Hello,
I wanna use this space to document/archive & share my journey with Solus, alongside the thought processes & story behind Solus capsules.
I hope this offers you insight, value and even some inspiration as I show you how I conceived of the related concepts and ultimately create the final products & any promotional material.
With my output at Solus, I want to expose you to new concepts and approaches to the conventional path of life & angles of thinking about concepts. That is what Solus is all about after all.
Over my brief stint in streetwear, I've witnessed far too many brands attempt the path most trodden and attempt to penetrate wardrobes by releasing whats ‘hyped’ in the moment, often resulting in the same old, shoddy tees boasting a generic logo slapped on it.
- This is something I would not recommend, if you want to build something with an identity that can last longer than a season. Of course, this approach has worked for a minority of emerging, underdog brands; but it’s neither a sustainable way of gaining notoriety within your industry, nor is it an idea that I am stimulated by.
And if a concept doesn’t excite me, then I know I can do better and should go back to the drawing board. This project, the SanCan, is an example of a concept I have loved working on, and feel it has encapsulated many aspects of what I'm trying to achieve with Solus, from the unconventional product, hijacked marketing campaign and fusion of art, music and fashion.
So, heres my thinking behind the SanCan, the greatest drink to never exist, and the 'Canpaign' material enacted to build up to the release of the 2nd iteration of the SanCan.
Backstory:
Until I sat down and actually deeped my thinking and inspirations that went into this drop, I hadn’t clocked that this story goes back to when I was 13 years old and just beginning to dip my toes into the streetwear scene… You can only connect the dots looking backwards I guess.
Back then I was using the Japanese Yahoo to score rare streetwear pieces, in this particular package I imported 27 cans from Japan. These weren’t just any normal cans. These were from the legendary 2002 collaboration between A Bathing Ape x Pepsi. At the time of release, this was a huge deal for Bape and a defining moment for their brand.
One thing I loved about this collab was the apparent clash of universes, between a multinational drinks company producing a consumable product, mixed with a Japanese streetwear label. So to see Bape use their instantly recognisable camo on a conventional item like an aluminium can, really got me thinking about what is considered ‘art’ and the mediums available to a creator, like myself.
Art can appear in countless forms; even a cold and hard piece of metal encapsulating a sugary fizzy drink.
In addition to the whole Bape x Pepsi concept, which evidently embedded its hooks into my subconscious; I had also ALWAYS wanted to make a stash can.
Having been exposed to pieces such as the conventional Coca Cola stash cans and items like the Supreme Stash Bible from FW13. I knew a stash can could make for a sick lifestyle piece. It was just begging for a creative approach and unusual framing, something Solus always strives for.
A can is a sleek and novel canvas for creative expression, offering a degree of permanence, something usually only available to big businesses capable of producing huge volumes of tinned liquid drinks. So it's very special to be able to create a physical product, like the Sacan, which emulates this feeling of permanence whilst still being a small player in our respective market.
The Lyrical Side
One day in 2021, I was enjoying Dave's music (something I do on a daily basis) and heard the line "hiding crow in a rubicon drink, which is funny cause that's how we put food in the fridge" (Psycho, Psychodrama)... I knew in that moment that I had my perfect opportunity to create a stash can entwining Dave’s music, art & streetwear (with a hint of stoner culture).
I got to work on the design, with Dave playing constantly in the background to give me inspiration. As always, my favourite part of the process was finding relevant material to input into the piece. In this case, a ‘nutritional info’ table… fortunately Dave likes to use numbers throughout his work so it was a matter of me collecting up all the lyrics that came to mind and then picking the most appropriate and recognisable.
A nutritional contents table was vital in order to add greater depth to the canned drink concept, whilst also helps in avoiding raising suspicions with security, parents, partners etc. should they clock that ‘SanCan’ is a non-existent drink.
I dropped the v1 of this can in 2022 to a luke-warm response. I never stopped believing in the piece and knew it just needed more eyes on it, for the ball to really start rolling.
