The A.P.C. x Brain Dead Collab Hits the Sweet Spot Between 'Weird' and 'Cool'

When it comes to the core idea behind a collaboration in 2019, you could do a whole lot worse than creating fake merch for a (very real) book—and later a movie—from the '70s that explores the sometimes harrowing way modern society impacts the psyche. It's relevant! Current! And, done right, it might actually be fun and cool instead of depressing. Luckily the team behind the new "Future Shock" collab is none other than A.P.C. and Brain Dead. So the result is cool clothing and accessories, instead of just dystopian navel-gazing.

Honestly, if you'd asked me last year (or even last month) to predict that the two brands would make this happen, it wouldn't have occurred to me. But the seemingly out-of-left-field partnership makes a lot of sense. Even though Paris-based A.P.C. has a reputation for modern classics, that reputation was born out of a willingness to screw around with the accepted template for everything from jeans to T-shirts. As for Brain Dead? The creative collective—which doesn't claim any particular locality, or, indeed, mentality as its home base—is more than familiar with scrambling norms.

The collection, though, isn't too out-there. Yes, there are jeans and a jacket emblazoned with distorted text. And sure, there are reversed panels on sweatshirts and some logo mashups. But altogether, it's a stylish, wearable coming-together of both brands' aesthetics. Here's a look at the entire collection.