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All Images Throughout Are Property Of All-Time-High
Founded by DJ David “EXCEL” Alper and Frank Barouti, the Los Angeles label pulls from vintage clothing, military references, washed fabrics, and relaxed proportions that fit naturally around club culture.
Plenty of clothing brands can be pulled into a nightlife conversation with the right styling. ALL-TIME HIGH launched back in 2021 and already has that connection built in, and that is what made me want to spend time with its current collection.
The Los Angeles label was founded by David Alper, known professionally as EXCEL, and Frank Barouti. ALL-TIME HIGH says the company grew from their shared interest in streetwear, vintage clothing, and Americana, while Barouti brought prior experience developing bags and leather goods for motorcycle customers from Los Angeles to Tokyo. The brand also works with local sewers and dye and wash houses, using natural dyes, hand fading, custom washes, and fabrics sourced in the US and Japan.
EXCEL brings another reference point that puts the clothes into a very specific context. His official bio describes him as a DJ with 20 years of international nightclub experience, including residencies in Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Iowa City, and Atlantic City. He is now based in Los Angeles and the video from his Instgram in the following section certainly shows he can walk the walk of all his accolades lacing te aforemntioend bio.
That does not mean every garment from ALL-TIME HIGH should automatically be labeled “club clothing” though…
What interests me is almost the opposite because the brand doesn’t seem to be designing a prescribed uniform for people who go out as much as it makes clothes informed by military garments, collegiate clothing, old workwear, sports references, and vintage pieces, then adjusts the fits, fabrics, washes, and proportions in ways that happen to translate extremely well to nights spent around music.
Nightlife clothing usually works better when it does less
I have written about this before in my piece on choosing clothing for festival and club-culture settings, because dressing for music spaces usually gets better once you stop treating “clubwear” as a separate category.
A good outfit needs to work before you enter the venue, inside the room, and once you leave several hours later. For DJs and producers, there may also be dinner beforehand, soundcheck, equipment to move, people to meet, photos being taken, and a very late ride back to the hotel.
That tends to push me toward wider shirts, relaxed pants, shorter jackets, and clothing that already has some visual character before you add graphics or accessories. ALL-TIME HIGH does that combination really well.
The Hemp Tee in Rinsed Black is probably the easiest place to start. It uses seven-ounce hemp cotton jersey with an oversized fit and slightly cropped body, then gets individually faded and enzyme-washed. It is made in the US and currently sells for $115.
On paper, those measurements tell you quite a lot about why the shirt works around nightlife. Going wider while keeping the body slightly shorter creates room across the shoulders without leaving excessive fabric hanging below the waist. That proportion works especially well with fuller trousers, and it also sits properly beneath jackets that finish closer to the hip.
The faded black is another detail I like here. Black clothing around club culture can become painfully predictable, so having variation in the surface helps without turning the shirt into a graphic piece. You still get something restrained, yet the wash gives the fabric enough detail to look considered under direct venue lighting or in artist photos.
The chopped long sleeve gets the proportions right
The Lifeguard Chopped Longsleeve in Rinsed Black takes the same general idea and pushes it further.
ALL-TIME HIGH builds it from nine-ounce interlock cotton jersey, with an oversized fit, slightly cropped body, and unfinished chopped bottom hem. Each shirt is individually faded and enzyme washed, it is made in the US, and the current price is $155.
This is probably the piece I would reach for first if I were dressing specifically for a club night.
Long sleeves are great during the walk to the venue or the hours spent moving around the city beforehand, though a conventional heavy long-sleeve shirt can become annoying once the room warms up. The wider body here should give the torso some room, while the cropped length keeps the proportions from becoming cumbersome.
It also has enough identity by itself. You could wear it with black trousers, faded denim, or something wider through the leg without needing another graphic or logo to finish the outfit.
Oversized clothing crosses the line between relaxed and sloppy pretty quickly, and shorter body lengths are one of the easiest ways to keep it under control.
