It Lives! is a new brand debuting this month with some intense graphic tees and an innovative New Era. The brand is the bastard brainchild of Vincent Kerlow, the man behind much of the illustrative work for Reason. The concept for the brand is “the type of stuff that gets kids sent to the principal’s office for wearing” and looking at the Lichtenstab tee above, I’d say mission accomplished.

I had the privilege to check out this line at Magic this past February and as gnarly as the Last Transmission design looks here, I can assure it’s even more intense in person. Some people are saying that minimalism will become even more prominent this spring and summer, but there’s nothing minimal about this and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There are times when a basic or total lack of a logo are perfect, but there’s other times when you just want a huge image of a dude’s head getting split open.

Sure it might bear some similarities to the JK5 Mishka New Era, but personally I prefer this hat. As hard as it might be to believe, this design is more effective thanks to it’s simplicity. There’s certainly nothing simple about this cap, but the lack of frills really calls your attention to the fact that your brain is getting ripped open. Brutal.

Ever get that feeling that those after school specials were just a little too perfect? It’s dudes like Mister Creepee who came out to play after the cameras shut off for the day. The stylization of the text here is just awesome and is perfectly incoporated into the design.

This last tee, dubbed Massacre on Route 99 is the only design that isn’t immediately striking. Perhaps a bit too busy, this is difficult to decipher even at a distance. Still, the concept is exploring new areas rather than relying on the typical streetwear blueprint. There’s no website set up for the brand just yet, so for a list of stockists or other info just email itlivesusa@gmail.com.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 18th, 2008 at 11:15 pm and is filed under Clothing, Hats. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.