"All dogs go to heaven because, unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind," said Whippet Angel in the 1989 film All Dogs Go To Heaven.
It's these three canine qualities that SOLDIER and Awake NY is highlighting with its forthcming collaboration.
SOLDIER, the Lagos-born and London-based artist, first presented his series of paintings (also titled All Dogs Go To Heaven) last year with portraits of dogs alongside his signature camouflage print.
"My new works represent the idea of protection, loyalty, fear, and safety, using dogs," the artist wrote on Instagram about the series.
Now, together with Angelo Baque’s Awake NY, SOLDIER is translating the themes from those paintings into a fully fledged clothing capsule comprising a hockey jersey and two T-shirts.
Available from December 15 via the Awake NY website, the six-piece capsule collection forefronts SOLDIER's dog-themed art. Although, some of the four-legged friends are more hidden than others.
On the collaborative camouflage-print hockey jersey, which has SOLDIER's eagle logo turned into a team crest while Awake NY branding sits where a sponsor traditionally would, the dog portraits are cleverly disguised into the camouflage print.
An artist by trade, this is far from being the first time that SOLDIER has dipped his toes into the world of fashion. Last month, he created his first "wearable sculpture", earlier in the year he partnered with Timberland to paint a series of its iconic 6-inch boots, and he's part of the skateboarding collective Motherlan which regularly releases clothing collections. Not to mention him modeling for the likes of Mains, Supreme, and Burberry.
Now, he's allied with one of New York's biggest streetwear labels to honor some of the dogs he has encountered on his travels, and their owners.
