Meet MunfuProffitt, a Member of Lids’ Fitted Class

What are you known for in the fitted hat community? Pushing boundaries. That’s kind of what we brought to table. My thing was making two-tone hats at a time where a lot of people didn’t like two-tone hats. I started using different materials. I came out with corduroy hats at the time people weren’t making corduroy hats like that. Then nobody had a two-tone corduroy hat. I made four of them, and everybody loved them. After that, a lot of people started using different materials outside of just polyester and wool.

How did you get into fitted hats? I went to college for textile apparel design. I wanted [to make] a brand, but I thought about it, and I was like, I’m never going to be Polo. As much as that sounds crazy to not have confidence, I know that I can’t recreate Polo. Hats was a way to get back into fashion, and it was something that I’ve always been into. So, I expanded that, broadened my horizons, and put my foot in the door.

What makes a great fitted hat? Originality. Simplicity. I like things that are timeless. I like things that, even if they’re different, they might be pushing a different boundary right now. Ten years from now, it’s still going to look good.

What’s the most valuable hat you have? The one I created [that’s most valuable] would be a Seattle crossover. It’s a Seattle Supersonics crossover on a Seattle Mariners hat. I would say the two most important hats are Frosty Preme Pink and Blue Bottoms that represent his mother and him with breast cancer. Then Pink Bottoms changed for the hats that made today’s current fitted hats, fitted hats. He’s the person that did that.

The second most important fitted would be Manolo Prado’s Red Clay hat. That single-handedly created panic and made everybody go to every store and want to buy every single hat that they sold.

Why are fitted hats important to fashion and personal style? Hip-hop culture is what made fitteds popular, made fitted a trend where it’s just common for everybody. I think every Black kid growing up in a hood, we all grow up seeing people that we like or coming from teams or players that we like. And we always want to represent that. Whether it’s a jersey, a hat, a T-shirt that got Michael Jordan on it. I feel like hats are that, and now it made it bigger.

How have fitteds played a role in hip-hop culture? I would say all fashion is derived from hip-hop. And if it’s not derived hip-hop, it’s derived from Black culture. It’s something that all of us naturally grew up with. It kind of goes without saying. All of our favorite rappers, whether it’s 50 Cent, they’re all wearing the hat that represents where they’re from. So, that’s really what it is, and it represents where you come from and what you want to represent.