WAX POETICS PRESENTS SHAOLIN STYLE: A 30-YEAR DESIGN ARCHIVE
RARE PROTOTYPES AND ARTIFACTS FROM WU WEAR PIONEER DUANE GRANT HEAD TO AUCTION
LED BY A ONE-OF-FOUR ALLOY WHEEL MADE FOR RAEKWON’S BMW X5, THE COLLECTION TRACES ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTIST BRANDS IN THE WORLD.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Wax Poetics
New York, NY (August 26, 2026) – Wax Poetics announces Shaolin Style: The Duane Grant Archive, a new archival auction featuring rare and largely unseen artifacts from the personal collection of Staten Island designer and entrepreneur Duane Grant.
Developed with his late cousin Oliver “Power” Grant, the archive documents the creation of Wu Wear and the expansion of the Wu-Tang Clan identity into fashion, video games, skateboarding, eyewear, and automotive design. Many of the items are prototypes, artist-only editions, or concepts that never reached commercial production. This is the first time Grant has offered material from his archive publicly.
The auction opens Wednesday, August 26th at 9 AM ET and will remain live through Monday, September 14th at 3 PM ET. View the collection HERE.
At the center of the auction is a one-of-four prototype alloy wheel made in 2000 for Wu-Tang Wheels, the planned collaboration between the Wu-Tang Clan’s business circle and Raceline Wheels/Allied Wheel Components.
Built around the iconic Wu-Tang “W,” the 20-inch alloy wheel was fitted to Raekwon’s BMW X5 and used in promotional photography at the height of early-2000s custom-rim culture. The project never made it to market, making the wheel a rare artifact of an unrealized effort to extend the Wu identity into automotive design.
The wheel was signed backstage in 2025 by Raekwon, RZA, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. It also carries signatures from Cappadonna, Mathematics, Mitchell “Divine” Diggs, and Loud Records founder Steve Rifkind. It is offered with a unique promotional poster featuring Raekwon and U-God with the BMW X5.
“This is the original rim prototype that we did when we started the partnership,” Grant says. “This is the actual prototype that we put on Rae’s X5 for the rollout. It was set for the BMW X5, because that was the hot truck back then in 2000.”
Grant was 18 when Power enlisted him to help create merchandise for the emerging Wu-Tang movement. Their earliest pieces were simple Hanes hoodies with “W” stickers attached that were handed out throughout Staten Island to get the name and logo seen in the streets.
That grassroots project developed into Wu Wear, the pioneering apparel company and Staten Island retail store launched in the mid-1990s. Beginning with locally printed T-shirts and hoodies, the company expanded into cut-and-sew apparel, denim, outerwear, and its signature velour suits before securing a prominent window presentation at Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street. This Macy’s presentation was spearheaded by none other than Cynamin Jones, who became the backbone of Wu Wear.
Wu Wear helped establish a model now central to popular music: an artist-led brand as something more than tour merchandise. It was an early example of a hip-hop brand at the intersection of music, gaming, streetwear, skateboarding and product design.
“When we first saw the ‘W,’ we knew it was something,” Grant recalls. “We knew we could do something with this. We could start a movement.”
The Duane Grant collection traces the ambition behind that movement through the projects Duane and Power developed together.
Among the featured lots are two artist-only jackets made in 2024 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style, the PlayStation fighting game co-executive produced by Duane and Power.
Released by Activision in 1999, Shaolin Style allowed players to compete as the group’s nine core members. Creating the game required each members’ approval for his character design, fighting style, special moves, and other details.
One jacket is Duane Grant’s personal “Executive Producer” edition, made from goat suede and featuring chenille Wu-Tang insignia, a custom satin lining, and references to the original PlayStation controller. It is one of only two examples with “Executive Producer” embroidery and is offered with an original four-page Activision royalty statement dated August 15, 2001.
The second is an unworn Merino-wool and Italian-leather jacket personalized for Raekwon. Featuring his signature “R” emblem, “Chef” embroidery, a chenille Killer Bee insignia, and references to the 1999 game. It is the only “Chef” edition produced. This jacket was never sold commercially.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Wax Poetics
The archive also documents Wu-Tang’s early connection to skate culture during the golden era of 1990s New York hip-hop.
