaped by fan feedback, the current merch world feels like an evolved version of what they started years ago.
In short: it’s still theirs.
And that’s exactly why fans keep lining up drop after drop—because the art, the meaning, and the culture are still embedded in every thread.