Amanda Cuik sat in her high school art club, eyeing the acrylic paints.

“I may as well,” she thought to herself, laying her denim jacket down on the table and gathering the supplies she would need to paint the logo of her favorite record label, WeDidIt, onto its back.

That was just the beginning — Cuik, now a sophomore in Steinhardt, has been gradually adding creative elements to her jacket ever since.

“Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to get members of the record label to sign it which is really cool,” she said. “They took me behind, like backstage and all signed it for me and … gave me free merch and patches, so I put the [patch] here.”

What started as a lucky find from a thrift store in Omaha, Neb. has since become the most meaningful piece in Cuik’s closet.

Cuik, who is in her second year studying music business at NYU, first came across WeDidIt when she was around 10, and the Los Angeles-based label has been an important part of her life ever since. 

“My favorite artist/producer — he’s one of the creators of it, his name is Shlohmo […] it’s a really small indie record label and they’re all really nice,” she said. “Every time I’ve run into them or spoken to them they’ve been amazing and always interested in what I’m doing and trying to help me in the music industry […] I love their music, I love what they’re doing and they’ve inspired me with my own career into the music industry.” 

The record label is so important to Cuik, in fact, that she has the WeDidIt logo tattooed onto her. 

Her jacket boasts signatures from various members of the label, including Shlohmo, RL Grime, D33J, Groundislava and Nick Melons. But despite its significance to her, Cuik rarely wears the jacket anymore. 

“A year and a half ago it was definitely my personal style. Now, it’s just a special thing that I have in my closet and kinda look at sometimes” she said.

For the special occasions she decides to put it on or wear it, Cuik opts for a simpler outfit — like a white tank top, jeans and sneakers. 

In addition to her love for WeDidIt’s music and artists, Cuik looks up to them professionally as a music business major who aspires to work in the live music industry.

“They used to do live streams through Boiler Room, which is another company that I love […] and have different artists come,” she said. “That’s something that I really want to do, the whole warehouse, underground music, live event or concert type thing.”

Cuik already has her foot in the music industry door as co-chair of NYU Program Board’s New Music committee, through which she has booked artists like 100 Gecs, Alice Longyu Gao and MICHELLE, among others.

Although Cuik has customized other articles of clothing and shoes before, this particular jacket stands out from all the rest. “None of my other pieces hold so much value to me,” she said.

Email Olivia Gonzalez at [email protected].