Superdry expands its roots in US with flagship opening merging art, music, and fashion with Parker Day and Hodgy.
It was the World Series in Los Angeles. The Fall Classic found its way back to Chavez Ravine for the Dodgers since 1988, the tenth since the franchise moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958, and the 19th overall. Nevertheless, Los Angeles was on top of the world until reality hit them in the face. They lost.
During this, Superdry clothing brand opened a new store in Westfield Century City where those in attendance escaped the hysteria. I’m a bit familiar with Superdry since I’m a fan of Scotch and Soda, another British clothing brand. Superdry focuses on high-quality products that fuse vintage Americana and Japanese-inspired graphics with a British style. I’m also familiar with their store on the Las Vegas Strip.
Bay Area photographer, Parker Day, moved to LA in 2015 and uses social media to promote her highly-stylized vivid fauve cum chic portraits of every-person looking like central casting from John Water meets Wes Anderson meets Godard icons. Day’s photographs of models wearing Superdry where exhibited at the event. Curator Nathaly Charria helmed the event where provocative performance artist, Millie Brown was in attendance. Below are a few images I took from the event.
Superdry described the grand opening like this : “British lifestyle brand Superdry opens their West Coast flagship store in LA at Westfield Century City on Nov 1st. To celebrate the grand opening they have commissioned a series of photographs by LA-based artist Parker Day. The artworks feature an iconic cast of the city’s most influential "misfits." I am very excited about the subjects! Included are Millie Brown, Hodgy, Ann-Marie Hoang, Josephine Lee, Bradley Soileau, and Roman Sipe; who all have been photographed for Parker's first series of black and white portraits.
The private opening of the installation will take place on Wednesday, November 1st at 7pm and will feature a musical performance by rapper and producer Hodgy of Odd Future and a DJ set by Shaun Ross. The exhibition is curated by LA based Creative Director and Curator Nathaly Charria.”
Parker Day is a Los Angeles-based artist whose work explores personality and identity. Through costumingand exaggerated expressions, Day highlights the truth of who and what she portrays. She deliberately eschews Photoshop in favor of in-camera capture on film. Lurid color bathes her work and heightens the surreality of her subjects while the grain and grit of the photographs make them palpably real. @heyparkerday
Hodgy is a rapper, record producer, and founding member of the Los Angeles-based hip hop collective Odd Future. He is also a member of MellowHype with rapper/producer Left Brain. Hodgy recently debuted his solo album, Fireplace: TheNotOtherSide featuring Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne, after releasing several highly acclaimed mixtapes and completing a sold-out tour with BadBadNotGood. @monkmiyagi
This prime location at 10250 Santa Monica Blvd will be the perfect showcase for all product categories including Idris Elba + Superdry, along with the brand’s well-loved favorites. Century City will also be the only store on the West Coast to feature Superdry’s new concept Sports collection. Spanning 10.5k ft2 of retail space over 2 floors and featuring the brand’s new store design layout, Superdry’s latest opening will be the biggest store on the West Coast, as well as the largest to open in the U.S for 2017.
For further info, contact:
Laura Woodard | 310.770.1835 | laura.woodard@boldla.com
Follow all the action across social media
This article is part of an ongoing photojournalism survey of art exhibition openings titled EMS N(art)rative. Through my lens I document a photographic essay or visual “N(art)rative” that captures the happenings, personalities, collectors, gallerists, artists and the art itself; all elements that form the richly varied and textured fabric of the SoCal art world. This reconnaissance offers a unique view for serious art world players to obtain news and information on the current pulse of what’s in the now, yet capturing timeless indelible images for posterity and legacy. Here is EMS N(art)rative Fifty-Seven.
EMS can be reached at victorpond@msn.com and Instagram @ericminhswenson
Website : emsartscene.com
