When the two worlds of art and fashion collide, streetwear brand Legendary X and artist Nik D. are no strangers.
The clothing brand Legendary X and artist Nik D. collaborated together for the first time at the Nest’s UBC performance theatre. The event was filled with a blend of colourful pieces on canvas, fashion shows and special guest performances by local Vancouver artists such as TWest, Up Since Tuesday and the tap dancing styling of Matisse, among many others.
Before now, Legendary X was just an idea.
“I was talking to a friend before I started making any clothing,” said Ashkan Alaie, a fourth-year political science student at UBC and CEO and designer of the line. “I told him I want to capture legendary moments.”
Since 2014, exactly two years since its inception, four collections have been designed and produced by Alaie, who is the powerhouse behind the brand. He recently showcased his spring/summer 2016 collection through a fashion show at the expo. In addition to featuring the new designs, his other collections (the fall/winter 2015 collection) were shown and sold at a discounted price.
A piece that was featured from the fall/winter collection 2015 was the “Bandana Tall Tee.” With our world moving towards gender neutrality, the diffusion of a dress-like t-shirt and the detail of the bandana definitely creates a statement in the fashion world.
“I started to focus more on quality, fit and still being able to stand out. Because that is what my brand is about — appreciating people being different and being able to stand out,” said Alaie. “I’m happy that’s accepted now and people wear it and it’s like a trend.”
On the other side of the expo, Nik D., a fourth-year art history major at UBC, debuts his paintings during the event. His work focuses on vibrant colours as imprints for his images, stunning visuality, while also keeping simplicity present in his work.
“Whatever feels right at the moment is going on the canvas. It focuses on the feeling and what happens becomes the most prominent thing,” he said.
After a lot of planning, what started with just Nik D. and Alaie became something bigger.
“I felt surprised that the turnout was so great. I didn’t expect to see so many familiar and new faces,” said Alaie. “I’ll for sure be doing more events like this in the future with new and more art collaborations.”
He plans to finalize the pieces for the spring/summer collection for the upcoming look book, which will be available on the Legendary X website.