At the pinnacle of progression in sideways sports - from athletes to videos, artwork to events - Volcom have not just broken the surf/skate/snow style mould with their latest project, SEED, but obliterated it, like heated nitroglycerin.
Rather than looking to cliched sources for creative inspiration, Volcom Women have tapped straight into the most forward thinking pool of young design talent on the globe - the students at the London College Of Fashion - for the first chapter in the Volcom SEED project, which supports young fashion talents, in addition to their heritage in action sports.
The idea for Volcom SEED 09/10 was sown (aherm) back in August 2009, when Volcom Women's Marketing Manager, Josie Clyde, started talking to London College Of Fashion about starting a collaborative - that ticked both their educational boxes and the promotional demands of the brand.
It kicked off for real on October 7 when Josie met 50 students from Year 2 Fashion Design and Development, at the capital's premiere style institute. The first day of a new term, she chatted about Volcom's brand identity and the project then each candidate was given a piece from an existing Volcom Brand Jeans collection. Fom jeans to jackets, they were invited to transform into a piece of clothing that embodied Volcom's vision, and their own artistic flair.
From these 50 students, twenty of the best pieces were shown at the project finale on March 18 - a showcase in the cavernous white space of the Vinyl Factory, Soho, London. And, one winner has been chosen to join Volcom in Biarritz, France, to embark on a six month internship at their Womenswear Europe Department - following products from 'conception to delivery.'
250 people turned up to celebrate the launch, including London's top style media (GQ, Vice, Elle and more) plus fashion bloggers (including moi) and fellow fashion students, which, maverick style, was split into art installation-like rooms - each in a different multimedia. A live photoshoot out back; surf films and lookbook slideshows projected on walls; TVs streaming the live shoot scattered around; to art installations featuring their creations - fuelled by generous free beer - it was an epic, inspirational stimulation of the senses.
The winners of the project are were Joe Lin and Lydia Freeborn for the best photography, Mary Binding for the Best Technical Work, and Best Overall for Anju Khusal, who joins Volcom for the first prize placement.
The first of many similar projects, check out more of the London College Of Fashion student's work below - and look out for a video coming very soon...
- Roxy Heart x Bambi by Laura - Summer 2010
- Superpost: Insight Spring 2010 collection
- Photographer Crista Leonard new face of Les Ettes
- Kook: surfing newspaper from Dan Crockett
- Element Eden Spring Summer 2010 video lookbooks online
- Artist In Situ: Hannah Stouffer - skate & snow illustrator
- video: Billabong Spring Summer lookbook
- Out now: surf-inspired TopShop Unique Spring Summer 2010
