Juliana Huxtable, Mowalola and more collaborate on Boiler Room’s first apparel collection

Everything Boiler Room does is rooted in club culture. As we turn ten in 2020, we’re expanding our remit with the launch of an apparel line that draws directly on the energy of the dance. The very first collection, CLUB20/20, is about exploring sounds and aesthetics across the globe.

As well as a set of core club-ready items, the collection features limited editions created by a mix of artists, musicians and fashion designers from 7 cities worldwide. These artists were tasked with designing T-shirts that draw on aesthetic codes from their respective cities whilst simultaneously presenting new visions for club culture.

The 7 artists, cities and stores are: Mowalola (London, Selfridges), Crystallmess (Paris, Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées), No Shade (Berlin, SOTO), Juliana Huxtable (NYC, Opening Ceremony), Leilah Weinraub (LA, Opening Ceremony), Asian Dope Boys (Shanghai, Innersect), and Lil Mofo (Tokyo, GR8).

Whilst the core collection will be available online via shop.boilerroom.tv from March 2020, the limited editions will be available exclusively as selected stores throughout January - February on the following release dates. Head to @wear.boilerroom.tv for more updates. And to accompany each release, we’ll be throwing raves in each city in collaboration with the artists, starting with a Paris Fashion Week function with Crystallmess. Get to know the artists below:

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CRYSTALLMESS

Growing up in Paris’ banlieues, Christelle Oyiri (aka CrystallMess) used to sneak out of her French-Caribbean and African household to go raving. Those cross-cultural club kid days strongly informs her practice today as a DJ and producer, whose style is best described by textures and narratives rather than genres or categories. She’s also a writer and multimedia artist, exploring subjects of club culture, colonial alienation and alternative temporalities, always through generous and empathetic eyes.

Of the collaboration with Boiler Room, Christelle says:”The design by Axel Pelletanche draws inspiration from my song ‘Just because it’s a funeral doesn’t mean we can’t rave’ : an ode to the transcendental energy of raving. Dancing isn’t just a purely hedonistic thing, it’s both a ritual and an outlet for your rage and despair. The illustration by Virginia-based artist She Skin represents the dystopian playfulness of my vision for CLUB20/20: One last rave before the world ends.”

Crystallmess x Boiler Room limited edition T-shirt available from Galleries Lafeyete Champs Élysée on 19.01.20

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MOWALOLA

Since graduating from CSM in 2017, Mowalola has already dressed names like Solange, Dev Hynes, Skepta, Yves Tumor, to name a few. Her psychedlic, shocking outfits embody a heady mix of chaos, sex, party and straight-up hedonism. And because of that, she’s become the designer synoymous with London’s progressive, queer and POC club scene. As she succinctly puts it, “I just wanna do hoodrat stuff with my friends.”

Mowalola x Boiler Room limited edition T-shirt available from Selfridges London on 01.02.20

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JULIANA HUXTABLE

Since arriving in New York City nearly a decade ago, artist, DJ, writer and performer Juliana Huxtable has emerged as a central node in the city’s creative and queer network. The Texas-native received broad visibility in 2015 after exhibiting new work for the New Museum’s Triennial, and modeling for a 3D sculpture created by Frank Benson. Drawing inspiration from the gallery as much as the dancefloor, Juliana’s nuanced mixed media practice explores complex socio-political issues, using her body to engage deeply with questions of identity and self-presentation.

Juliana Huxtable x Boiler Room limited edition T-shirt available from Opening Ceremony NYC on 06.02.20

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NO SHADE

No Shade is a 13-member collective, club night series & DJ training and mentoring program for female, trans & non-binary DJs. The project aims to bring about much-needed diversity and inclusion in Berlin’s nightlife. In ball culture, “shade” is slang for an insult; the name “No Shade” conveys the collective’s core message: cooperation instead of competition.

Of the collaboration they say: “We used the opportunity of partnering up with Boiler Room to highlight the issue of talent exploitation in the music and cultural industry. Want to remind everyone out there to demand proper compensation for the cool work their doing.”

No Shade x Boiler Room limited edition T-shirt available from SOTO Berlin on 08.02.20

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LEILAH WEINRAUB

Leilah Weinraub is an American filmmaker and conceptual artist best known for her role as CEO of HOOD BY AIR and for directing feature film SHAKEDOWN. The former is the cult fashion brand that wiped out lines between streetwear, club culture and high fashion. Meanwhile, SHAKEDOWN, is an intoxicating, intimate at the nomadic 2000s Los Angeles black lesbian strip club that Leilah was video lady at.

Leilah Weinraub x Boiler Room limited edition T-shirt available from Opening Ceremony LA on 13.02.20

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ASIAN DOPE BOYS

Chen Tianzhuo's established rebellious, multidisciplinary troupe Asian Dope Boys in 2015. Known personally for his performance art, Chen wanted to expand his practice into club culture and find ways to collaborate with sound artists like Aisha Devi. Through transgressive shows, live dance performances, raves, and a record label, the nomadic Shanghai-based collective draw on references to Chinese religion, Butoh, vogueing, and the world of fashion to create ambitious work that straddles the beautiful and the bizarre.

Asian Dope Boys x Boiler Room limited edition T-shirt available from Innersect Shanghai on 05.03.20

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LIL MOFO

Lil Mofo is a hard-working DJ from Tokyo, playing three to four gigs per week in everywhere from small bars and reggae sound systems to techno clubs and warehouse. Her artistic aim is to leverage club culture to develop stronger forms of expression and to help overworked people “feel better in this super-stressed society." She adds, “Protect the originality of dance floor here from destruction and exploitation.”

Lil Mofo x Boiler Room limited edition T-shirt available from GR8 Tokyo on 06.03.20