Streetwear cozies up to street art
Rag & Bone’s Venice shop makes a bright splash with an Alex Yanes mural.
The vibrant, pop- arty work of Miami- based artist Alex Yanes features cartoonish characters that could pass as stars of an animated television series or, in fashion realms, call to mind the playful creations of Los Angeles designer Jeremy Scott.
Yet it is Rag & Bone, Marcus Wainwright and David Neville’s New York- based brand, known for quietly cool streetwear and a history of supporting street art, that commissioned the 38- year- old Yanes to create an installation on an exterior wall of its Venice boutique on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. The project is an extension of the 5year- old Houston Project, a rotation of murals by street artists cre- ated on one side of the company’s SoHo store in New York.
Set to be on display for the next two years, Yanes’ mural titled “So Far So Good” took about a month to complete and is the largest and most permanent piece created by the artist to date, spanning about 70 feet in width and 13 feet in height. Yanes’ piece was unveiled in March. He previously created short- term, in- store works for companies such as Adidas, Vans and Neiman Marcus. Pieces of his work also are available at Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City.
A layered collage of handpainted, die- cut wood panels mounted onto the brick store exterior, the Venice piece includes palm tree and ocean wave motifs, sparked by Yanes’ upbringing in Miami that equally f it into L. A.’ s vibe. The artist’s signature pieced-wood creations were originally inspired by California skate culture.
“I’m honored that Rag & Bone chose me to do this,” Yanes said. “I never thought I’d get to leave a piece of me out here in Venice, [ the site of] everything I grew up wanting to emulate. ‘ So Far So Good’ has to do with not giving up on your dreams. Looking back, all these people told me I could never achieve this. That I’d starve or go crazy. But so far, so good. I’m doing all right.”
If there’s concern the Abbot Kinney neighborhood might lose its identity to developers and retailers, the message behind Rag & Bones’ collaboration with Yanes might show residents that emerging art and fashion brands can peacefully coexist.
“I grew up skateboarding,” Yanes said. “But we didn’t have much of a skate scene or skate parks in Miami. So I would buy [ San Francisco- based] Thrasher magazines, and everything was so California. I brought the issues home and said, ‘ Hey, Dad, can we build one of these skate ramps?’ So I started working with wood. And I always liked to draw and paint. During my senior year of high school, a friend suggested that I cut one of my characters out of wood and that was when the skateboard [ culture] and the art merged. I still do my work with the same, basic woodworking tools you would use to build a skate ramp.”
Yanes is fast gaining a star fol- lowing thanks in part to Miami nightclub magnate David Grutman, an avid collector of the artist’s work who showcased Yanes’ work for the celebrity guests frequenting his Sunset Island mansion. Yanes’ clients include Lenny Kravitz, Paris Hilton, and Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, who purchased a piece for their son, Genesis.
Along with his Rag & Bone collaboration, Yanes is continuing to make a splash in L. A. One of his latest projects is with L. A.- based Funboy, which makes luxury- oriented inf latable pool f loats. The limited- edition f loat ($ 128 at funboy. com) is a colorful piece with a vibrant pattern that was silkscreened by hand.
Yanes said he’s also crafting a totem pole out of hand- painted, stacked oil drums for Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Koreatown, through a program by Santa Monica- based Branded Arts.