Artist Alvin Armstrong Makes His Fashion Debut Through Collaboration with Axel Arigato

Summary:

• Axel Arigato and Alvin Armstrong have collaborated on a capsule collection.
• The collection features a range of apparel, accessories, and a new sneaker dubbed the ‘Squish,’ with Armstrong’s 2023 painting The Listening Skies as the main inspiration.
• The color palette is a standout of the collection, capturing warm tones of “Ochre,” “Yellow,” “Black,” and “Blueserve.”

Scandinavian fashion brand Axel Arigato and Brooklyn-based artist Alvin Armstrong have collaborated on a capsule collection that is full of energy and warmth.

Armstrong is a traditional painter in the sense that he typically creates using paint and canvas. A consistent theme in his work centers around celebrating Black subjects in motion. Fittingly, his paintings are bold and colorful, with a clear narrative achieved through a simple but strong focal form.

The starting point for the capsule was one of Armstrong’s archive paintings – The Listening Skies – a 2023 work depicting three figures with their mouths open singing. The painting is said to capture the intensity of passion, belief, and spirituality associated with church music, all expressed through a warm predominantly yellow palette.

Though this piece was the foundation of the collection, the collaboration quickly became something much deeper, as Jens Werner, Creative Director of Axel Arigato, shared. “It was an open exchange that pushed both of us outside our usual ways of creating. Alvin approached every stage with real curiosity, embracing the process of learning about garment-making and design. That shared sense of exploration and honesty is what gives this collection its energy.”

In this way, the collection offers a true fusion of fashion and art, with the power of music placed at its center. Armstrong created 100 individual expressive hand-drawn paintings capturing jazz musicians mid-performance. These works were each hand-stitched onto white canvas T-shirts, creating literal one-of-a-kind wearable art pieces.

Other standouts within the collection include a bold oversized brushback inside-out fleece sweater with vibrant yellow stripes and accentuated frayed sleeves; a reversible chocolate brown fleece with a signature logo lock-up zipper; and a 100% silk dress shirt featuring an expressive custom reprographic of The Listening Skies. Additionally, there’s a white denim workwear co-ord with color-pop button details, as well as a knitted balaclava.

The warm palette of “Ochre,” “Yellow,” “Black,” and “Blueserve” seems to pull the energy of The Listening Skies painting, as well as the general vibrancy of jazz music directly into the apparel pieces. “To me, this is really about the color story of the collaboration. That should be our main thread – bold, simple color blocking that enhances the whole experience,” Amstrong explains.

In addition to the apparel and accessories, Axel Arigato also presents a new sneaker dubbed The Squish. The silhouette appears as a playful, warped version of Axel Arigato’s familiar footwear codes, featuring curved lines and a ‘squished’ gum sole. Finished in either “Black Suede / Gum” or “Blue Suede / Gum,” it rounds off the expressive collection perfectly.

The Axel Arigato x Alvin Armstrong collection is out today – scroll up to see the pieces.