While riding around the streets of Sydney last week, you may have been distracted by some artistic and disruptive bill posters plastered over the scenery. They heralded a new collection from Attaquer that celebrates the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Aussie kit couturier Attaquer released the exceptionally unique range that follows on from their previous collection which featured one of Basquiat’s contemporaries, Keith Haring and his iconic and colorful characters.
The collection takes some of Basquiat’s most famous paintings and applies them to a range of men’s and women’s apparel and accessories. There are two styles of jerseys and caps, a gilet, bib shorts, neck warmer, bidon and long and short sleeve t-shirts.
The work of both Basquiat and Haring obviously resonated with the Attaquer crew. Both were two of the first to bring street art into the galleries, and it’s a refreshing change to the miles of meaningless graphic design currently adorning today’s kit offerings.
Yes, you’ll need an amount of personal appreciation of the artist to warrant investing in this kit, but you will wear the same iconoclastic badge that both Jean-Michel and Keith wore in defiance of the current regime of blandness.
Jean-Michel’s father Gérard was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and was a practiser of voodoo. The skulls he painted bounce with the same color, meaning, and energy, which only adds to the cultural importance of this collection.
There’s also Basquiat’s own cycling reference in the collection, with his 1982 painting Gem Spa portrayed on the back of the long sleeve tee. Another of his Untitled (Head) paintings adorn the short sleeve tee.
In 2017, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa bought an untitled Basquiat skull head painting from 1982 for $110.5 million, marking the highest price at auction for a post-1980 work of art.
Being able to wear an officially-licensed work of Jean-Michel Basquiat on your back while going for your Saturday morning century? Priceless.
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