FKOF on Tumblr

We’ve been catching up with a lot of the original brands to first feature here at FatKidOnFire. We’ve recently had chats with Ben at Bake Designs and SB at Self Gained Treasures and today sees us continuing the theme. Chris’ and his work with Death Before Dishonour Clothing was the second person/ brand to be featured here on FKOF, a week after the original site started. A lot has changed for him and the brand since then so we sat down to find out more…

[The pics below from a recent shoot with dubstep Dj Lost and his MC Skullion Shadez rocking DBD. It was shot by our good friend Bannerworx in Croydon after one of their sets from about 3am till 4.30am. They are wearing the new pieces along with new colours in the logo and the Varsity sweat jacket that is coming soon.]

It’s been almost a year since the DBD x FKOF feature, what’s changed for the brand since then? I’ve started to put some cut & sew into work which is where I need to be. There have been some decent hook ups with musicians too. The new Japanese Popstars album has the DBD logo tee featured in all the press shots in the inlay.

‘Emaciated Buddha’ depicts the struggle the Buddha went through prior to his Enlightenment. He underwent severe practices causing him to go to to skin and bone. The Tibetan flames illustrate the torture he put himself through. The skeletons hands holding the eyes show the birth of supreme vision and the bones of the arms form the 8 spokes of the Dharma Wheel. He finally abandoned these practices, ate and kicked back. He then sat under a tree and it all happened.

You’ve just dropped your latest amazing print called ‘Emaciated Buddha’ on tees and a sweat. Are you still designing using the same influences as you were a year ago? My influences have pretty much always been the east. Samurai/ Ninja culture & Buddhism will always play a strong part in what I do. I love lots of different stuff and wish I could bring it all into DBD but I have to try to stay within the brands area of focus. I’m just about to try going back to the pencil and paintbrush/ sharpie as it’s much more fun.

I will be able to get deeper into the process before switching to vector or maybe now and again going for the the hand drawn designs like I did with Samurai Zombie. I’m still in the process of finding my style to be honest; I’m not there yet.

Can you shed any more light on the Fused Forces collab we eluded to in the feature with them? Even though they really liked the first comic strip style I did I want to scrap it. I have sacrificed impact for detail and I don’t think it will do their vinyl justice. I’m meeting them soon to propose alternatives.

When can we expect more from DBD – any exciting collabs or further designs to look out for in the near future? I’ve been asked to collab with several producers in the Dubstep scene, some underground but producing very strong and intelligent sounds and some massive. I have some shirts dropping soon, a sweat varsity jacket [which you can see below], denim [!!] and finally several sweats/ tees about to drop.

Has your opinion of the streetwear scene in the UK changed? I think there is a lot of talent in the UK. There always has been. It’s just a very tough time for anyone over here trying to set a brand up. The UK scene is in it’s infancy though, it’s undernourished at the moment and we’ll only see what capability and talent lurks when there’s more money and support about. 

There needs to be a change in paradigm in product to customer delivery before we will see that growth. We UK brands need to get togther and pull something big off that brings us much more exposure.

Can I take this opportunity to thank everybody that has supported DBD, the customers especially!

If you have any thoughts on what Chris has had to (re-)say, or thoughts on anything else you’ve read fire us a comment or get in touch via email, Twitter, Facebook or the FKOF TakesQuestions page.

It’s been a fair while since FKOF had a sit down and caught up with one of the original brands from FatKidOnFire back in the day. Too long!

Bake Designs were just the third brand to feature here on FKOF - real OGs! Ben is one of the nicest guys I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in my last year of running the site and Bake are one of my favourite brands in UK streetwear. All’s gone a bit quiet over at Bake HQ with Ben being in the last year of Uni but we caught up the other week to discuss where the brand is and what’s in store…

It’s been almost a year since the Bake Designs x FKOF feature, what’s changed for the brand since then? It has been a while man - too long in fact. A lot has changed, it’s been a busy year for me with everything on.

I’m in my final of uni now, and that’s been a big commitment which has affected Bake. I would have loved to be dropping pieces left right and centre and perhaps pushing the brand forward more, but Uni had to be my priority.

Things have still changed though, there is a much clearer direction with the brand now, I’m much more happy with that. I always wanted the brand to have a clean graphic feel and I think at times I was pulled into designing graphics that I just felt would sell. I’m less concerned with what others think now and more interested in just doing what I want. I’m not doing designs based on what’s in the news and riding the wave of current affairs. I’m not interested in doing a ‘winning’ t-shirt, or ‘swag’ crewneck. That’s just lazy.

What’s the plan for the Bake Mix series you were doing a few months back? The first two from Synamatix and Link were absolute fire! I hear in the pipeline BD are possibly doing a relaunch soon, what’s going on there? The Bake mix series is something that I’ve really enjoyed being able to do, I’ve seen a few people bitching lately about how everyone’s doing it and brands should be more original. That’s a fair point, but as far as I’m concerned I want to hear good mixes so the more the merrier.

As far as the first two went Synamatix and Link both absolutely killed it, so a big shout has to go to them. But yeah there’s going to be more on the way soon, it’s one of the areas that did take a bit of a knock from my other commitments. But it is back on track, there’s one of the way as we speak and a couple more in the pipeline for the future.

And yeah this relaunch business, it’s a funny one. I don’t know if ‘relaunch’ is the right word really, but it goes back to the brand direction and being confident in it. I got to the point where I knew where I was at, where the brand was at and where I wanted it to go. Basically, I’m just going to do it properly now, and hopefully that will keep the brand moving forward.

When can we expect more from Bake Designs – any exciting collabs or further designs to look out for in the near future? In the future, the plan is to expand the range a bit more and like I said keep moving forward and improving what is offered. I graduate soon which I’m hoping means I will have a bit more time to focus on Bake.

There’s a collaboration on the go as we speak that’s going to be released pretty soon, and it’s definitely something I’ve enjoyed working on so yeah hopefully more in the future.

As far as new designs, there are always new pieces being planned. Got a nice little bank of ideas to dip into so yeah new designs are always on the way.

Has your opinion of the streetwear scene in the UK changed? My opinion of the streetwear scene in the UK has definitely changed yeah. I would still say there is a lot of positive people about, who are really supportive of each other and that’s what I like about the scene. Unfortunately there’s still like an undercurrent of grumpy bitches who just sit around and whine - you get that with anything but it’s just a shame. There’s a fine line between constructive criticism and the bitching of people who have nothing better. There’s a lot of new brands popping up all the time, and I think sometimes these new brands get a bad rep as just looking for quick income, but if these brands are doing a good thing I’ll back them. Credit to anyone who gives it a real go and has a passion for it as far as I’m concerned. But yeah it’s still a nice community to be part of and I appreciate the opportunity I have had to be a part of it.

It’s been a quiet time for Bake over the past few months, but there are big things from Ben coming up. As always, you’ll see it on FatKidOnFire when it happens. If you want to follow Bake in the mean time, catch Ben on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. Head to the Bake Bigcartel page to purchase and support!

If you have any thoughts on what Ben has had to (re-)say, or thoughts on anything else you’ve read fire us a comment or get in touch via email, Twitter, Facebook or the FKOF TakesQuestions page.

Oooh, look who’s on the flyer?!

SO stoked that the Dropfellas boys are back in town.

fusedforces:

The Dropfellas are bringing Dark Side Of London back to East London with a bang, if you’ve been to 1 of their parties before you know what to expect, if you haven’t you best get your self down to find out…