M.I.A. x Versus Versace collection plays into twisted logo trend
Cheap is becoming chic in a different way.
British pop star M.I.A.’s upcoming capsule collection for Versus Versace brings street style’s current love of twisting designer logos and prints to a high fashion brand.
For this 19-piece collection, which hits stores Oct. 16, M.I.A. created prints inspired by bootleg Versace merchandise she found in London markets as a teenager.
Gold medallions galore, and versions of famous Versace emblems such as the Medusa head and interlocking Greek key, are blown up and spliced together on T-shirts, printed jeans, silk shirts, jersey dresses and military-inspired outerwear for Versace’s lower-price brand with a rotating cast of designers.
For the launch, M.I.A. and her friends modeled for a digital campaign shot by Mexican photographer Jaime Martinez, wearing the collection at East London markets.
“It’s always been part of the M.I.A. culture to talk about bootlegs, and people that sell them or make them. When I was approached by Versace, it seemed like a good idea to take that and reverse the cycle. Versace designs have always been bootlegged, now it’s Versace bootlegging the bootleg for the bootleggers to bootleg the bootleg. This is to keep that cycle going,” M.I.A. said in a press statement. (Her new album “Matangi” will be released Nov. 5.)
“The collection is everything that I love about the new Versus Versace. It’s fast, loud, unafraid, and brings together the worlds of music and fashion,” Donatella Versace said.
M.I.A. x Versus Versace will be available online and in select stores on Oct. 16. Visit www.versusversace.com for more details.
This collection fits right in with the current street-driven fad for twisted, bootlegged and in-your-face designer logos. Los Angeles designer Brian Lichtenberg’s T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and scarves with playful takes on the Hermes Paris (written as Homies South Central) and Celine (written as Feline) logos are selling like hotcakes at Kitson stores.
And Alexander Wang’s spring 2014 collection shown during New York Fashion Week was a high-octane riff on his own logo, in laser cut leather and lace, woven houndstooth and jacquard.
The trend, also seen in DKNY’s spring 2014 collection, where a model walked the runway dressed entirely in “DKNYs” is undoubtedly a throwback to logo-heavy 1980s and ‘90s streetwear, but also a cheeky response from millennials to an overbranded world.
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Hermes’ glittery Rodeo Drive opening
New York Fashion Week Spring 2014 DKNY Review
New York Fashion Week Spring 2014: Alexander Wang review
