28/08/2007 Forget the 80s as a foundational year for fashion and youth culture: according to the Artful Dodger school of design, it’s all about the 1800 s! The 1800 equivalent of castrating yourself in skinnies and donning a guitar or slavering your mug in face paint and stepping out like a technicolour terrorist was to join the Swell Mob. Oh yes, these guys were the business – our very own hooded Tower Hamlets tribes aren’t a patch on these authentic crews of cool and criminality. Their ‘flash-dress’ as described in an 1816 document, was ‘unruly hair, blue frock coat to the knees, blue trousers tight to the knees... velvet collar waistcoat, low riding fancy worked shoes... hat, generally tilted on one side... (as they) go about with a cigar in their mouths.’ Unruly hair, tilted hats and cigars? Dahling, how uber! Anglophile American brand Artful Dodger takes these stylish scamps as their inspiration, stitching mischief into streetwear garments and keeping it quirky.
The S/S ’07 Artful Dodger collection marked the brand’s very first birthday – graphic blazers, hoodies, polos, tees and hats flooded in to deck out Dodger disciples along both sides of the Atlantic. Just as Dickens’ celebrated ‘Oliver’ character revelled in intricate plots for thievery and the minutiae of people’s insecurities and flaws, these are designs where detail is key. Like the storytelling, trickster ‘cutter lads’ who are the label’s muse, every item spins a tale via its special visual language. Humble hoodies become exotic canvasses where bright embroidery and prints yield jungle creepers, majestic creatures and all manner of weird and wonderful imaginings. Welcome to the rich visual world of British born, New York based creative gurus Vault 49, the collective who head up the graphics for Artful Dodger. Vivid stripes overlay whimsical illustrations on the back of a jumper; sun dials, zodiac imagery and mythical beings dance across jacket arms and satin gets stitched up with leftfield visions in neon thread. Media slogans and street art, travel, nature and architecture are just some of the worlds Vault 49 ransacks for Artful Dodger like veritable 19th century swell mobsters.
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In this swell mob spirit, ingenuity and flair are the order of the day for Artful Dodger apparel. Don’t be surprised to sneak at a snatched glove or an illicit charm smuggled into the design; wayward ideas and imagery are all ensnared as the brand casts its net. Nab yourself some swell mob attitude as Artful Dodger brings coveted swagger and cheeky detail to streetwear gear.
www.artfuldodgerny.com |
