I got the chance to speak to the founder of pop culture-infused streetwear brand HYPLAND, Jordan Bentley, about his journey creating the company and his vision for its future after opening his first physical store in Los Angeles.
HYPLAND is an exciting and stylish crossroads where nerd culture meets street fashion. The brand has skyrocketed in popularity over the last few years thanks to its collaborations with major anime series and video game titles, such as its recent line of officially licensed Street Fighter clothing that launched in Spring 2024.
After bagging so many important franchises, HYPLAND has secured its first-ever physical store in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, which celebrated its grand opening on June 8. Fans lined up in a long queue outside of the building, which also featured a tent where customers could get a flash tattoo based on popular anime and manga.
The inside of the shop is nothing short of a gamer’s wet dream. The walls are decorated with tons of plushies from titles like Pokemon and Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as a massive arcade cabinet where up to four players can go head-to-head in games like Soul Calibur and more.
On top of that, there’s a spacious gaming lounge in the center of the store, which Jordan told me he hopes to grow into a place where the community can come together for tournaments and events in the future.
Bentley, who’s been featured on Forbes’ 30 under 30, excitedly communed with customers in front of his store, taking photos and answering questions as though he wasn’t the man of the hour and merely another fan celebrating a brand he loves.
I spoke to Jordan about his history with HYPLAND and where he plans to take the brand in the years ahead — a company that he first started back in 2010 when he was merely 14 years old.
“I kind of grew up around it,” he told me. “I got a silkscreen machine as a gift in the eighth grade for Christmas. I used to draw a lot. So naturally, I was just drawing stuff and trying to print it on T-shirts. I was selling T-shirts in high school, which was a fun hobby at first, and then it turned into an actual business as I got a little older.”
At first, HYPLAND was just a streetwear company. Bentley wouldn’t snag his first anime collab until 2018, which he says started after he had a dream about collaborating with the late Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Z.
“I had a dream that I had a collaboration with Dragon Ball Z. That next morning, I went out and made a bunch of designs. My mom was like, ‘No, you have to do it right. Go out and get the right collaborations.’ I fought her on it tooth and nail, but she ended up being right.”
HYPLAND’s first anime launch would center around BLEACH, and it was off to the races from there. “It just kind of opened my eyes to how I could service the community and give them something new, really,” he explained.
Anime fans and gamers are well-acquainted with the boring T-shirts and hoodies that are often made as officially licensed merchandise from their favorite IPs. HYPLAND aims to challenge and change this norm, offering fans stylish clothing they’ll feel confident wearing while also repping their favorite shows and games.
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However, it’s not easy getting a deal with some of these iconic anime series. “Japan is very particular,” Jordan admitted. “It’s interesting. It’s a lot of learning. At first, it was a big creative adjustment because I’m used to being creative and kind of doing whatever I want. Working with Japan and these anime companies, everybody has rules, things that they really want to be a part of. It’s an adjustment, but now I feel like I’m even more creative, because now I can be super creative in a box or work with other people collaboratively and bring their vision to life.”
Thanks to all his hard work, HYPLAND is now one of the biggest streetwear names in the anime game, and it has a brick-and-mortar location to show for it. Jordan told me he was actually “nervous” about the grand opening — but he really had nothing to worry about, as oodles of fans showed up to support the brand and spend their cash on his clothes.
“It feels very surreal, honestly,” he told me. “This morning, I was super nervous. I was thinking people weren’t going to pull up. Then, my maintenance man sent a picture of the line down the street. So I was really excited about it, but I don’t know. I always get the jitters before every release ’cause I just never know how it’s going to go.”
For Jordan, connecting with the community in Los Angeles is the next big step in his mission with HYPLAND, which includes offering anime fans and gamers a place to connect and express themselves.
“It’s nice to be able to connect with my community,” he said. “LA is our biggest city, so it just made sense that our first store is in LA and the city that I’m from, in the city that really inspired the brand in the first place.
“I saw the store as a community meeting space more than anything else. It wasn’t designed to be a full-on store. It’s like, you know, you can shop, but I really want a place for people to kind of come hang out. I miss days like that when I was a kid going on Fairfax and Melrose and being able to hang and meet people and see what’s cool and see what people are interested in.
“I wanted to create an environment for the same space where I can have parties, pop-ups, gaming tournaments, you know, have a space for kids who are just fans of the brand to come out and just enjoy one another and meet people and be social, you know. I feel like we miss that with the internet now.”
As for the future of HYPLAND? Jordan says he wants to “bring some energy” to Little Tokyo, an area that’s bursting with Japanese pop culture, restaurants, and tourists.
“I’m really focused on growing the community in the store in LA. I want to do a lot more stuff in the area with other businesses and just brands in the neighborhood, bring some energy to this Little Tokyo community. Someone said it’s dying. I feel like it’s my job and responsibility to bring it back to life.”
That’s not all; Jordan also told me that there’s a “ton” of new collaborations and “really big moments” that are coming in the near future to coincide with the store’s grand opening — but for him, putting the fans first is what matters most.
“I feel like we haven’t reached our potential for how big we can get. So I’m really buckling down and just going to keep staying creative, building a community, and servicing the fans at the end of the day.”