The Belted Moto Pants are where the vintage references become interesting
The Belted Moto Pants in Grey show the other side of ALL-TIME HIGH.
The brand says the design began with 1940s French military motorcycle overpants. ALL-TIME HIGH retained the high rise and wide leg, then revised the pockets and removed military details it felt were unnecessary for regular wear. The current version uses nine-ounce cotton canvas, a self-fabric belt, antique metal buttons, a full leg, and a stone wash, with cutting and sewing handled in Los Angeles. They are currently priced at $210, reduced from $350.
This is exactly the kind of piece I think translates well into dance music culture without trying to imitate dance music culture.
Wide military trousers have enough presence to carry an outfit, especially beside a shorter tee or jacket, yet the grey canvas keeps them away from formal tailoring. The stone wash also means they arrive with less of that rigid new-garment appearance, which fits the broader ALL-TIME HIGH approach.
For a DJ, there is also something appealing about trousers that allow plenty of movement without relying on technical fabrics, zippers everywhere, or the visual language of performance clothing. They feel closer to clothes you would choose because you like them, which is usually where personal style becomes much easier.
The Marcos Sashiko Jacket handles the hours around the club
Nightlife clothing also needs to account for the part of the night people rarely photograph.
You leave the studio in the evening, spend time outside the venue, go somewhere afterward, then find yourself standing on a sidewalk much later than planned. A good outer layer earns its place during those hours.
The Marcos Sashiko Jacket in Rinsed Black uses 13-ounce Japanese cotton sashiko with an oversized, boxy, slightly cropped fit. ALL-TIME HIGH adds a Riri zipper, mixed antique-metal buttons, two front pockets, and an enzyme wash. It currently sells for $378.
Again, the proportions are what pull me toward it for nightlife. A wider jacket can sit over an oversized tee without bunching around the shoulders, while the shorter body keeps the silhouette controlled.
Sashiko also gives the fabric visible texture without relying on large branding. In a darker room, where tiny design details disappear pretty quickly, surface and proportion often communicate considerably better than another small chest logo.
Summer nightlife gets the same treatment
ALL-TIME HIGH carries the same approach into warmer clothing with its Japanese Twill Shorts in Black.
They use nine-ounce Japanese cotton twill with an elastic waistband, cotton drawstring, individual fading, and an enzyme wash. The fit is oversized, with the hem intended to fall just below the knee on most wearers, and the shorts are made in the US. The current price is $265.
That longer, wider short is especially relevant for summer parties, outdoor events, and club nights where jeans feel like unnecessary punishment.
I also like that ALL-TIME HIGH carries the proportions consistently from the tops into the bottoms. The wider Hemp Tee or chopped Lifeguard shirt can sit against a longer short without one half of the outfit looking disconnected from the other.
That consistency is a big part of why the collection feels appropriate for music culture. You can take one or two pieces and work them into clothes you already own, rather than buying an entire prescribed outfit.
Why ALL-TIME HIGH fits dance music culture
ALL-TIME HIGH launched its first collection in 2021, and its current range still follows many of the references established early on, including washed garments, oversized fits, varsity elements, military influences, and denim. The company says it presented a collection in Paris during Fashion Week in January 2026, while its Summer 2026 range continues with hemp tees, chopped long sleeves, twill shorts, and related pieces.
That consistency is probably the part I find most convincing.
EXCEL’s history in clubs gives ALL-TIME HIGH an authentic proximity to nightlife, yet the clothes do not depend on that biography to work. The cuts, washes, fabrics, and references already fit naturally with how DJs, producers, and regular clubgoers dress.
You don’t need to print a waveform across the back, add fluorescent branding, or tell everyone within ten feet that the wearer has attended a warehouse party.
ALL-TIME HIGH understands something simpler. People around music tend to pull clothing from the culture they already care about, then wear it their own way. For a Los Angeles label founded in part by someone who has spent 20 years inside clubs, that feels like exactly the right place to start.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
