The t-shirt collection by 'Sup Magazine and Danish masters of laid-back streetwear Wood Wood is a perfect example of a collaboration done properly. I spoke to Marisa Brickman, editor at 'Sup, and Brian Jensen, one of the two head designers at Wood Wood, about their .
American Apparel SkirtVICE: So, what brought on the collaboration? 'Sup and Wood Wood have had a working relationship with each other for a while, right?
Marisa Brickman: Yeah, we first started distributing the magazine at the Berlin store about five years ago and once I set foot in there I fell in love. Wood Wood is a brand that I'd be happy to deck myself out in head to toe.What attracted you both to each other's work in the first place?
Brian Jensen: I just love the overall feel of 'Sup. It's sort of like a homemade zine, in that it feels like it's done purely out of love. Also, it's great to see a serious music publication putting so much emphasis on the visuals. I love that photo of Carl Craig from issue 20. It looks like a regular guy just hanging out backstage, chatting and having a banana, except it's Carl Craig, the techno God. That's great, that photo.M.B.: For me it has to be the way Wood Wood's clothes are both casual and sexy at the same time, I've got four Felicia dresses and four Samantha cardigans and I love them all.Levi's jeans, aNYthing capSo, Once you got started, did you spend ages rifling through stuff? Or was there a vibe and aesthetic that you were both pretty set on from the start?
M.B.: I mean, we do have a lot of images in our archives, but there are always a few that really stand out in each issue. For example, the Bea Fremderman photo of DJ Nate, where he's shirtless standing in a fountain, was a pretty obvious choice. 'Sup has an inherent vibe to it already, though, so the photos kinda naturally work together when taken out of the magazine and put on to shirts.B.J.: Yeah, you're right, but for me it was equally important that the selection would reflect a broad range of artists and music. I think that diverse approach is something 'Sup and Wood Wood have in common. Like, I enjoy seeing Bill Callahan and DJ Nate in the same context.Levi's jeans, Gourmet shoes; American Apparel skirt, Dr. Marten shoes, UNIQLO tights, American Apparel socksWhat about you, Marisa? Was doing a t-shirt with Wood Wood something you wanted to do to appeal to a new audience or was it something you've been wanting to do for ages?
M.B.: Yeah, we've always wanted to do t-shirts. We did two shirts a long time ago with a pattern that was made up from the names of a load of hard rock bands and we also did some with Nike as part of a relay race, but yeah, the Wood Wood collaboration was a long time coming. I've always loved clothes, I just don't have any time to go shopping.Marisa, can you explain the story behind the images a bit? They're all from the magazine, right?
M.B.: Yep, they're all photos from recent issues of 'Sup. For me, it's kind of a twist on the band t-shirt, but in a more subtle way. We had to take into consideration that people would actually be wearing these images, so we went with ones that weren't so obviously a straight-ahead photo of an artist, although each of the shirts has the name of the artist and the photographer on the neck tag.Cool. I assume the shirt with the soda pop bottle wearing a crown is who I think it is?
M.B.: Yep. That shirt's called King of Pop and the image was part of a photo story by Milan Zrnic about Michael Jackson in issue 21. It's actually one of my favorite things we've had in the magazine.H&M shorts, vintage tights, vintage necklaceWhat about the bong photo?
M.B.: That was part of a series done by Sanna Charles on the UK band Moss, who make really heavy music. It was from issue 20, which had a lot of references to smoking pot, and we just thought it would be rad to have a photo of a bong on a shirt. Everyone should have a bong in their life.
B.J.: Yeah, I like bongs. It's been a while since I tried one though.Shit, Brian, you need to remedy that. Before we go, what are the pluses for Wood Wood of working with people who aren't directly involved in fashion, like 'Sup? Because you've done it a few time before, right?
B.J.: Yeah, we've worked on lots of projects involving different people outside the fashion world, so in that sense this wasn't really a new experience for us. As for the pluses, I guess it depends on the particular project, but a successful collaboration usually results in something neither of the partners could have done by themselves. Music and fashion go hand in hand, though, so this particular project came very naturally.
Marisa Brickman: Yeah, we first started distributing the magazine at the Berlin store about five years ago and once I set foot in there I fell in love. Wood Wood is a brand that I'd be happy to deck myself out in head to toe.
Annons
Brian Jensen: I just love the overall feel of 'Sup. It's sort of like a homemade zine, in that it feels like it's done purely out of love. Also, it's great to see a serious music publication putting so much emphasis on the visuals. I love that photo of Carl Craig from issue 20. It looks like a regular guy just hanging out backstage, chatting and having a banana, except it's Carl Craig, the techno God. That's great, that photo.M.B.: For me it has to be the way Wood Wood's clothes are both casual and sexy at the same time, I've got four Felicia dresses and four Samantha cardigans and I love them all.Levi's jeans, aNYthing capSo, Once you got started, did you spend ages rifling through stuff? Or was there a vibe and aesthetic that you were both pretty set on from the start?
M.B.: I mean, we do have a lot of images in our archives, but there are always a few that really stand out in each issue. For example, the Bea Fremderman photo of DJ Nate, where he's shirtless standing in a fountain, was a pretty obvious choice. 'Sup has an inherent vibe to it already, though, so the photos kinda naturally work together when taken out of the magazine and put on to shirts.B.J.: Yeah, you're right, but for me it was equally important that the selection would reflect a broad range of artists and music. I think that diverse approach is something 'Sup and Wood Wood have in common. Like, I enjoy seeing Bill Callahan and DJ Nate in the same context.
Annons
M.B.: Yeah, we've always wanted to do t-shirts. We did two shirts a long time ago with a pattern that was made up from the names of a load of hard rock bands and we also did some with Nike as part of a relay race, but yeah, the Wood Wood collaboration was a long time coming. I've always loved clothes, I just don't have any time to go shopping.Marisa, can you explain the story behind the images a bit? They're all from the magazine, right?
M.B.: Yep, they're all photos from recent issues of 'Sup. For me, it's kind of a twist on the band t-shirt, but in a more subtle way. We had to take into consideration that people would actually be wearing these images, so we went with ones that weren't so obviously a straight-ahead photo of an artist, although each of the shirts has the name of the artist and the photographer on the neck tag.Cool. I assume the shirt with the soda pop bottle wearing a crown is who I think it is?
M.B.: Yep. That shirt's called King of Pop and the image was part of a photo story by Milan Zrnic about Michael Jackson in issue 21. It's actually one of my favorite things we've had in the magazine.H&M shorts, vintage tights, vintage necklaceWhat about the bong photo?
M.B.: That was part of a series done by Sanna Charles on the UK band Moss, who make really heavy music. It was from issue 20, which had a lot of references to smoking pot, and we just thought it would be rad to have a photo of a bong on a shirt. Everyone should have a bong in their life.
B.J.: Yeah, I like bongs. It's been a while since I tried one though.Shit, Brian, you need to remedy that. Before we go, what are the pluses for Wood Wood of working with people who aren't directly involved in fashion, like 'Sup? Because you've done it a few time before, right?
B.J.: Yeah, we've worked on lots of projects involving different people outside the fashion world, so in that sense this wasn't really a new experience for us. As for the pluses, I guess it depends on the particular project, but a successful collaboration usually results in something neither of the partners could have done by themselves. Music and fashion go hand in hand, though, so this particular project came very naturally.