Elvis Jesus interview with Van Mildert

Ever wanted to know more about Elvis Jesus, how it works, what inspires us, and where we're headed? Van Mildert wanted to ask us a couple of questions about the inner workings here at our headquarters, and our Head Designer, Rakesh Jeeaooo, was happy to oblige. Below is an excerpt from the interview, for the full text click here.

How has the brand developed over the years?
Over the years Elvis Jesus has evolved from a company that makes graphic tees into a lifestyle brand that is innovative and clever. Our Pre-SS13 collection is really a distinct turning point in our design skills, where we use simple iconic images and give them an EJ twist. As a matured brand, we put an emphasis on strong concept, design work, and we put a high priority on lavish embellishment. High aesthetic value and quality is our main priority, while keeping cleverness and a reinterpretation of pop culture on the forefront of our designs.

So what’s new for SS13 and beyond?
Spring/Summer has bright colors featuring predominantly in our next tee collection, bringing an injection of vibrance into everyday life—the holiday vibe should make you feel good wearing it. We've gone back to an iconic element of our tees, using fabric applique as a heavy embellishment. Our roots in music play heavily into this series with a reggae vs. punk theme. Pin art and found object embellishment will also be a feature of this next collection. 

Elvis Jesus is more than just a tee shirt company, we're a lifestyle brand, and as we go forward we're focusing on every element of the brand. For our Autumn/Winter collection we are developing a series of skiwear and biker inspired outerwear pieces, mixing luxurious fabrics and using intriguing prints in all of the linings. Tweeds, leather and heavy jersey fabrics will feature predominantly in this collection as we gather inspiration from luxurious, gentlemanly skiwear of the 1920's.

In addition to outerwear, we are also building a strong accessories line featuring a series of couture belts that utilize non-traditional metal hardware as extensive embellishments. Padlocks, handcuffs and metal cufflinks will all play a part in our lifestyle collection. We are also releasing out first premiere fragrance collection for both him and her, which are debuting in April. We're looking forward to continue to expand our brand to encompass the entire lifestyle of the Elvis Jesus customer.

How do you find new inspiration every season?
We don't follow trends as a brand, instead we try to work with things we find interesting and exciting. Printed fabric patterns are always an influence, as well as a variety of illustrators and artists. The Elvis Jesus team is constantly discussing things that we like—we're bouncing ideas around and sharing intriguing things we've found in magazines and online, or great music that's inspiring us. Exploring new ideas, for us, is always paramount to following trends. 

Some tell me a little bit about yourself, what is your role within the brand?
I studied fashion design at university, specializing in surface designs, prints and graphics. I am the Head Designer here at Elvis Jesus, and I overlook the entire design process. I ensure we have smooth process from design to delivery and marketing. It's been fun for me to delve deeper into the design process, where I'm not just designing the prints and textures, but the actual clothing items themselves. 

Do you have any tips for aspiring designers / fashion PRs out there?
No matter what your goal is, you have to have passion for what you do. If you're not in love with what you're designing nobody else will be either—your love of and dedication to your work will be evident in everything that you do.

Who would you describe as your fashion icon?
Nick Wooster. One day I was searching for yellow shoes online and found this guy and thought “Oh shit, this dude! He's got the same haircut and the same beard!” He came out with this black suit, black pants rolled up and was wearing these amazing cool yellow brogues. Shit! He also wears the same waistcoat that I do.

This is a question we ask everybody, what was your worst fashion faux pas?
I hate guys going out in hoodies. The worst part is when you see very nice dressed up girls with their boyfriends in trainers and hoodies. The hoody is far to casual... take the time to dress up for a night out.

The Bone Church

One of the signature aspects of our collections is our use of ordinary materials in extraordinary ways, transforming everyday objects like safety pins and rivets into elaborate embellishments. But there are some people, or places, that push this transformation to a different level. Today I wanted to show you the stunning re-invention of a material we all posses: bones.

Located in the Czech Republic, the Sedlec Ossuary is a stunning display of human ingenuity and a beautiful transformation of materials when faced with extraordinary circumstances. During the 11th Century the ground surrounding the church was sprinkled with earth from the Holy Land of Jerusalem, and the grounds of the church soon became a hallowed place where people desired to be buried. During the Black Death of the 14th Century, people flocked to the church to worship and to be buried. With a multitude of bodies and nowhere to put them, the monks were forced to come up with a creative solution.

