Got this from my homie Aki back in LA:
"Us Versus Them x Crooks & Castles ~ “Rise Up”
The shirt will be released Friday December 11th, 2009 and will be available exclusively at the Crooks & Castles flagship stores, select top tier Us Versus Them stockists and online at USVERSUSTHEM.COM.
About the project:
From Us Versus Them designer Graham Nystrom:
“When we create designs for our clothing, we try to make sure even the simplest ideas have some sort of depth and meaning behind it. T shirts are one of the most effective platforms to convey an idea, and we like creating graphics and designs that not only look good but convey some sort of attitude or message.
When I first started working out the concept behind the collab with Dennis at Crooks, both of our brands have such strong aesthetics and branding, so I wanted to incorporate something that brought together not only a message, but a strong blending of our visual styles in a way that stands out from the generic crop of tshirts that is floating around now. Both myself and Dennis have a great appreciation for the hand painted Polo designs that were ubiquitous on their products from the teddy bears to the sport collections in the 90’s, and we felt that this was the proper way to go.
The whole idea behind the concept of the painting is basically rising from the struggles, hustles, poverty, strife, etc, to power, wealth, style, etc. It plays with the themes from both of the brands, which are about making your own way to the top, whether its financially, politically, artistically, etc – by whatever means necessary. I’m huge on symbolism in paintings. If you look back from the renaissance, most of the art had icons and objects integrated that had meanings beyond what their physical appearance would convey. It caused the viewer to dig deeper to find the true meaning and it’s that interaction I hope people can find with our designs.
In the painting, you have the skull (symbol of death/danger) which attracts the eye first, surrounded by a hangman’s noose, all-seeing eye, machetes and the palm tree. These are placed to reference our crosscut logo, but also because they are symbols of struggle, and the palm tree representing third world countries where strife is commonplace. The eye on the golden plumb bob is to represent superstition and how it can weigh you down in life. The banner brings the eye up from that section to the upper section, which has the symbols of wealth and power. The jeweled crown, the castle rising from it symbolizing wealth and power – referencing Crooks & Castles ubiquitous icons – and the rope from the noose emerges from behind the banner and is woven into a nautical hitch knot to reference class and luxury. The keys being the tools one uses to open locked doors, represent the actions people take to rise up above their circumstances and create a better life for themselves.”
AVAILABLE FRIDAY, DEC. 11TH 2009"
NOW GO GET YOURS HOMIEEEE!
