What happens when you put a streetwear designer and a digital artist in the same room, give them some of the best tech on the market, and tell ‘em to go ham on an old jacket? That’s exactly what we wanted to find out.
Enter Rel Pham and Alex Hacket. The former is an artist who started out doing painting and illustration before shifting his focus to digital, animation and video — and the latter is a multidisciplinary designer that works mostly in the streetwear and sportswear industries. Her work has been worn by the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Stormzy, and Frank Ocean, just to name a few.
The challenge? Start with a physical object, deconstruct it, and turn that deconstruction into digital art. Alex worked with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, and Rel utilised the power of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4.
Oh, and they only had four hours to get it all done. Piece of cake, right? Check out how it all went down below:
After the shoot, we caught up with the two of them for a little debrief.
PTV: So, how was the shoot?
Alex: Super fun and experimental — it was great to work with a creative in a completely different space. I think collaboration between disciplines and artists is such an incredible way to broaden your perspective, learn new skills and truly expand your creative potential.
This was a really cool meeting of the physical and the digital in both art and execution — what do you enjoy most about ‘unlikely collaborations’?
Rel: It puts you in a position you might not expect. You have ideas you may not have otherwise. Art should be some form of conversation and communication which means you need to be sensitive and open. Comfort is the killer.
Alex: I really enjoyed subverting my work in such an abstract manner, and really returning to my roots in visual arts and installation work.
Can you each walk me through the process of what you did in your part of the video?
Alex: We were really interested in this idea of physical vs. digital and taking a product through these spaces and looking deeply into texture and movement. My process was in deconstructing an iconic sportswear item into segments and assisting in the documentation of this in order for it to be digitised and reconstructed into something new.
Rel: I was building from rubble. Photographing the debris and trying to piece it back together. Creating a narrative from the sentence fragments of mesh and polyester.
Alex, tell me about the old windbreaker you took apart — was there a particular reason you chose it?
Alex: We decided to work with a windbreaker because it’s such an iconic garment in the sportswear industry. It not only has such a rich history, but the design lines and features are instantly recognisable. I wanted to make sure that even if we deconstructed it and abstracted it, we would still be able to reference and pay homage to the original garment.
Are you often taking things apart and finding a way to give them a new life?
Alex: 100%. I think it’s a fascinating process that can offer so many new insights into the design of a garment, and in turn, inform a whole new range of possibilities for the new product.
And Rel, how did you approach the taken-apart jacket? Did you instantly have an idea or did you have to really think about and search for inspo on where to go with it?
Rel: I came to this collaboration with preconceived ideas of what to do. Motifs of mine to use; prebuilt assets to collage with. But the more I do this the more I realise it is only the first part of an iterative process. Once you are in that room with the material and the person, things change. I didn’t search for inspiration, I had to keep moving and arranging parts until the work revealed itself.
Are you both happy with the end result?
Rel: Yes.
Alex: Yes, of course — I loved working on something so experimental and abstract, especially in the digital sphere as I operate very much in the physical space. I really enjoyed working collaboratively with Rel too and found the whole process really fluid and engaging.
Follow Rel on Instagram and check out more of his work on his website.
Follow Alex on Instagram and check out more of her work on her website.
Unfold your world and check out the new Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4. The Fold in particular is a perfect tool for artists, with its huge display and S Pen capabilities.