Then a few months after release, a number of videos of the can went viral on my personal TikTok; which prompted me to perfect the OG design, which contained a few minor errors in the design.
Fast forward months of tweaking and sampling; we have the SanCan v2.
Hijacking - Good artists copy, great artists steal
Something I have always admired within art, especially pop-art and street art, is its ability to take an existing concept and morph it into something fresh and new.
By refreshing something that is recognisable from our modern world, you are still able to benefit from the pre-existing infrastructure and connotations related to the graphic in question, or perhaps you're trying to draw the existing connotations into question and ask the viewer a bigger question entirely.
Leapfrogging off the backs of incumbent design is what has made the streetwear and art scene so exciting, alive and ever-evolving. This is what captured my heart and attention when I first got into streetwear and is what I love about it to this day.
And so for Solus, hijacking iconic photoshoots & ad campaigns, logos, lyrics and other post-modern artefacts of the modern world is a fun way of conveying the Solus message whilst retaining an air of familiarity from icons you already know and love.
I like to think of this concept as 'hijacking'. An extension of the idea from Picasso that “Good artists copy, great artists steal”. Something that I feel Solus embodies and will continue to reference existing structures in our world, in an aim to make you think about their significance and relevance in our daily lives.
In the spirit of hijacking, it’s only fair that we used the likeness of one of streetwear’s darlings, Kate Moss. The iconic ‘Got Milk’ ad came to mind, which pictured a young Kate with a glass of milk... how the hell do Americans commoditise and brand something as simple & homogenous as milk!?
Anyway, the OG promotional piece offered plenty of fertile material to manipulate in a way that promotes the upcoming drop of our SanCan; whilst also making a nod to a highly successful ad campaign and the timeless face of Kate Moss.
- Big thank you to Kate in advance... It's often better to ask for forgiveness than permission, as they say x
The SanCan tee and hoodie is also a result of this ‘hijacking’, with the 6-colour screenprinted back print featuring a popular high-street bank’s logo on fire...
Without explaining the entire concept to you on a plate, the idea relates to existing Dave graphics, whilst also conveying a message of ‘creative destruction’ - which is when fresh ideas remodel existing concepts by taking the good from them, burn the fat off and start anew.
Solus, as an underdog with limited resources, is standing on the shoulders of existing structures & paradigms. We are then using this to propel us onwards, gaining greater exposure of our message & vision for a more sustainable approach to consumption, and the philosophy of life in general.
The Solus clothing pieces have been screen-printed in London, onto sustainably sourced and high quality pieces. The backprint was so intricate that our printers had to sit down and work out how they could achieve the level of detail required and boy, did they deliver.
Stay Solus,
Olli // Mr Solus
This SanCan capsule (consisting of the SanCan v2, Flame t-shirt & Flame hoodie) will be available from 7PM on 4/20 (20th April 2023).
]]>There’s two words all graphic print tee fans fear and that is the dreaded ‘cracked print’… It's a common cause of heartache for graphic tee lovers out there, we feel your pain.
If you've ever tried to maintain the immaculate print perfection of your favourite screen-printed, graphic t-shirt, then you know how gut-wrenching it can be when the design starts cracking and aging quicker than it should.
This isn’t to say that graphic tees can’t look sick with some age & wear, they can do.
But this guide is for those of you who want to extend the life of their graphic tee, so that they can continue to flex for years to come.
The good news is that we have some tried and tested steps to help prevent your graphic tees from cracking!
Some of these may seem simple and obvious, but a lot of people don't do these things and it's normally the root of the issue.
If this gives you some reassurance, I am always being asked by friends ‘Olli, how do you keep those tees of yours so damn fresh?! Is that a new tee???’
