Gorillaz Teams Up With Paris Streetwear Brand GEYM on Clothing Line

MONKEY BUSINESS: Plans by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett to have virtual members take over their group Gorillaz — including a possible future for the band led by artificial intelligence — continue to take shape.

But the virtual band members, including characters 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle, will continue to have a real-life physical extension through the merch, with a capsule for the British band’s clothing line G Foot in the works with Paris-based streetwear label GEYM.

Inspired by Hewlett’s iconic imagery for Gorillaz, a teaser capsule will launch on July 1 at selected stockists worldwide, with a full line inspired by the characters set to launch at the end of the year. The latter will be presented alongside GEYM’s men’s spring 2019 collection on June 20 at the Hôtel National des Arts et Métiers.

The teaser line — a spin-off of GEYM’s arctic expedition-themed fall 2018 collection — will focus on T-shirts and sweatshirts, featuring the G Foot bat and skull logo embroidery on the arm backs of the hoodies, and a collage print based on the brands’ respective universes.

The spring capsule, based on what the characters of the band would wear in real life, will offer 14 pieces, including a matching pant and jacket with patches, and a colored bomber with a Gorillaz graphic at the back and a small patch at the front. The collaboration will continue for at least two more seasons.

Blurring the virtual reality lines, details from the capsule feature in the just-released video for the single “Humility,” part of the album “The Now Now” set to be released at the end of June.

GEYM, which stands for Go East Young Man, was founded in 2016 by Thomas Erber, Charles Gaston-Dreyfuss and Claude Sérieux.

Before launching the brand, Gaston-Dreyfuss used to produce a line of T-shirts working with Paris-based street artists. Sérieux previously worked as product director at Paul Smith then Yves Saint Laurent, under Hedi Slimane. He went on to launch his own record label while continuing to consult for brands like Kolor and Y-3.

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