The brand also recently opened a location in San Francisco, and has plans for a New York store.

It is difficult to tell if the “cool” patois used by Skunkfunk in referring to its brand is clichéd because it is a translation problem (maybe), because it’s one of those confusing so-lame-it’s-cool things (unlikely), or because it is simply a brand that, regardless of the stylishness of its actual products, traffics in messaging clichés (more than likely).

Even more curious is that Skunkfunk seems altogether aware that its messaging reads like the combined thinking of the most boring marketing executive of all time and an overzealous 16-year-old with a limited vocabulary, and yet, it forges ahead anyway. In the brand’s own words, and quotations, about itself: “Skunkfunk is all about 'keeping it real'. At Skunkfunk, we do not 'follow the herd' with our fashion lines. We produce a range of 'multi-funktional' garments—for example clothes that are reversible and detachable.” “Funktional?” That pun actually hurts to look at. And the self-aware messaging is so ungainly that it has to be poor translation.

It’s noteworthy that Skunkfunk.com is really Style.com as a Second Language. For its purposes, this web site profile uses the English version; but Skunkfunk.com is available in two other languages, Spanish and Euskara, the latter being a language of the Basque region of Spain.

Other than its ad-nauseous brand statements (see above), it is particularly difficult to elaborate on, or define, exactly what Skunfunk’s brand is. The brand itself really doesn’t go very far to map out exactly “who” it is, leaving it to individuals to decide for themselves based on the random fashions on show. To me, Skunkfunk’s general brand is a neo-hippy b-boy Zara.

To Skunkfunk.com’s credit, it is refreshingly Flash-free and navigable by even the most brain-dead half-wit. If this amateurishness were intentional it might be genius. It is not intentional. The brand’s site is about as unprofessional as it gets. And not in that highly-designed professional way that’s meant to look unprofessional. It‘s just sloppy and, frankly, embarrassing. Sections appear to be thrown together willy-nilly. The photos in the viewers are often stretched out and distorted. There are dead links (“the funk blog: check the latest posts !!”) and sections that lead to areas where the main nav disappears (“Street Casting”). Though, in Skunfunk’s defense, what navigation is easier and more universal than the “Back” button?

The site isn’t completely without a charm or two. The “lookbook” is a marvel of clean presentation. And in a move that really more brands should try, the “video” section gives a taste and then just sends users looking for more to Skunkfunk’s YouTube page.

As with the brand as a whole, Skunkfunk.com is largely devoid of any kind of a true brand vision. A general color palate is not a strategy. Maybe in Euskara “skunkfunk” means “can’t be bothered.” Then again, maybe the brand’s relative absence is a result of being in a “funk” after a little too much Amsterdam “skunk.”

Then again the brand’s apparent disinterest in investing in its web presence may simply be the most literal translation of Skunkfunk founder Mikel Feijoo Elzo’s official brand statement: “At Skunkfunk, our aim is to 'keep it real'. We don't invest in expensive advertising campaigns, which would only result in our clothes increasing in price. This way we leave some change in your pockets.”