AMSTERDAM.- Inspired by the life and work of Vincent van Gogh, fashion and lifestyle brand Daily Paper has designed a capsule collection together with the Van Gogh Museum, incorporating several of Van Gogh’s masterpieces into a range of garments. A collaboration which sees the worlds of fashion and art merge.

On Friday 14th of February, Daily Paper and The Van Gogh Museum will open its doors to the public for a first preview of the collaborative collection through an official launch event at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. From Saturday 15th of February, the collection will be available both online via dailypaperclothing.com and the Van Gogh Museum webstore, and physically in the Daily Paper flagship store and the Van Gogh Museum Shop in Amsterdam alongside selected retailers worldwide.

Wearable art
The Daily Paper x Van Gogh Museum collection consists of 21 pieces, including jackets, trousers and t-shirts. Given unprecedented access to van Gogh’s drawings, paintings and quotes, each custom designed garment incorporates pieces of the famous painter’s work reproduced in high-resolution and full colour as contemporary graphic prints.

Alongside some of his more iconic works such as Irises (1890), Self-Portrait as a Painter (1887-1888), several lesser-known sketches and works by van Gogh also play a significant role in this clothing line offering an accessible introduction to collectible wearable art. ‘Some of Van Gogh’s less popular works are just as masterful as his better-known ones, yet not a lot of people are aware of them. That's why we decided to focus on them.“ (Abderrahmane Trabsini, co-founder of Daily Paper).

For some designs, the paintings are combined with quotes by Van Gogh to give new context and meaning to his body of work. In one piece, Garden of the Asylum (1889), which he painted while admitted as a patient at an asylum in Saint-Rémy, is combined with the quote ‘Success is sometimes the outcome of a whole string of failures’, creating a thought-provoking statement into how a fierce determination can drive creatives like Van Gogh to insanity in the pursuit of perfection.

Campaign
Shot in the city of Amsterdam, the most likely home of a twenty-first century Van Gogh and Daily Paper, the collection campaign reimagines a selection of the artist's masterpieces as seen through the eyes of Van Gogh would he be alive today. Captured by the young up-and-coming Dutch photographer Nick van Tiem, the shoot sees the medium of photography rather than the paintbrush or drawing pen as a vessel for a present-day Van Gogh’s art. A photo echoing The Potato Eaters (1885) replaces the farmers of the nineteenth century with the multicultural youth that serve as the everyday people who would be subjects for this piece. Wheatfield with a Reaper is reimagined as both a solitary worker captured in an ordinary day-to-day field - a supermarket – or as youths gathered on the football pitch. A modern reenactment of a self-portrait of the artist sees his straw hat replaced by the afro of a young black creative. This could be what the Van Gogh of today would depict.

Documentary
The collection is also accompanied by a documentary. In this short film, documentary maker Safi Graauw shadows the three founders of Daily Paper. How are they inspired by Vincent van Gogh? The film explores the parallels in how Van Gogh and Daily Paper see the world around them. The documentary premiers at the Van Gogh Museum on Friday 14th of February, and will subsequently be available on the museum’s YouTube channel.

Martin van Engel, (Programme Manager of “Van Gogh Connects”): ‘This collaboration with Daily Paper presents us with a fantastic opportunity to connect youth culture with Van Gogh’s art, making the relationship between the two stronger and more accessible’.

Abderrahmane Trabsini, (Co-founder Daily Paper): Collaborating with the Van Gogh Museum allowed us to show a different side of our culture, because if you know Daily Paper, we mainly focus on our African culture, but we also have our Dutch upbringing in common.

Laurine van Rooijen, (Head of Licensing and Wholesale at the Van Gogh Museum): ‘We're tremendously proud of this collaboration. This collaboration is appealing because the founders of Daily Paper are not only inspired by Van Gogh, but also share similar journeys as self-taught creatives. This collaboration allows us to reach a new international audience outside of the museum’s walls. Vincent can be a role model for everyone’.