Nearly 130 years after his death, the public continues to paint Vincent Van Gogh as a figure who deserves ample respect. Though we will probably forever associate him with the notion of a struggling artist and might even see him as the saddest example of one, the Dutch master is proving a lucrative source of inspiration to others. A couple days ago, the Van Gogh Museum and Daily Paper, a 10-year-old Amsterdam-based menswear label, rewarded his fans with a 21-piece branded apparel collection that will strive to make the site “more relevant to adults with a bicultural background.”
The Dutch brand has launched a collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum. https://t.co/7ATidLFuMx
— HYPEBEAST (@HYPEBEAST) February 12, 2020
Calling on works that the Post-Impressionist created in his brief life, the denim jackets, hoodies, jeans and T-shirts that comprise the clothing options owe their existence to the Van Gogh Connects program. The initiative’s aforementioned affinity for biculturalism helped museum officials to see Daily Paper as a solid potential partner, owing to the bicultural status of the latter’s founders.
We are all for the admiration of art, especially that which has acquired revered standing, so the idea to use promotional products to sell Van Gogh as somewhat of a courageous contemporary to Daily Paper’s audience sounds like smart marketing. It also calls to mind the creative possibilities of screen and laser printing, which HYPEBEAST explored as the techniques that brought the masterpieces to life. As more and more end-users look for vibrant garments, especially ones that reflect deeper connections to their identities, we can expect that printing considerations will become even more involved and yield even more appealing works.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8I–YQggd3/?utm_source=ig_embed
HYPEBEAST also had more on the designs and ambitious rollout of the apparel line:
Irises continues to be a leading reference elsewhere in the collection, with the vibrant yellow and blue tones of the floral print marking the likes of sporty button-ups and shorts. Meanwhile, the painter’s less-famed pieces like The Potato Eaters and Wheatfield with a Reaper prove just as impactful for celebrating the artist through unique clothing designs. “Some of Van Gogh’s less popular works are just as masterful as his better-known ones, yet not a lot of people are aware of them. That’s why we decided to focus on them,” explained Daily Paper co-founder Abderrahmane Trabsini.
To capture the essence of it all, Daily Paper and the Van Gogh Museum tapped rising Dutch photographer Nick van Tiem to shoot the lookbook throughout Amsterdam. Van Tiem’s viewpoint sets the attire against a number of eclectic backdrops, bringing the capsule to supermarkets, soccer fields and more in order to create a seamless mesh between historic art and the contemporary vibes of city life.
With respect to Van Gogh, who has become the poster child for posthumous admiration, his museum is issuing this collection a little more than a year-and-a-half since its last eye-catching apparel line, namely, its collaboration with Vans. That partnership produced immediate success for the two, so we will look to see how much regard this union receives, too, particularly since Daily Paper and the museum will be selling the goods physically and through their websites.
