A Beautifully Decaying Summer

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I don’t know about you but this Summer has just about passed us by here in Britain with little to celebrate, and so it was nice to see a proverbial ray of sunshine in my inbox today in the form of an email from Sasha at Beautiful Decay. This legendary label has a whole back catalogue of industry kudos and their latest collection is no exception. I have to admit it I’m rather shocked I haven’t featured www.BeautifulDecay.com more at Buy Tees, they’re probably one of my all-time faves on the scene, but I suppose with so many other fashion blogs out there reviewing BD I hadn’t thought the world would miss my input. Then again if Beautiful Decay want the Buy Tees treatment, then who am I to argue?

BD have brought attention to a celebrated range of indie designers and labels from the ever corner of the globe, the first time I discovered the eye-opening products of the amazing Imaginary Foundation. It’s safe to say that BD have some serious clout in the t-shirt industry, if they feature a designer you can bet your bottom dollar that before long their name will be on the lips of t-shirt fans both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. Their unique blend of cultural comment, fashion savvy and left-field art appreciation has stood them in good stead over the years, in fact it’s most likely that the Internet would be a far less rewarding experience without their unique if sometimes skewed input.

Beautiful Decay Magazine started from the most humble of beginnings, a photocopied zine with a once limited following, since their site first opened with the addition of their own store selling some of the most cutting edge creative tees on the market, they’ve never looked back, now offering an amazing range of extravagantly illustrated t-shirts and a glossy magazine to boot. If you want an example of a major player in the indie t-shirt scene, then look no further. I’m tempted to write a slim tome about this unique label but seeing as it would take another blog to fill – so rather than do that I’d advise you to visit them yourself online, their site is packed with great interviews, features and a superb international gallery guide. However as you’d expect I will be focusing on their latest offerings in the glorious medium of the venerable t-shirt – I’ve included four of their newest tees for your delectation – and be assured they are as crazy yet beautiful as ever.

Explosion Tee

This absolutely insane tee is further proof of retro futurist Sakke Soini‘s expertise at dragging the iconography of our collective subconscious kicking and screaming into the harsh light of Newtonian reality. Sakke, Finnish born illustrator extraordinaire has a thing for explosions, eye-piercing, tremulous thundering explosions of colour and light that smear images across the retina in much the way one might expect a playful yet omnipotent being might practice at making a universe. There’s something massive about Sakke’s work and this t-shirt is no exception, paying no deference to culture or time he appropriates inspiration from every nook and cranny of modern, fictional and nostalgic culture. On closer inspection I see a few dark Pac Men and what are most likely illegal pills spewing forth from the eighties neon tendrils of this particular big bang. Engagingly bizarre yet it all seems to make sense in Sakke’s distinctly individual view of the world. Unleash the madness and grab an Explosion tee in charcoal for $29.95. Available in sizes S to XXL.

Goldfish Tee

Highly reminiscent of Terry Gilliam‘s early animated works with topped up with a thick slice of Salvador Dali for good measure, Jerico Santander‘s beautifully bizarre t-shirt design simply entitled Goldfish leaves me agog. I’ll type one-handed as the other attempts to close my dropped jaw which will probably remain in that position for at least the next few minutes. Santander, a highly adept illustrator was born in the Canary Islands before working for a small agency in Madrid. These days he freelances for such agencies as Brand New School or Buck and in the meantime obviously turns his talents to creating phenomenal t-shirts like this one. I have no idea what this is about but I love it, the muted tones and subtle colouring obfuscates the absolutely mind bending dimensional gymnastics this guy’s brain must plough through to create such works. It’s as if a page was ripped from the sketchbook of a Surrealist grand master and wouldn’t you know it, Beautiful Decay were there waiting eagerly to transfer it to the medium of the t-shirt. If you’re looking for the finest example of wearable art I doubt you’ll find anything better. Available in white, sizes S to XL for $29.95.

Meltdown Tee

Cartoons on bad Acid. If you’ve ever wanted to understand exactly how terrifying that experience can be then James Callahan‘s Meltdown tee is as close to rendering the experience that most “normal” individuals would ever want (without being carted off to the nearest asylum by sunrise). Comic book artist and founder of Nowhere Skateboards, Callahan is a true maestro of the bizarre. I am sure there are at least a few well-meaning governmental quangos out there eyeing this up right now and considering it for their next batch of anti-drugs propaganda. I could tell you about the bad trip that I and a few friends had once, but to be honest when you’ve heard one bad trip story you’ve heard them all. I will say this though, I met a certified nutter years back who decided to evade L.A.X’s airport security by downing all his acid in one go, and I’m telling you there was a lot of it. He ended up talking to a mermaid slouched on a luggage trolley for 3 days which It later turned out to be more like 6 months in a padded cell by the end of the trip. How time (for crazy hippies) flies! Get this monster of a tee for $29.95 in white sizes S to XL.

Throw Up Tee

Swak is a doodlemeister. I mean we all doodle from time to time, Chris my other half (as it seems for many women) seems to scribble eyes whenever she’s on the phone, don’t ask me why, windows of the soul and all that jazz? Who knows. What I do know is that Swak has gone way beyond the normal realms of doodling, he’s entered a new dimension of scribble, via a vortex of obsessive-compulsive illustrated angst, and here’s just one example of a remnant of that parallax view he managed to tear asunder on his return. It’s simply called Throw Up. Although if I’d thrown up the contents that this beast has managed to convulse from its mightily proportioned gullet I’d probably seek immediate medical advice. I really wish I had a larger image to share, I’m sure all those who buy this little gem of a t-shirt will have hours of fun staring at the details. Tell you what, if you can find someone wearing the Meltdown tee nearby they can probably provide you with a certain “special substance” to help you get lost in this illustration for hours or maybe days. But whatever you do make sure you don’t strike up a conversation with any passing mermaids. Get this trippy dippy classic in white sizes S to XL for $29.

What can I say, Decay is Beautiful, so even if the weather’s screwy this Summer, at least BD can inject a little colour into your life. Go check out their whole collection for the season pronto! :- BD’s Summer Collection ’09.

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