Dudes Camp Out for Fashion: Pink Dolphin's New Store Opening

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• Christian Gonzalez, junior in high school
• Nick Velazquez, student
• Chris Dominici, military
• Ali Azimi, student and DJ
• Victor Palmer, student
• Preston Harty, student
• Zach Hunt, promoter
• Jared Brawley, student
• Ben Ferguson, student
• Irvin Reyes, student

If you happened to drive through the Haight Friday night or early Saturday morning, you would have noticed a growing line of fashionably hip young men (and a few women) rounding the 1400 block. They weren't lining up for a hot new club or an iPhone. It was the opening of Pink Dolphin, a street-wear brand that makes limited quantities and never reprints stock from its brightly-colored clothing line. The founders and owners, Neima Khaila and Cena Barhaghi, began the brand in the Bay before moving to LA to open the first flagship a little over a year ago. Now Pink Dolphin is in 320 stories in the US and in 17 countries, and they're back in SF to open their second flagship at 1431 Haight.

Neima and Cena grew the company organically, collaborating with brands and musical artists for broad exposure across the various pop culture spheres. The limited releases created a cult following. The first patron to enter the SF store on Saturday was Christian Gonzalez (pictured above), whose mother slept in the car waiting for him for two nights so he could be first in line. "My mom is crazy for doing this with me, but awesome too. Pink Dolphin is inspiring and positive and [it encourages] individuality," said Gonzalez. With such a devoted following, we had to ask, "What future collaborations for Pink Dolphin would take this brand allegiance to the next level?"
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