“This collection is intended as an aide-mémoire for the community.”
Last week, we were proud to announce ‘PROTEST!’, a very special Pride shaped collaboration with one of our favourite Irish queer artists, Brian Teeling.
The project is a unique apparel collection that showcases a range of dynamic designs from Teeling, homaging some of the most iconic visual moments for our community and celebrating timely messages of relevance for our diverse LGBTQ+ community.
The GCN x Brian Teeling PROTEST! collection is being released in stages to celebrate Pride season. Each week will see a small capsule of incredible designs available for a one-time-only window of seven days before the next set is released the following week, and so on.
Ahead of the release of the next drop tomorrow, Thursday 17, we caught up with Brian Teeling to talk about his inspirations for PROTEST! and ideas about the collection and what to expect from the coming releases.
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Tell us a bit about your PROTEST! collection with GCN?
The initial idea was to make something that was related to the community, concomitant to Pride but to not be defined by it or its current symbology. All of the designs are either references, bootlegged, or commandeered from various community sources and archives. We have such a rich history which I believe is slowly being covered by a rainbow pall. We must continue to look to the past to inform our shared future.
We have such a rich history which I believe is slowly being covered by a rainbow pall. We must continue to look to the past to inform our shared future.
Influencing this idea also was the motive to make something sustainable, local, and conscious. This is where producing things to order, ensuring the use of organic fabrics and water-based inks, even in how we mail things out comes into play.
The immediacy of ordering clothing online has created a warped reality in terms of expectation. With this collection, we want to renegotiate that. Ensure an ethical process is adhered to, and that what is purchased for this Pride is cherished and worn all year round.
Some of the initial cues for this collection started with the reappropriation of slurs used against members of our community.
Some of the initial cues for this collection started with the reappropriation of slurs used against members of our community. I was looking at counter-protests, homophobic demonstrations by the religious right, and even the sloganeering of the Westboro Baptist Church. This all led to the idea of bootlegging, a focus on etymology, and the possibility of a small history lesson, of sorts.
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What can folks expect from the rest of the collection?
Of what’s to come, I’m quite enamoured with the ‘I Love Somebody’ t-shirt which is a bootleg of a t-shirt that emerged from the HIV/AIDS crisis in the USA in the 1980s. A remnant from an era that has been parked in the memory for some. We need to address the stigma around HIV and spread the message U=U.
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There’s also the big ‘Flamer’ shopper which I can’t wait for everyone to see and the living legend Tonie Walsh will make an appearance too.
Shop the GCN x Brian Teeling PROTEST! collection, here and find out more about Brian Teeling here.
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