What Vexed Did Next - Interview with Joe Hunter & Adam Thorpe
Scans from Dazed & Confused December 2004
WITH A DECADE OF DESIGN INNOVATION ALREADY BEHIND THEM. LONDON FASHION DUO VEXED GENERATION ARE STILL LOOKING FURTHER THAN ANYONE INTO FASHION'S FUTURE.
In the ten years since they first bust out of the UK free rave scene, London designers Adam Thorpe and Joe Hunter and their label Vexed Generation have had a significant impact on new directions taken in urban fashion. With widely ripped off designs like their controversial riot-inspired Vexed Parka and their once ubiquitous Velcro cross-strap cycle-courier style bags, Adam and Joe's designs have consistently found a way for social and political issues like urban surveillance, crime incarceration, genetics and pollution to play a part in the important business of looking good. But it is their acknowledged pioneering of new clothing technology and future fabrics to tackle things like temperature regulation and multiple-functionality that first oromoted soots brand Puma to enlist their talents. After the success or last season's Urban Mobility and Martial Arts collections, their second collaboration, for spring/summer 05, is about to hit the shops. In a small studio, on a cold day, In tower block somewhere in London E8. the two old friends talk about riding bikes, brewing tea, getting in trouble and why their work with Puma will run and run.
D&C: What was the idea behind Vexed Generation in the beginning!
VG: The Criminal Justice Act was just coming in, the free party scene was being closed down and rather than lust get pissed off about it. we liked the Idea that you could do something positive in response to it. Whether it’s by making music, making clothes or whatever. At the time there was a lot of stuff around that was a disappointment, that we felt could be done better. We thought about how you could inspire debate and promote issues. People were only being given one angle via the media and we wanted to give another one via a designed space in Soho that went alongside the clothing. People were getting their sound systems and computers taken away. I got arrested at the first Reclaim the Streets demo, and so that was another experience that made us feel these issues definitely were relevant to everybody and that it's ridiculous that you can find yourself in that situation just by hanging out in the street. And so that fueled our intent to do something about it and make more people aware of it. For us, design is about social change and how you adapt to it. That's the functionality or the garment.
D&C: When did you first hook up with Puma?
VG: The relationship started right back then, ten years ago. We were desperately trying to get hold of some Puma States and we ended up doing a bit of product placement for them. So then we suggested that we design a capsule collection for them, which ended up falling through and basically becoming Vexed instead. Then, ten years later Tony Bertone, Puma's Global Brand Director approached us to do something and suddenly all those issues that we were interested in were a lot more mainstream but still very relevant. And we thought whats better than having a major sportswear company saying, 'Bikes are great, everybody start cycling,' and also, we like sportswear, always have done, and thought it would be nice to do our take on it, so it makes it more accessible to more people.
D&C: What themes have you explored in the latest collaboration with them:
VG: It's still Urban Mobility and Martial Arts. The Urban Mobility brief is the Vexed brief really, and The Martial Arts brier is something that's new to us. We looked at its core principles - what's it all about other than kicking the fuck out of somebody - and it's about learned complexity, conservation of energy, secrecy and anonymity, comfort and freedom of movement. We took it right back to the initial stages. For the Urban Mobility collection we tried to explore this idea of cooler than naked because in the summer all you really want to wear is shorts and a t-shirt, so we worked with this material called hydra-weave that was originally used in America to prevent heat stress. The learning curve that working with a company like Puma has given us has been incredible. Comparatively, Vexed has next to no distribution. Its got a certain price point because of the materials and because it's all made in the UK. But we've never been afraid of reaching a lot of people and selling as many pieces as we can. We've always said to ourselves, 'Don't be scared to make a million jackets, but make sure those million jackets are really good and you will stand next to them in the pub having a chat with someone you've never met before and say this is good, this is why it's good,’ and if it's not up to that standard then don’t make it.
Credits:
Photography: Jon Baker
Styling: Beth Fenton
Model: Sam King
Text: Joanna Schlenza