A limited-edition 2001–02 Vision Street Wear skateboard features a black-and-white silhouette of Raekwon taken from the back cover of the 2000 album, The W. Its design also includes the gray “W” logo, along with logos from Raekwon, Wu Tang Clan, and “WU” in yellow.
The complete deck is fitted with a set of branded 52mm wheels–one of only 25 sets produced and never sold commercially. The deck itself came from an edition of 150 and was part of a nine-board series representing the group’s core members.
Skateboarding legend Chad Muska rode this skateboard during a 2002 demonstration before he and Raekwon signed it with personal inscriptions. Their connection followed a chance meeting in Los Angeles and later led to appearances by Raekwon and U-God on Muska’s 2003 album Muskabeatz.
Also included is a 1997 Wu-Tang Hard Good Company “Spotlight” deck, one of 150 produced for Wu-Tang’s first venture into skateboarding. Its comic-book-style graphic depicts the “W” projected over the New York skyline, including the World Trade Center Twin Towers, Empire State Building, and Brooklyn Bridge.
The deck is both an early document of hip-hop’s relationship with skate culture and an artifact of pre-9/11 New York City.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Wax Poetics
Completing the featured lots is a pair of handmade REZIN x WU WORLD wooden glasses created exclusively for members of Wu-Tang and their inner circle around 2013–14. Never released commercially, the glasses retain their suede-lined cork case and original limited-edition presentation box. Additional pieces from Grant’s archive will be available as part of the full collection.
Alongside the auction, Wax Poetics will publish an interview in which Grant discusses Wu Wear’s grassroots origins, the move from Staten Island’s Victory Boulevard to Manhattan’s Fashion Avenue, and the projects that carried the Wu identity into new cultural spaces. READ/WATCH HERE
The items document some of the ideas Power and Duane pursued, some commercially successful, others left as prototypes, and their early vision for how hip-hop could move into fashion, gaming, and the wider culture.
“It is a pleasure to be working with Duane, who’s front row seat and experience helped build the modern hip-hop culture we all know.” Says David Holt, Chief Brand Officer of Wax Poetics. “The items really show the breath, ambition and smart cultural thinking behind the Wu brand plus how it naturally rolled from gaming to skate to fashion and beyond. Something many brands wish they could do today!”
Wax Poetics curates authenticated music artifacts and memorabilia sourced from artists, producers, estates, collectors, and the people who helped shape music history. Each collection pairs significant objects with original editorial, giving collectors the context and provenance behind the material.
SHAOLIN STYLE: THE DUANE GRANT ARCHIVE
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Wax Poetics
Wednesday, August 26, 2026 – Monday, September 14, 2026 | Bidding opens at 9 AM ET and closes at 3 PM ET
https://waxpoetics.com/collections/shaolin-style
The Duane Grant Archive is the latest in a series of Wax Poetics auctions, following its record-breaking Mariah Carey demo tape sale and collections featuring rare Tupac and Coldplay material from Ge-ology, Arthur Baker, Jimmy Douglass, Chris Allison, Bootsy Collins, Louie Vega, and more.
ABOUT WAX POETICS
Since 2001, Wax Poetics has delivered deep-dive journalism centered on record-collecting culture and the stories behind influential music movements. Wax Poetics has evolved into a premier music collectibles marketplace, connecting artists, collectors, and fans through rare and historically significant memorabilia, archival releases, and editorial storytelling.
ABOUT DUANE GRANT
Duane Grant is a Staten Island–born designer and entrepreneur who worked alongside his cousin, the late Oliver “Power” Grant, to develop Wu Wear and expand the visual identity surrounding Wu-Tang into fashion, gaming, skateboarding, and product design. Grant also co-executive produced the 1999 PlayStation game Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style with Activision, and Queen Ruby Holdings, which was named after Oliver and Duanes’ late grandmother. Duane currently designs for many brands, and is one of the founding partners in the high end brand Michael Vennetta.
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