Abc. Taps Three Collaborators for Latest Capsule
Heather Haber and Remington Guest cut their teeth with the original Band of Outsiders but didn’t make a splash until they founded Abc., short for Advisory Board Crystals, in 2015. Based in Los Angeles, the duo has become known for their distinct crystal-infused dye technique and hand-crafted experimental streetwear, and over the years, they’ve collaborated with a number of art institutions, artists and companies, including The Whitney Museum, Olafur Eliasson, Kenny Scharf, the Andy Warhol Foundation and Marvel.
Their latest collaboration — Artist Recluse — includes three partners: artist Elliott Hundley, Mattel’s Masters of the Universe/He-man and Guess Jeans, and explores a time when serious creatives were more apt to keep a low profile than to shout out their presence on social media.
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Hundley reimagined Abc.’s signature T-shirts by collaging them with photographs and found objects and its sweatshirts by emblazoning them with an allover print. Both also sport a chain-stitched information box and Abc.’s holographic patch.
The Mattel portion of the collection is centered around the new Masters of the Universe Netflix series and imagines an artist recluse living in California but working at Mattel in Japan. The saying, “We have the power,” is printed on trucker hats, and there are T-shirts featuring Evil-Lyn and The Sorceress, a battling He-man and a Skeletor camp shirt. Tees feature a transparent glitter print, a puff print, a Mattel label and a back embroidery. Hats are embroidered and include a Mattel tag, and the camp shirts feature screen-printed characters and layered glitter effects, a puff print logo, a Mattel label and a back Japanese logo text.
For the Guess part of the collection Abc. offers a reinterpretation of an artist splatter studio wardrobe. Each piece is individually hand-frayed and hand-painted in L.A. and includes classic striped T-shirts, jeans in light indigo and washed black finishes, and a denim jacket featuring crocheted text, a custom back patch, a chest embroidery and a gold metal zipper. The message on the jacket, “Simplify, Simplify,” is inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s mantra from 1854 that also served as an act of protest against the modern world and as a future model for solitary artists.
The collection retails from $50 to $425 and is available exclusive on the Advisory Board Crystals e-commerce site.
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