What has emerged from these dire circumstances is a location that is beyond words and, while macabre, holds an inextinguishable beauty. The remains of over 40,000 people have been used to create elaborate chandeliers, coats of arms and elaborate wall coverings that defy convention. What a beautiful and unusual use of material, and what a stunning and intense place to visit.

Inspired: The Americans by Robert Frank

A big source of our inspiration here at Elvis Jesus comes from photography. Often we're looking at images of rebels from popular culture, concert images of Jimi Hendrix or stills from videos of Bob Dylan. Photographs capture a mood and tell a story, relaying a certain emotion and energy that we're looking to convey in our clothing. But sometimes we stumble upon images that are not of famous people, but instead are of everyday life, telling a story more real than the pop culture that we are daily exposed to.

One photographer who has captured our attention is Robert Frank, a Swiss photographer working in the 1950s. After emigrating to the US he created his most famous photographic series, The Americans, in which he spent two years traveling across the United States photographing people on the streets, capturing candid moments that stand as a testament to the heated social tensions that existed among the American people at that time.

Taking gritty shots from unusual angles, Frank captured all strata of the American populace, showing an outsider's view of such a vast and evolving nation.

Take a look at some of his famous shots to get a real, unadulterated look into America in the 1950's, right as the counterculture and social revolution started to make their debuts.

For more images from The Americans, look here.

 

rubbish sculptures

Insulting? No.

Using only light and rubbish, Tim Noble and Sue Webster are able to create stunning shadow sculptures. Collecting household waste, rubbish, scrap metal and taxidermy animals, these artistic collaborators fuse together found materials into seemingly random formations and conglomerations. It is only when lit from a certain angle that you see the actual result, a perfectly formed shadow cast upon the wall, revealing the silhouettes of people or animals. Meticulously hand crafted, these works require an abstracted view of reality to create, as what you see in the physical structure is not what appears on the wall.

Music plays a heavy influence into their work, and they ask the same thing of their work that they ask of their musical choices: to push boundaries and expectations:

“I think anything that’s a bit of a rocket up the arse, anything that kicks against the routine, against the mundane things that close down your mind, is a refreshing and good thing. Punk did that very successfully . . . it offered a direct and instant means of producing products or things."

With an intensive eye towards alternative materials and transformation, Tim Noble and Sue Webster are pushing boundaries and raising eyebrows with their elaborate works.

 

 

Blu: An Artist We Love

Here at Elvis Jesus we're constantly looking towards art and culture to inspire and enlighten us. Often times we find ourselves taking to the streets, looking at street style or graffiti to find our next design idea. Today I wanted to bring you an incredible artist that pushes the boundaries of traditional boundaries of graffiti art. 

The artist Blu, living in Bolonga and working across most of Europe, paints massive murals using house paint and rollers with extensions, opting out of the tradition of spray paint as the graffiti painting medium of choice. Often creating gigantic human figures that dominate a wall or the side of a building, Blu frequently transforms the human shape by creating one form out of thousands of painted objects, such as bananas or smaller human beings.

Although I've seen his graffiti art for years, what really blew us away was the video MUTO, which he made in 2008. A stop-motion animated film using graffiti creatures moving across city streets and buildings, the video took a year to complete. Take a look at the video and some samples of his work. Definitely an awesome artist to get those mental gears turning in unusual ways.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Li Hongbo: Artist We Love

Here at Elvis Jesus we are constantly looking at sources of inspiration, cool new ideas and designs that push us to create new and innovative collections of clothing for you. Inspiration can come from anywhere, from something as simple as a cool piece of graffiti on the street, to a fine artist working within the walls of a gallery.

Today I wanted to show you an awesome artist who has just come to my attention, and whose sculptures make my mind melt in amazement. Li Hongbo, an artist working in Beijing, China, creates sculptures that, while at first appearing to be made of plaster, are in fact made from paper that makes complex and unexpected transformations.

Using thousands of layers of glued paper assembled in a similar fashion to Chinese gourds, which are traditional folded paper toys, these sculptures push the capabilities of a simple medium like paper. 

Check out the video to see how these sculptures move and transform, it really is mind-boggling!


Li Hongbo - Pure White Paper from Dominik Mersch Gallery on Vimeo.

For more information on the artist, look here.