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.

RIO visits the showroom

Music is one of the driving forces behind the inspiration and design in Elvis Jesus. From a constant soundtrack of tunes playing at the office and tee names hinting at our favorite songs and musicians, to graphics translating epic bands into intriguing graphic designs, we full incorporate music into our EJ philosophy.

With that in mind, we find great pleasure in collaborating with musicians and artists, either working together to design a tee that reflects their aesthetic, or by featuring emerging artists wearing our latest Elvis Jesus collections. RIO, a Manchester rapper, is one of those burgeoning talents that we're thrilled to be collaborating with.

This week RIO stopped by our Elvis Jesus showroom to check out our Pre-SS13 collection and pick a few choice styles for his upcoming gig this weekend. A hardworking and driven musician, RIO chatted with us while he browsed through our couture collection of tees, choosing his favorites to take with him. Obviously a man of style, he told us much of his fashion influence comes from growing up around fashion designers, as he expertly mixed our tees with limited edition EJ jackets to find the perfect style mix.

It's always a pleasure to work with such a variety of talented people, and RIO is no exception. We can tell he's going to go far, and we look forward to many future collaborations with him. 

Check out some of RIO's latest work here.

The Return of the Pre-SS13 Collection!

As a renegade fashion brand, we are back again with another collection that comes at you like a punch in the throat. Overflowing with couture embellishments, elaborate details, and a nuanced look at the raw, unadulterated style of punk rock, this collection stares in the face of the fashion industry.

With the re-release of our Pre-SS13 collection, we are bringing you a stunning collection of tees that have proved so popular we couldn’t keep them on the shelves. Overwhelming response has shown this to be one of our most highly-acclaimed collections, and so it is with a proud smirk and a knowing glance that we bring you, once again, this epic collection.

 

Each tee in this collection features its own custom-designed set of exquisite details, hand-crafted and intricately considered. From subtle musical references, like dozens guitar-plectrum shaped fabric pieces coalescing to create the soaring shape of an eagle, to the in-your-face punk vibe of skulls and guitars crafted from safety pins, each tee has its own story to tell. With a high attention to detail and a shameless desire to constantly break the mold, Elvis Jesus has cleverly adapted non-standard fashion materials to create high-end products. Manipulating safety pins and metal rivets, chain links and heavy embroidery, the couture details are evident in every inch of our tees.

 

Always one to play off of opposites, juxtaposing rock with religion, heroes against anti-heroes, and fashion against politics, EJ once again stands alone in a sea of standard menswear. 

  

Online and in stores, this epic collection is making its re-debut in a matter of days, in our flagship store at the Manchester Trafford Centre, in Harvey Nichols and various online retailers.

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.

 

Our Dedicated Fans

There's nothing more valuable to a company than a loyal fan base. Here at Elvis Jesus, we thrive on interaction with our customers and getting feedback and opinions on our designs. We also love getting to share what we create with such an enthusiastic and receptive audience, which is why we hold weekly competitions to win your own EJ tee. Last week our winner, DJ Kev Wise, received one of our tees from the Pre-SS13 collection, Pretty Vacant. We were stoked to hear how happy he was to receive that specific design, and even more happy when he told us he was about to do a promotional photo shoot and would be wearing our shirts.

Well, the pictures showed up today in our inbox, and they're awesome. Take a look at some of the shots he sent our way.

It's always a thrill to see Elvis Jesus out in the world, on the street and at gigs, and we love when our fans show their loyalty.

If you want to win your very own EJ tee, take a look at our Facebook page to find out all about our weekly competitions. You, too, can score one of our rockstar worthy tees.

Epic Embroidery from Takashi Iwasaki

Part of the allure of an Elvis Jesus tee is the ornate detail that we meticulously put into every tee that we design. Whether that's using alternative materials like safety pins or rivets, or featuring epic embroidery detail, we make sure that embellishment is a feature in our collections. In our continuous hunt to find new and inventive ways of incorporating embroidery we stumbled onto the artist Takashi Iwasaki.

Using embroidery as a means of illustration, the artist creates abstracted landscapes solely from embroidery thread, rich collisions of color and linear graphics creating hypnotic and entrancing images. He uses embroidery as a way to capture moments in time, to expose dreamscapes and capture and expose the visions within his mind.

Without any doubt, these embroidery pieces serve as a bold and intriguing inspiration four our own embellishment and embroidery work. To see more samples of his work, visit his website!