A new book celebrates a decade of L.A.’s foremost multimedia art collective
Words by ANDREW BARKER
Left to right: Brain Dead x Stepney Workers Club. A.P.C. x Brain Dead.
Nearly a decade has passed since Kyle Ng and Ed Davis founded Brain Dead, a streetwear label and underground collective of artists, musicians, filmmakers and designers from around the globe. As its international fan base grew, brands took note, and collaborations with the likes of Reebok, Converse, A.P.C., The North Face and Oakley followed, as well as collections for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Marvel. Created in-house with no named author to speak of, Brain Dead: Clothing for a Curious Life (Rizzoli New York, $65) is a review of the L.A.-based group’s multifarious projects, inspired by the natural world and subcultures which extend beyond geographical boundaries, from B-movie horror films to post-punk. The resulting tome is art directed as if it were a fanzine in trademark Brain Dead house style, because essentially that’s what it is (albeit with a hard cover). Out in October.
A campaign shot from the 2015 Brain Dead x Dover Street Market collab. Photo by Asato Iida.
This story originally appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of C Magazine.
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