Shirt Heads: Pete Versus Toby

A t-shirt label by doof-addicted rappers based in Australia's premier resort for hippies and schoolies—the Australian name for the vacation kids take when they finish school for the final time—probably sounds awful, but for some reason, these t-shirts from Pete Versus Toby are actually pretty fresh.

Pete Versus Toby top, vintage pants; vintage leggings

When and why did you start doing this whole ying-yang, one black and one white shoe?
I was in Japan with my girlfriend and she bought me a pair of white BAPEs and I had just bought a pair of black Air Force 1, and as they were the practically the same as BAPE copied the Air Force 1, I just wore one of each and it looked epic. Little kids love it.

In your Pete Versus Toby video, you said the label is meant to inspire fearlessness.
You've gotta be comfortable being uncomfortable. For us, anything is possible. We handmade this shit—hand wrote the labels and hand-screened the tees.

Also, you're big on being athletic, correct?
Yeah, go to the beach, play some sport, if you feel like it. Too many fashion guys and artists are unhealthy and it shows in their art. T-shirt design is athletic art. The canvas is bouncing around on peoples' chests all over the street and that's super-athletic. T-shirt art actually has a living human  proudly wearing it.

Pete Versus Toby top, vintage leggings

How much of the print design do you do? I see that some are done by other artists.
I do, like, 75 percent, I guess. Lately, I've been trying to help my artist friends Raina, Karla, Lex, and Keeny get their artwork together for prints to get them out there so their art isn't just sitting in a sketchbook or on their wall. It's different each time. For some reason, Raina hates money and he loves giving me art for prints. Karla, well, I used to buy weed from her and we used to live together for ages, so she gives me her art. Lex and Keeny are pretty much my big brothers and wouldn't even ask me to pay for a pizza in their pizza shop. The only lad we ever paid for a design is New Jersey-based, NOFX cover art designer, Mike Bukowski.

How Aussie is Pete Versus Toby?
One day I made a conscious decision to make indigenous aesthetics cool. All these Sydney hipsters were wearing Native American and Asian symbols, but no streetwear brand or art collective was even touching on Australian indigenous culture. How can you forget that Australia is home to one of the oldest cultures in the world?

Pete Versus Toby top, vintage pants, Nike shoes

So lastly, what is your fascination with Mark "Chopper" Read?
He was in jail for a lot of gangland stuff, then they released him and he turned into a good-bad guy. Like the cops allowed him to kill all the bad gang members once he was out. His whole body is covered in jail tattoos and his style has been a massive influence on Aussie youth. Eric Bana played "Chopper" Read in the movie Chopper and it's absolutely amazing. Chopper's not ripped like Bana in the movie, he's more like flubber. There is this massive street art festival in Sydney right now and the main lad Anthony Lister is headlining it as our best young artist. Well, last week me and him were skating around the cross in Sydney and he brings up "Chopper" Read for no reason. You know, he's Australia's underground style icon.

PHOTOS: DAVID RICHARDSON

STYLING: VERONICA SO

MODELS: GAFFY GAFFIERO, JAMES MANNING