So, without any further delay, here are my top tips for preventing graphic print from cracking and ages:
1) Always wash your tees inside out to reduce friction and fading
2) Wash on a gentle, cold setting with a low spin
3) Hang to air dry, do not tumble dry...or microwave
4) Keep your tees away from direct sunlight, the UV damages the print
5) Don't overload on the detergent
6) Don't iron over graphics
6) Look after your tees when wearing them. If you stain the garment, make sure to use a stain remover (Vanish is our go to) to hopefully minimise any damage
Finally, you can also hand wash your graphic tees, but this can feel like quite a lot of effort lol. Go for it if you have the time and patience, but if you're wanting to save time and stick to the washing machine, then follow the instructions above!
Not only are these tips good for you, your pocket & your wardrobe; but many have environmental benefits, in the form of lower energy use and reducing over-consumption, by ensuring your tees have a longer wearable life.
Did this help you?
Let me know what else you'd like me to cover in future articles ✌️
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It has been a few months since the release of our first line of Solus Corduroy Overshirts, in sand and sage, so we wanted to revisit the photoshoot and drop.
After months of hard work on our first bespoke Solus piece, we finally came up with a line that's both unmistakably Solus, but keeps a clean aesthetic.
As with all Solus products, we focus upon versatility and comfort, so that it can be worn in any number of situations and mixed in with various fits.
Our new Solus shirt is crafted from high quality cotton and features embroidered detailing on the cuffs, arm, chest & collar. It boasts two pockets and a pen/cylindrical object holder on the right breast—use it for holding your sunglasses so they don't get left on your head and leave a weird mark.
If you're looking for an overshirt for autumn layered outfits, then you've found the perfect corduroy piece for the job. Fits slightly oversized, see size chart to ensure you get the right fit.
We took direct inspiration from the local area when choosing the colour combos of our first two iterations of the Solus Corduroy Overshirt, sand and sage.
So with that in mind, it was only right to have our shoot down on the *sometimes* sunny area of Hengistbury Head in Dorset (near where we are based).
Our wonderful cast of Solus models rocked the shirts in a mix of fits and styles, emphasising the adaptability of these pieces.
Currently available in sizes Medium - 3XL in the colours: Sand & Sage.
More product information can be found on the product pages.
Please don't hesitate to get in touch with any more questions :)
More colourways and styles to come 👀
Stay Solus x
****
Photography, Editing and Vision:Mr Solus & Tom Darwent
Models: Jack Williamson, Soura Sosseh, Olivia Colacicco, Henry Edbrooke, Juliette Kirkby, Kieffer Balsomo & Mr Solus.
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This work is aimed at opening a dialogue as to the inherent value of these important pieces of plastic, which we, as a society, rely heavily upon for trade, trust and life in general. In this modern world, whether we like it or not, our lives revolve around money and growth. And these small micro-chipped cards form a large part of our daily human experience. Why is that? Where do we go from here?
Essentially, these pieces of credit c-art are no different to the concept of fiat currency and the traditional debit/credit cards you would see in a wallet or purse. The only difference, is that the Solus Santandave credit cards have no utility and are instead collectible piece of arts, embodying the artist's iconic discography to date.
Having previously worked on a Kanye inspired collection, prompted by a lyrical reference in ‘Last Call’, Solus next choice needed to be a British GOAT, which made Dave Omoregie (AKA Santdanve) an obvious choice. We landed upon the idea of 'hijacking' the classic Santander debit card, with a combination of Dave's iconic albums, Psychodrama & We're All Alone in this Together.
As part of the SantanDave / SantanSolus release, Solus dropped a capsule of: two tees and a limited edition Dave stash can, aptly coined the ‘SanCan’.
Alongside t-shirt purchases from the drop, customers received a complementary Santandave credit c-art piece, complete with a card holder, which will include a hand-written 'cardholders number' (X/100).
The tees, card and stash-can pay homage to the young MC and feature tons of Dave lyrical references throughout the artwork, with the t-shirts sporting a screen-printed front of the ‘Santandave’ card and the back exhibiting one our personal favourite lines from Dave (Screwface Capital, Psychodrama).
SantanDave card design has been screen-printed on heavyweight, responsibly sourced blanks made from 220GSM organic cotton.
*This collection released on 13th May 2022*
- Stay Solus
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