Based in London, artist Lakwena Maciver employs bright colour and bold text to create paintings which, often appearing in public spaces, can be understood to be “escape routes, afrofuturistic portals to utopia”. These paintings are, in many ways, reminiscent of Fiorucci’s aesthetic, which has always been bold and colourful.
The starting point for Lakwena’s collaboration with Fiorucci began with a visit to the label’s archive, where she learned about its connection to the golden age of disco in 1970s New York; to people dancing, celebrating and having a good time. It’s this energy that she wanted to channel into the collection.
Through further research, she identified more crossovers between Fiorucci and her work; between Fiorucci’s relationship with disco and her relationship with gospel – a musical culture that similarly centres around ideas of connectedness, spirituality and joy.
The resulting collection melds Fiorucci’s visual language with that of Lakwena, combining bright colours, bold patterns, reworked logos and original motifs. Taking cues from another musical culture, UK garage, the collection features all-over printed denim, shirts and tops emblazoned with Fiorucci’s iconic Angels logo. A satin colour block bomber is accompanied by hoodies, sweatshirts, t-shirts, trousers and shorts, featuring a Fiorucci logo and an original hand motif by Lakwena, in a gesture of prayer or praise.
Lakwena Maciver’s collaboration with Fiorucci is presented via a short film starring the gospel choir Soul Sound who, diverse in age and size, encapsulate this idea of coming together and deliver an uplifting message of connectedness and joy – perhaps in a time when we need it the most.
The collection will be available online and in-store November '21.
The starting point for Lakwena’s collaboration with Fiorucci began with a visit to the label’s archive, where she learned about its connection to the golden age of disco in 1970s New York; to people dancing, celebrating and having a good time. It’s this energy that she wanted to channel into the collection.
Through further research, she identified more crossovers between Fiorucci and her work; between Fiorucci’s relationship with disco and her relationship with gospel – a musical culture that similarly centres around ideas of connectedness, spirituality and joy.
The resulting collection melds Fiorucci’s visual language with that of Lakwena, combining bright colours, bold patterns, reworked logos and original motifs. Taking cues from another musical culture, UK garage, the collection features all-over printed denim, shirts and tops emblazoned with Fiorucci’s iconic Angels logo. A satin colour block bomber is accompanied by hoodies, sweatshirts, t-shirts, trousers and shorts, featuring a Fiorucci logo and an original hand motif by Lakwena, in a gesture of prayer or praise.
Lakwena Maciver’s collaboration with Fiorucci is presented via a short film starring the gospel choir Soul Sound who, diverse in age and size, encapsulate this idea of coming together and deliver an uplifting message of connectedness and joy – perhaps in a time when we need it the most.
The collection will be available online and in-store November '21.
15 October 2021
