VILEBREQUIN & ALEX ISRAEL’S CAPSULE COLLECTION

By Crash redaction

VILEBREQUIN & ALEX ISRAEL: RIDING THE CURL IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT WAVE

The iconic brand that has created stylish swim trunks with colorful patterns has partnered with Alex Israel, leading figure of the Californian contemporary art scene.

Alex Israel creates art that is deeply entwined with his hometown, riffing on the Hollywood entertainment industry and the cult of celebrity to create a sleek narrative of L.A. clichés. In Rough Winds, a 10-episode-web-series, Israel portrays the lives of jaded young adults in the magical dreamscape of Los Angeles. Blending The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and 90210, he takes as his backdrop the California villas with overflowing pools – like those from David Hockney’s artwork –  and picks characters who exude washed-out Californian blondness.

For this collaboration, Vilebrequin founder Fred Prysquel and Alex Israel took inspiration from the L.A surfer’s timeless dilemma: to find the perfect wave, as portrayed in Bruce Brown’s surf documentary The Endless Summer, as well as Alex Israel’s new teen surf movie. To create his trunks of Warholian inspiration and locate the perfect wave, he drew inspiration from both Hokusai and Ken Price. According to Alex Israel’s creed, these eccentric trunks must wage battle with the perfect wave while worn with a pair of black sunglasses. Perhaps he is referring to the pair he wears in his cult Self-Portrait, which is culled from his own brand: Freeway Eyewear.

www.vilebrequin.com

Available from March 2017 at e-shop and Vilebrequin’stores.

Written by Lisa Tomasi

Vilebrequin x Alex Israel capsule’s collection

Vilebrequin x Alex Israel’s capsule collection