Today, LA’s virtuosic bassist, singer and songwriter Thundercat reveals his latest creative body of work in the form of a limited-edition capsule collection and exclusive collaboration with Dover Street Market London Flagship in line with his soon-to-be-sold-out UK & EU tour.
Thundercat has long straddled the worlds of fashion and music, recognised equally for his eclectic, genre- blurring, psychedelic Neo-Soul, Nu Jazz, R&B, Funk as he is known for his playful, technicoloured manga- influenced style. The launch of his Spring Summer 24 collection and debut collaboration with Dover Street Market expands the Thundercat universe deeper into the world of fashion like never before.
Created with the painstaking attention to detail that Thundercat is known for, the collection features homages to the Los Angeles style and culture that the artist grew up with: Anime, the timeless elegance of heritage fashion houses, and, of course, his beloved cat, Tron. The collection is an exquisite blend of these joyful influences fused with the inimitable cool of Thundercat’s musical heroes.
Spring Summer 2024 channels Thundercat’s love of Japanese art and pop culture with the inclusion of kimonos produced in partnership with Japanese artisans Robe Japonica alongside collegiate-style cardigans with anime-inspired Thundercat print and Thundercat logo detailing. Nostalgic references continue throughout the collection, most notably seen in a red and white football shirt adorned with team badges and Thundercat’s signature logo.
A limited edition run of 250 holographic crew necks, made in Los Angeles from 100% cotton, alongside 170 distressed, oversized all-cotton shirts will be designed exclusively for Dover Street Market London Flagship.
Speaking on the collection’s influences, Thundercat elaborates, “I feel like my sense of fashion was passed down to me by my parents. As an illustrator, I loved seeing the color palettes used in creating cartoon characters I loved to watch growing up. I always wondered to myself, why most of the things I was attracted to aesthetically, I did not see in real life? And it would make me question what was wrong with everyone?”
“Growing up playing music around LA it was always stereotypical for a musician to wear a suit to look ‘respectable’ and I hated that so very very much… My heroes were the likes of Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix and everything Japanese and Pharrell… I was always encouraged, and could see the importance of being yourself early on by them. In the family I come from, to be individual – that is who we are. Individually together. That is what this collaboration represents. Individual, together.”
Thundercat’s debut collection will be available exclusively at Dover Street Market London Flagship from Tuesday 2nd April in addition to the DSML E-SHOP. Thundercat will premiere the collection with an intimate live performance at Dover Street Market on 2nd April, prior to starting his sold out residency at
KOKO from 3rd-6th April. Limited pieces will also be available during Thundercat’s upcoming UK & EU tour.
