FROM THE STREET TO THE CATWALK: AN INTERVIEW WITH APPARELSY

Gordo Pelota, Demsky, 2Shy, Poundland Bandit are a select group of artists with one thing in common: they’ve all collaborated with a young clothing brand that burst onto the street art scene less than a year ago. Its name is Apparelsy and its objective is to project all the creativity of different graffiti and street artists on clothing and accessories. Although it’s hard to pin down a specific house style, each release is the result of an adaptation of the artists’ vision to the product. Creatives as different as Enrique Escandell, Dirty1984 and Marina Marco have demonstrated a versatility of aesthetics and concepts that takes one step further with their latest drop in conjunction with train writer Shiat.

“Of course there is a relationship between art and street wear, and one has been constantly nurtured by the other, like in the case of music or skateboarding.”

How do you define Apparelsy?
Apparelsy is a brand that links art to clothing, other types of accessories, in different ways.

What does this brand offer that other streetwear brands don’t?
We aim to make the ideal match between artist and article, with a lot of curating and production work.

Is there a parallel between the evolution of urban art and street wear?
We don’t know if there is a parallel, but of course there is a relationship, and one has been constantly nurtured by the other, like in the case of music or skateboarding, to give a couple more examples.

“On the one hand, we have to consider the commercial success of the product, but on the other hand we want to collaborate with artists who don’t have a great capacity to sell on their own but who, in our opinion, do a very good job.”

Can you outline the creative process behind each garment?
The creative process can be summarized in two main ways of working. Sometimes we find a garment, develop and size it up, and then find the right artist. Alternatively, the process is reversed, starting with an artist we want to work with and then deciding on the item. In both processes there are phases of development, suppliers, feasibility, documentation and a long list of things that are always behind the scenes.

Is there a collaboration that you are especially proud of?
We are honestly happy with all the releases, regardless of how they sold. If we are proud of something, it’s to be creating an identity and establishing a way of working. And right now what excites us is the next release, as is normally the case.

What’s the point of working with underground artists?
This answer is complicated. On the one hand, we have to consider the commercial success of the product, but on the other hand we want to collaborate with artists who don’t have a great capacity to sell on their own but who, in our opinion, do a very good job. We consider that finding a balance is the key.

“If we had to talk about difficulties, perhaps it would be with Poundland Bandit, since he makes memes and that’s a little outside our field of expertise.”

How did you come up with the name of the brand?
We put a thousand ideas in the mix that we combined with each other, using compound names, invented words, testing them graphically. In the end Apparelsy worked for us, maybe as a reference to American Apparel and Artsy … hahahah

Which artist was most difficult to collaborate with, and why?
Dealing with all the artists has been very easy for us. If we had to talk about difficulties, perhaps it would be with Poundland Bandit, since he makes memes and that’s a little outside our field of expertise.

Which drop had the most impact, and why?
Demsky’s towel. It sold out very quickly and we’ve had a lot of requests since. We think he understood how to adapt his work to the element very well and it worked perfectly.

Is there any news of future releases that you can tell us about? Any upcoming collaborations?
We’re just about to release a sweatshirt designed by Shiat. One of the kings of unapologetic graffiti who is committed to painting a lot and producing little else outside of graffiti, so we are excited to produce his first clothing drop. The design features the “ace of gold”, the top card in the Spanish suit, to create a funny reference to graffiti and its own kings. It’s available for preorder today Wednesday 3rd March!