So, not a little known fact about yours truly, in fact a well-known fact about me is that I adore me some Yeezy. I will defend the man to the bitter end even after one of his now infamous rants. In fact I actually witnessed one of said rants at his ACC show this time last year and was outraged when people around me started boo’ing his 40 minute long monologue about why he should have been nominated for a Grammy. I mean come on a) HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED and b) People! We are witnessing history here! A real live Kanye rant! Needless to say I think the man is a damn genius who is on an entirely differently plain then you and me my friends. So when my SweptMedia editor asked me to take a look at this line I was definitely game to give it a gander.
Babes & Gents is a line from Amir Zagari of Ottawa, Ontario. Amir started this line in July 2013 with a passion for collaborating art, music and lifestyle to create a look that heralds patriotism for all of these in a linear way all the while ‘repping Ottawa and the great white north. It’s a carefully edited collection from season to season, featuring simple black and white tees, tanks, hoodies, baseball jerseys and the occasional crop top for the Babes. It’s the graphic designs that really make this line standout. Kanye and his most recent collaboration with Monsieur Jay-z in Paris have inspired a capsule collection that offers fans of this line a beautiful, well thought out design.
Looking at the sketches and thought process behind this design mash-up between Babes & Gents and Lucas Stolz, a young, innovative designer hailing from Switzerland and now residing in Barcelona was something I have never experienced. Looking at the transition from rough thoughts to a curated, insightful graphic was really interesting. I suppose I never put much thought into the process behind creating a graphic like that. The result, inspired by Kanye’s belief that great art is polarizing, in that it “forces you to have an opinion” is captivating and introduces us to Amir’s plan to feature the work of amazing, modern artists as part of his “carefully mastered project”. Along with the homage to Kanye: I was drawn to Lucas’s line work, it is flowing and elegant, combining structured lettering lost within an iconic image to create something really special.
You can find all of Babes & Gents lines at babesngents.com (very reasonably priced by the by) or at such fine Toronto retailers as Get Fresh Company, Blk Out Inc. and Model Citizen. Amir and his team have a great vision and better then that they do their very best to donate 10% of all profits to various charities. Now hurry up with my damn croissant.