Givenchy and Bstroy Partner on Streetwear Capsule That Expresses Individual Style
Matthew M. Williams, Givenchy creative director, and Bstroy cofounders Brick Owens and Dieter “Du” Grams have combined to design a streetwear capsule.
The spring 2023 collection blends the aesthetics of their respective brands, and is now available at Givenchy stores globally, givenchy.com and select partners worldwide. Some emblematic pieces are also accompanied by limited-edition Givenchy x Bstroy NFTs.
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“Brick and Du are longtime friends who share my vision of fashion as an inclusive space for experimentation and expressing personal style. Together the three of us focused on creating streetwear with unexpected treatments that resonates beyond fashion and enters the realm of contemporary art on the street and in Web3,” Williams said.
“Bstroy captures the essence on the street, and Matthew’s work for Givenchy epitomizes urban style with Parisian flair. For this collaboration, we wanted to merge our respective aesthetics and create an experience” said Owens and Grams in a statement.
The capsule collection, which they have been working on for the past year, includes oversize, draped T-shirts with funky graphics, and allover print in bright blue, pink and yellow on T-shirts and jeans. The line is comprised of T-shirts, hoodies, jeans, varsity jackets, statement bags and footwear. Layered colors, emblematic embroideries and experimental treatments are highlights of the collection, which includes a Givenchy x Bstroy double-headed hoodie inspired by Bstroy’s emblematic design.
Among the accessories are colorful new interpretations of urban essentials such as multicolored low-tops, moon boots and limited-edition caps. For women, there’s an Antigona Soft bag with metal charms, a Moon Cut-Out shoulder bag, a denim G-tote and Shark Lock boots embellished with metal charms.
In addition, there are men’s backpacks, one in a classic shape embellished with Bstroy patches, the other a G-Zip with a new interpretation of the Givenchy emblem. There’s also a mint green G-Shopper with the Givenchy 4G emblem in royal blue on one side and Bstroy graphics on the other. The TK-360 returns in new colors, from gradient gray to blue/green and red/yellow. Customized denim caps and multicolored tags with Givenchy lettering round out the capsule.
The line, which is being shown at Givenchy’s offices, is manufactured in Europe and Italy.
Prices range from $370 to $6,390. The line is available for one season only.
Six NFTs will be available in total and the final mint will be 360. The six NFTs, that will be introduced Nov. 18, correspond to six products. Clients can buy the product either in store or online in the U.S. and certain EU countries, and they will receive an e-mail to redeem their NFT. There is no additional cost for these NFTs/digital assets. The price range for the NFT product is 520 euros to 479 euros.
Williams selected Felt Zine, the experimental Web3 artist collective to create the artwork for this collaboration with BStroy. This is Givenchy’s second NFT drop following their successful Chito drop.
“Felt Zine collaborators are directly influenced by talents like Matthew M. Williams who allow us to create freely and see our aesthetics and interests reflected at the highest level of art and fashion. With Givenchy, we are actualizing our inspiration in real time while making a Web3 contribution to the house’s heritage,” said Felt Zine founder Mark Sabb, an artist, curator, and creative technologist.
Last year, Bstroy’s double-head hoodie and sailor track pants were included in the Costume Institute’s exhibition, “America: A Lexicon of Fashion.”
Owens and Grams have been operating their New York-based label since 2013 as a direct-to-consumer business. The brand grew 45 percent from 2019 to 2020 and 30 percent from 2020 to 2021, attributed mostly to their accessories offering, as reported. The brand has been available in Off-White’s Paris store.
The Atlanta, Georgia, natives moved to New York in 2015 and over time their work caught the attention of Williams, who is also cofounder of Alyx, and he invited them to Italy to work in 2018 on the 1017 Alyx 9SM collection.
“We became fast friends,” Gram said in a 2021 WWD story. “He had heard of our work and wasn’t afraid to say it. He could’ve not invited us, but he loves what we do so much and wanted to give us the information to build a brand.”
Owens and Gram frequently make statements through their designs, such as a capsule that criticized police violence, but sometimes that has backfired.
In 2019, Grams and Owens faced criticism for designing hoodies with bullet holes and the names Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, all schools and colleges where there have been mass shootings. The hoodies stirred immediate backlash and commenters on social media called the pieces “disgusting” and “disrespectful.”
*This story has been updated to include information about the NFTs that will be introduced Nov. 18.
