In this exclusive KENZO video by Traum Inc, animated prints from our Summer 2017 collection mingle with joyous archival footage shot by late artist Nelson Sullivan. At the height of the 80's and 90's art + club scenes in NYC, Sullivan's giddily verite camerawork captured a youth culture that still radiates a utopian optimism and do it yourself glamor. The carefree and eclectic spirit of these candid moments caught on tape served as a crucial inspiration for KENZO's Summer 2017 prints. Bold graphics collide with hand-drawn lettering, evocative of a lost rave flier: raw bits of newly-accelerated culture and data converging in a photocopy, promising transcendence by sunrise.
“We see Nelson Sullivan’s work as iconic and revolutionary – while documenting his day-and-night life surroundings he has also documented the birth of the culture.” Traum Inc
“There’s a great deal of optimism in the context of rave culture – the notions of unity, acceptance, love♥, respect and possibilities within the international, interracial, intersexual and non-binary⚤community. This is why we want to believe that this culture is to continue existing, growing and progressing” Traum Inc
“It’s obvious to us that rave culture is not a finished story, it’s still in a state of transition from our past to ➠ future – in the middle of which we all are.” Traum Inc
