Amsterdam-based fashion brand Scotch & Soda released a collection this week that is inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat and features some of the artist’s work. The collection is a partnership with the Basquiat estate, via the global licensing agency Artestar.
In a press release, Scotch & Soda said that like Basquiat, who is best known for bold paintings featuring dozens of different figures and colors in energetic and at times chaotic compositions that drew inspiration from 1980s “New York City’s rich culture,” it too draws from “the vibrant culture of Amsterdam as an ever-evolving source of inspiration.”
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The collection, first announced last year, offers options in both men’s, women’s, and children. Included in the collection are a blue short-sleeve button-up, a Breton-striped long-sleeve T-shirt, and jeans that feature embroidery of Basquiat’s signature three-point, gold crown and a sketch of a person’s eyes, nose, and mouth. Also on sale are T-shirts, hoodies, baseball hats, and a light-blue souvenir jacket, all with the Basquiat crown.
The centerpiece of the collection are a series of items made from a print of Basquiat’s 1987 painting Unbreakable, an all-over painting the features different swaths of colors, Basquiat’s figures, different types of signage, and the titular word. The brand called the painting “a natural fit” for the way it embraces “imperfection and mixing street culture with refined craftsmanship. It reflects a spirit of confidence shaped by experience and strength that comes not from being untouched, but from enduring and evolving,” according to a release.
Items from the collection are already available for purchase on Scoth & Soda’s website, with prices ranging from $36 (for a T-shirt) and $48 (for a ribbed tank), on the low end, to $228 (for an Unbreakable pullover sweatshirt) and $268 (for the souvenir jacket) on the high end.
In a statement, Joey Gabbay, the CEO of the Scotch & Soda’s parent company, said, “At Scotch & Soda we celebrate individuality, authenticity and self-expression and Basquiat’s raw and energetic artwork falls very much in line with that ethos. Through this collection, his masterpieces are reimagined, merging his bold artistic language with our signature design DNA to create pieces that are expressive and creative.”
