Character Clash line pairs Dreamworks with menswear designers. The results? Hilarious
As the inaugural New York Fashion Week: Men’s begins a four-day run in Manhattan on Monday, there will be no shortage of colorful characters on hand -- as in old-school cartoon characters Underdog, Felix the Cat and Richie Rich.
That’s because Amazon Fashion, one of the event’s sponsors, has partnered with Dreamworks Animation, organizer CFDA and eight of the participating menswear designers to put five plucked-from-the-archives characters on a range of limited-edition T-shirts and pullover hoodies to be sold exclusively through Amazon.
Dubbed the Character Clash collection, the resulting designs include some pretty hilarious pairings. Among our favorites are Michael Bastian’s riff on Richie Rich (hooded sweat shirts and T-shirts depicting “the poor little rich boy” soaking up rays -- on a pool float made of money -- accompanied by the slogan: “Sun’s out, guns out”), Ernest Alexander’s Where’s Waldo paisley bandanna print T-shirt and a homage to He-Man by Todd Snyder -- a menswear designer who has enthusiastically embraced all things athleisure – that includes He-Man’s slogan, “I have the power,” beneath Snyder’s logo on a pullover hoodie.
Also in the mix: Shoeshine Boy’s alter ego Underdog getting the star treatment on pieces designed by Billy Reid and Public School; Felix the Cat showcased on clothes by Timo Weiland and Robert Geller, and Ovadia & Sons serving up Richie Rich tees and hoodies (the latter with a bold dollar-sign symbol on the left arm).
Although they’re all now under the Dreamworks umbrella, the characters all have back stories that pre-date their parent company – most notably Felix the Cat, a veteran of the silent film era who was been kicking around the pop culture scene since 1919.
Those attending the slate of menswear shows running through Thursday will be able to see the collection up close at the event venue (Skylight Clarkson Studios); the rest of the world can see the collection at amazon.com/DWCharacterClash, where T-shirts can be be purchased for $75 and hoodies go for $150 to $175.
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