Art Of, the UK-based label reimagining football culture through fashion, recently teamed up with Sony Pictures for the release of Spider-Man™: Brand New Day. Expanding on its vast range of garments, the collaboration brought Hollywood to the label’s design portfolio with a promotional jersey inspired by the film.
Hypebeast headed to Art Of’s studio ahead of the jersey’s reveal to find out about their approach for the project. A space that now houses a small ecosystem of designers, product developers and marketers, the studio in East London has become as much a community hub as it is a working office with co-founders Gabe and Luke Cuthbert heading up day-to-day operations.
“I’ve been doing this for 13 years now,” shares Gabe with Hypebeast. “I launched the label with my brother. We bought an old printing press and would sell designs to friends just to make money.” It wasn’t long before the side project became a fully fledged business when the brothers established a focus on football by printing their own paintings of players and paraphernalia onto T-shirts.
Today, Art Of has gained a cult following among football and streetwear enthusiasts, sitting at the intersection of both through collaborations that span sports, music, beverages and beyond. “When we started the label, we got to understand the power of fan communities and making products that directly speak to them.” The new drop for Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day, however, marks the first time that the label has delved into the film industry.
While some may say football and film are worlds apart, head of brand at Art Of Kelvyn Quagraine explains why Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the sport are more closely linked than you think. “Films like Spider-Man: Brand New Day and sports like football provide people with the moments that you share with those you call your chosen family,” he says. “The memories that become folklore and the stories that you tell for years to come, that’s the reason why fandom is such an incredible thing.”
Capturing this connection in the form of a jersey, Matt Webber, Art Of’s senior designer, opted for a retro-inspired silhouette with fold-over collars and blue panelling that focus on football nostalgia. “The repeat web print inspired by Spider-Man’s suit links to ‘90s shirt designs,” he describes the design. Though not for sale, Webber shares how “[they] kept the jersey authentic to both Spider-Man fans and football fans.”
For Quagraine, the smaller details such as the embroidered Spider-Man emblem and Art Of branding on the sleeves add another dimension to the design. But, he points out the New York sunrise patch on the lower corner as a recognizable scene from Spider-Man films that can be seen as symbolizing Peter Parker’s responsibility to protect the city. He shares, “Once you see it, you understand the ethos of the film, new beginnings and the element of being a brand new day.”
Check out the football jersey in the Hypebeast Visits video below or you can watch the Unboxing video on socials now.
Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives exclusively in theatres at the end of July. Get your tickets now to catch the action on the big screen. To find out more, head to Sony Pictures‘ and Spider-Man‘s official Instagram accounts.