Affliction: Graphics With a Vintage Edge
The graphics of Santa Ana, Calif.–based Affliction are hip and edgy—but they take their cues from vintage illustration styles, including hand-drawn etchings and engravings.
“It’s really detailed and intricate, but it’s also loose and edgy. We hand-draw these on paper and then just scan them in,” said co-designer and co-founder of Affliction, Eric Foss. “We don’t go into the computer and re-draw it as vector art and make it real clean. We want it to be kind of raw.”
Foss, along with his two co-founders, operations manager Clifton Chason and manufacturer and co-designer Todd Beard, debuted Affliction at the Pool Trade Show in Las Vegas in August. The trio offered the collection of combed-cotton T-shirts, polo shirts, long-sleeve thermals and zippered hoodies for Immediate delivery and attracted the attention of Fred Levine. The owner of the M. Fredric stores said he was impressed by Affliction’s graphics and placed a test order at Pool for his men’s boutique. “As soon as [Affliction] went in, they were on the top of the hot-seller report and they had only been in the store for one day,” said Levine, whose store also carries Grail, Ed Hardy and Drifter. “So I got immediately on the phone and reordered.”
Levine noted that the ability to place orders for Immediate delivery was important.
For the next season, Affliction doubled the number of graphics in the line to keep up with demand. New styles are being added, including a woven cotton button-down shirt and heather ringer T-shirt. Wholesale price points of the T-shirts are $14–$18.
The collection’s graphics are decidedly dark. Some show skulls or skeletons, such as a skull sliced with a spiked cross and a skull wearing a top hat. One of the best-selling graphics portrays an apocalyptic angels-versus-demons battle in which the imagery bleeds over the sleeve seams. The tops are garment dyed, softened through silicon, enzyme and mineral washes, and feature metallic-foil embellishment and splashes of color.
“We are obviously into edgy graphics,” Foss said. “We want everything to look tough, and the people that like our stuff happen to be tough, edgy people. But we definitely try to get away from using skulls on everything.” Cherubs, fleurs-de-lis, feathered wings and elaborate, old-fashioned architectural leaf patterns are among some of the other graphics elements.
For more information, call (949) 296-7700. —Rhea Cortado
