Just over a week ago, Skepta made his debut as a painter, co-curating Sotheby's Contemporary Curated exhibition of up-and-coming talents. His piece, "Mama Goes to Market," was initially valued at £40,000-60,000; the piece fetched a modest £81,900, not bad for a first timer, hey?
Not long after the exhibition and Skepta's participation were announced, the star also unveiled that he'd gone into partnership with PUMA via his company Big Smoke Corp, setting up the next move in a year that has already made the artist feel nothing short of unstoppable.
Seemingly, where Skepta is concerned, good things come in far more than threes, as his artistic endeavors have also birthed a collaborative capsule collection alongside Tremaine Emory's Denim Tears, birthing the aptly named "Skepta Tears."
Taking direct inspiration from Skepta's painted work, which is an "abstract concept of home, featuring both traditional and surrealist elements such as the graffiti and printed textiles," Denim Tears' reimagines cherry-picked elements from throughout the piece and applies them to a series of garments and accessories.
Feeling like distinct, unique pieces of a grander puzzle, the capsule is concise, yet each element is a statement worthy of attention individually.
For the pants option, Denim Tears' affinity for Levi's 501 jeans remains a staple of his works, this time around featuring a rich, hand-painted style indigo finish adorned with small strikes of white paint from front to back – this aesthetic is also matched on a large tote.
These rich hand-painted blues are retained throughout the offering, with lighter hues bursting to life across a long sleeve t-shirt, hooded sweatshirt, and silk scarf. Finishing the arrangement is a short-sleeve white tee featuring a copy of "Mama Goes to Market."
Each of the items offered up in the capsule collection is currently available online for pre-orders, scheduled to ship in 3+ weeks. Worth the wait, I say.
