California Apparel News

It’s not often that a sales rep describes a clothing line as “morbid”—and means it in a good way.

Then again, it’s not often that a T-shirt collection carries style names like “Bill the Butcher” and “Death to the Saxons.”

That’s the morbid—but in a good way—ethos of Black Hearts Brigade, a new Los Angeles–based collection of tees and tops for men and women designed by Danny Cook and Cameron Cole.

“It’s a little Goth with a punk edge and an S&M edge. It’s all things that are dark and dangerous that haunt your nightmares,” said Cook, who previously presided over Los Angeles streetwear brands Private and Private Circle.

Cook and Cole launched the Black Hearts Brigade men’s line last summer.

The line includes cotton and poly/cotton T-shirts, thermals, woven shirts and hooded sweatshirts, all hand-screen-printed, spray-printed, dip-dyed and studded to give them a custom-created destroyed look with a punk-rock edge.

Graphics include turn-of-the-century-style etchings and graffiti-style phrases such as “Kill the DJ.” Some are particularly edgy. One, called “Don’t love the drugs,” carries the phrase “Don’t love the drugs but the drugs love me.” Another, called “Toilet Art,” features graphics inspired by graffiti found on a public restroom wall. The colors in the collection are equally morbid, including mold, bone and dirt shades.

The women’s line bowed at the recent Project Global Trade Show in Las Vegas in February. The women’s line, which begins shipping in April, features feminine, fitted versions of the tees, henleys, thermals and jackets, as well as wrap and polo-style dresses.

In June, the designers plan to expand the line to include unconstructed, non-denim bottoms for men, and for Holiday a few more trousers may be added along with blazers.

Wholesale prices for both lines range from $24 to $52.

Cook and Cole work collaboratively to create the look of the line.

“Some people finish each other’s sentences. We finish each other’s ideas,” said Cook, describing a printed sweatshirt style that evolved into something more complex when Cole began adding studs.

“It starts out as one idea and then I start building on it,” said Cole, who worked in the music industry before shifting to fashion.

The company’s concept is carried out down to the last detail, Cook said, noting that orders are shipped to retailers in boxes that have been spray-painted and stenciled with the Black Hearts Brigade logo and graphics.

“The retailers are like, ’All right! What’s in it?’ It’s like Christmas,” said Cook.

The collection is carried at upscale stores including Ron Herman at Fred Segal Melrose and Fred Segal Santa Monica in Southern California, Villain’s Vault in San Francisco and Atrium in New York, as well as select Nordstrom stores. Boutiques in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong carry the line, which was picked up by several Canadian retailers at Project. The company just signed with a Scandinavian distributor, Global Designs, which will help open new accounts in Norway, Germany, Spain and Italy.

Styles in the line feature a slim, contemporary fit, although the company recently expanded the size range on the men’s line up to XXL to accommodate customers looking for a more traditional fit.

The collection is produced domestically to provide quick turnaround on orders. Turn times range from two to four weeks.

Future collections may include a few lighter, more traditionally Spring shades, but the company intends to stick to the dark side by and large, explained Brian Stark, who reps the Black Hearts Brigade collection in his Brand Equity Showroom in the Cooper Design Space.

“A lot of people say, ’Where do you see yourself come Spring?’” he said. “We’ll include some lighter colors, but it’s not going to be happy-go-lucky. Morbid is never going to go away.”

For more information, contact the Brand Equity Showroom at (213) 438- 0626. —Alison A. Nieder