Angelo Baque and Champion Join Forces for "Senior Thesis" Project
Baque tapped three artists to reimagine Champion’s classic crewneck — and remixed it himself as well.
Angelo Baque is more than a designer. He’s a teacher (so much so that his Instagram bio even reads “Life Coach”) who aims to inspire the next generation of creatives. Baque has long championed community empowerment and the importance of sharing knowledge, first through his “Social Studies” event series and now through a new partnership with Champion dubbed “Senior Thesis.” The title of the partnership draws from the project students present at the culmination of an academic program, showing the research they conducted on a particular topic and the conclusions they drew on that topic. It also nods to a secondary theme of “ascension,” in which a student shows they’re ready to move to the next level. Here, the topic is Champion’s classic Reverse Weave crewneck sweatshirt and the “students” ready for their ascendant moment are three artists: Puerto Rico-born, Queens-based “neo-surrealist” Larissa de Jesus Negron, Los Angeles-based designer and illustrator Uber Lopez and airbrush pioneer Shirt King Phade. Even a teacher must still be a student, so Baque himself cooked up a set of crewnecks as well.
Jesus Negron brings a smiling, abstract landscape painting with bright blue embellishments to her crewneck, while Lopez’ design shows a levitating individual with a crown, a calligraphic “LA” logo and a set of rosary beads. Shirt King Phade’s design is as bright and bold as you’d expect, boasting Egyptian pyramids and symbols with a decidedly astral bent. Last but certainly not least, Baque’s crewneck opts for a text-based design and a large chenille “C” patch on the back.
Alex S.k. Brown
Alex S.k. Brown
Alex S.k. Brown
Alex S.k. Brown
Alex S.k. Brown
Alex S.k. Brown
Alex S.k. Brown
Alex S.k. Brown
The collection was launched via a lively pop-up at colbo, a progressive clothing, coffee, design and home goods store on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, with a live performance from jazz outfit Phase 2. It’ll drop soon via the Champion webstore as well as A Ma Maniére, UNION, SSENSE, Xhibition, UNKNWN and August.
For more from the great world of Baque, see who joined him on this year’s Hypebeast 100 — a list of the most influential creatives in the world today.
