LONDON — Psychedelic tie-dye, marijuana leaves and scorpions poised to strike: the new streetwear brand Cherry World captures sunny Californian skateboarding culture through an English imagination.
“Growing up in a rainy, gray, housing estate in England, I always dreamed of living in America,” fashion photographer Glen Luchford, one of the brand’s cofounders, said in an interview.
“I was so excited when I first went to America, I thought Mickey Mouse was going to come and meet me in the airport,” he laughed, adding, “It was like this fairy-tale dream.”
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Of the brand’s cofounders three are British: Luchford; Fergus Purcell, the graphic designer and creator of Palace’s logo, and fashion stylist Fran Burns. Josh Levine, cofounder of Frame Denim, is the only native Californian.
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That blend of cultures gives the brand’s version of Americana a subversive feel.
Striped cashmere sweaters nod to the Baja hoodies adopted by skatepark stoners; T-shirts are printed with an American flag, reimagined as a cannabis leaf-spangled banner, and 323, a Los Angeles area code, is stamped on mesh jerseys and sport shorts.
“The three of us have got outside eyes looking in, it’s like a mis-translation,” Purcell said. “In our generation, a lot of people romanticized America — it was just exploding culturally in so many ways.”
Luchford, Purcell and Burns’ said they all grew up itching to get their hands on the latest U.S. imports — whether it was music, Levi’s jeans or that shiny brand of American optimism.
“I missed punk — which I’m still really resentful of. And by the time I could buy records, music had mutated into a Californian skate punk scene. All these bands coming out of California, like Black Flag and Agent Orange, really piqued my interest,” Luchford said.
All of those hypergraphic, anarchic reference points shine through in this brand, which has been funded entirely by its founders.
Every piece has been made in L.A., and in a full-circle moment, the patching and embroidery on the wool varsity jacket has been done by a company that manufactures costumes for Disneyland, Levine said.
Prices range from $35 for a pair of socks to $1,195 for a cashmere sweater, and the collection is being sold on cherryworld.com.