Fergus Purcell: the high-fashion streetwear champion you’ve never heard of
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Version 0 of 1. Fergus Purcell isn’t a name that many will know – and that’s just the way he likes it. “I don’t try to be obscure,” says the British illustrator, graphic artist and designer. “I just like the work to be out there, shouting and being exciting, so I don’t need to. I think that’s the right way round.” Purcell has been working hard at the margins of fashion since the 90s, and counts Silas and Palace among previous collaborators. This season he has worked on both his own label Aries (of which more later) and the rebooted Marc By Marc Jacobs, with Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley in the design roles. “Marc Jacobs was always top of my list of companies to work with,” says Purcell, who was behind the motocross typography that dotted the designs. “I’m really enjoying the convergence of streetwear and high-fashion that’s happening at the moment.” Purcell’s Aries is all about that convergence. The brand is a collaboration with Sofia Prantera, the designer who founded skatewear brand Silas in the late 90s, and the results are Purcell-designed logos, punky finishes and pretty prints, which he describes as “a collision between trashy and high-end.” He has a penchant for the aesthetic of the pop landscape and namechecks Fiorucci, the Watchmen comics and “trashy video covers” as formative influences. Rihanna is top of his collaborator bucket list. Purcell believes there are exciting times ahead – and he wants to dive in. “That whole heritage thing, when 18-year-olds were walking around dressed in Barbours, was depressing and I thought the whole austere, £2,000 coat thing was just a bit boring, aesthetically,” he muses. “I think fashion is at its best when it references what’s going on at street level – and that’s what’s going on now.” |