Shag: Artist Debuts Clothing Line

The dashing, mod-partying characters in Shag’s paintings will come to life in a new clothing line named after the artist.

Though Shag has licensed his work in the past, this is the first time that his art has been interpreted in apparel beyond printed T-shirts.

Kevin Rheault, who most recently worked as production manager for Ezekiel, approached the artist about starting a clothing line after following his art for many years. Rheault also produces the Long Beach Car Show, where Shag has a vibrant fan base among the rockabilly, tiki and hot-rod crowd.

“When you license your artwork out to other companies, they just want that image identification, so that means mostly T-shirts or prints with your artwork on it, stuff like that,” said Josh Agle, who paints under the name Shag. “But I liked the idea that a whole collection being based on the artwork that wasn’t necessarily all graphic would be an extension of [the art].”

Rheault’s design process started with examining the individuals depicted in Shag’s paintings, which range from “a martini party in a glass house hanging over the hill”—where the men are dressed in “solid black turtlenecks, blazers, skinny ties”—to “hanging out at a tiki lounge.”

The men’s clothing uses signature elements from Shag’s art, such as a bright color palette and graphic motifs. On the subtle side are varsity sweaters, peacoats and blazers where elements from the paintings may be printed on the inside lining. Other items are focused more on the art, such as a martini-glass line drawing made into all-over patterns on a zip-up track jacket and an angular brick-wall background made into a jacquard sweater.

“I don’t want to get cartoony, because Shag has a lot of those kitschy kind of characters. A lot of the art we hid on the inside of the garments,” Rheault said.

Slim blazers and wool peacoats wholesale from $95 to $175, slim-fit pants range from $55 to $67, sweaters in cotton, angora or acrylic average $60, stretch cotton wovens range from $49 to $55, and T-shirts range from $22 to $24. The line debuted at the Project Global Trade Show in Las Vegas for the Fall 2010 season.

For more information, call (562) 308-0169.—Rhea Cortado