Wax Poetics has officially launched 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 alongside 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 marks the first time Grant has offered material from his archive publicly.
The auction is now live and will remain open 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 member’s approval for 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 and was never sold commercially.
The archive also documents Wu-Tang’s early connection to skate culture during the golden era of 1990s New York hip-hop:
- 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, along with the gray “W” logo, Raekwon branding, and Wu-Tang Clan insignias. Fitted with a set of branded 52mm wheels—one of only 25 sets produced—from a limited run of 150 decks. Skateboarding legend Chad Muska rode this skateboard during a 2002 demonstration before he and Raekwon signed it with personal inscriptions.
- 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 pre-9/11 New York skyline, including the World Trade Center Twin Towers, Empire State Building, and Brooklyn Bridge.
- REZIN x WU WORLD Handmade Wooden Glasses: Created exclusively for members of Wu-Tang and their inner circle around 2013–14. Never released commercially, the glasses include their original suede-lined cork case and limited-edition presentation box.
Alongside the auction, Wax Poetics has published an exclusive 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.
“It is a pleasure to be working with Duane, whose 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 breadth, 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!”
Auction Details
Dates: Live Now – Monday, September 14, 2026 (Closes at 3 PM ET)
Bidding Link: https://waxpoetics.com/collections/shaolin-style
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