To mark the anniversary of the London riots new fashion label Dalston Coathanger will launch ‘The Riot Range’, a limited edition T-shirt collection available from their concept market stall on Ridley Road Market, Dalston. With ‘The Product of Our Society’ an overarching tag line for the brand, the concept behind the Dalston Coathanger is to inspire political and social discussion – the ethos of this first range is to discuss the London riots.
Pauline Pearce, AKA ‘The Hackney Heroine’ was spotted standing up to youths in her community during the chaos and has since become a strong political voice. Pauline’s on-going cause is protesting for politics to ‘get real’ and engage with the young people of today in a realistic and positive way. Dalston Coathanger saw a natural synergy between the heroine’s principles and their own, resulting in an exciting relationship to support each other’s messages and the range.
Comments Pauline Pearce, “I was really excited when the Dalston Coathanger approached me to endorse ‘The Riot Range’ campaign, I love the designs and can really see them grabbing people’s attention. The riot debate is very close to my heart and I feel blessed to be involved with such a project, especially around the first anniversary.” The initial range consists of three core designs – each design features a bold statement or iconic image from the riots:
RIOT – a bold print capturing the essence of the word that was so prominent last summer. The minimalistic design ensures nothing detracts from the significance of the riots themselves with the contrast of white and black symbolising the clash of peace and violence, a sinister reminder to society that the very people wearing these t-shirts once had the country in the palm of their hands. Also available in colour.
BORIS FACE – a great deal was said during and after the Riots and those very words have been used to build the face of Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London who was unable to prevent the mayhem escalating to such extremes. Numerous views were expressed across a multitude of platforms and this design makes use of the hair and face to distinguish between the public and government, clearly illustrating the worrying lack of harmony between the two sides.
THERE WILL BE A RIOT – A concept design incorporating a quote constructed out of haunting iconic images of the violence and destruction. Those same pictures were broadcast globally causing anger and frustration at both the cause and handling of the situation; the idea behind this T-shirt is to ensure that as a society we do not forget.
DALSTON COATHANGER TEAMS UP WITH DO SOMETHING FOR LIFE
£1 from each piece of the RIOT range will be put towards the RIOT fund. Once the fund has reached capacity and all limited edition pieces have been sold it will be used to contribute to Pauline Pearce’s ‘Do Something for Life’ movement – our followers on social media will decide exactly what we contribute. This approach is intended to generate further discussion on what exactly is the most positive way to influence the next generation. This may range from educational courses for youths to digital equipment for the Do Something for Life community centre.
Find us and follow us:
Face to face: at Ridley Road market every Saturday from August 11th 2012
Facebook: DalstonCoathanger
Twitter: @E8Coathanger
Tumblr: dalstoncoathanger.tumblr.com
