Urban streetwear is perhaps one of the few trends of the last 40 years that has been able to evolve whilst maintaining its distinctive aesthetic and remaining constantly relevant. Re imagined by the likes of YMC, Joseph and Christopher Shannon at LCM AW15 shows that its reach extends to the catwalks of Fashion Week. Characterised by t-shirts and sweats and drawing inspiration from other constantly evolving cultures such as street art and music may be one of the factors that has helped it remain at the forefront of everyday urban wear.
One brand trying to put a fresh spin on streetwear is UK based Bear Swagger. Boasting collaborations with designers and illustrators around the globe their range includes everything from t-shirts and hoodies to hats and backpacks. Here at 3rd Rail HQ we’ve worked with them for a few seasons and recently finished printing some t-shirts and hoodies for their AW15 drop. The garments were printed using Plastisol inks, oil based and developed specifically for t-shirt printing they are often a favourite because they offer a bright and solid end result whilst also being highly fade resistant.
We decided to quiz Tom, the guy who started it all, about the origins and future of his brand.
Describe Bear Swagger in 5 words.
Independent, disruptive, superior, inspiring and assertive.
What are the origins of the logo and brand?
Coming from a background of music (being a rapper), I always wanted to merge urban culture, lifestyle, and fashion into one, so that has always been a vivid direction for my brand. But more importantly I wanted to create and cultivate a new attitude within people. I wanted to reinvent what “COOL” means.
A lot of your designs are collaborations, do you have a favourite? Who would you love to work with?
Some of my favourite designs are those still kept up my sleeve for future release. I really admire DXTR’s work, he is an illustrator from Berlin with a very unique grungy take on character design.
Who would you most like to see wearing your clothes? Why?
The thing I like to see the most is ordinary people supporting and wearing the brand.
Walking down the street and having someone cross your path wearing one of your shirts is the best feeling in the world.
What’s next for Bear Swagger?
We have just signed off a collaboration with streetwear and headwear giant Starter.
The pre production samples have been approved so the collaboration is set to go on sale on our web store late October for AW15.
The full AW15 collection will be available on the Bear Swagger website www.dontbelievethebs.com from this Friday 23rd October.
