For me the latest Original Fake collaboration with Fragment Design was a bit of nostalgia. In the earliest seasons of Kaws' streetwear line, following his running collaboration with A Bathing Ape (cerca 2006), he produced some really unique graphic t-shirts that blended photography with his signature street art style. They were graphic, fun to wear and they turned heads.
The first OF shirt I ever owned used the graphic above (minus the Fragment logo). But season after season, Original Fake did more of the same. The quality was not to be doubted, but the concept became a bit boring. Then, this year, Original Fake announced that it would be retiring from street wear. Now most of the way through their final season of perfectly fitting woven shirts, faded denim and detailed outerwear, OF collaborated with another Japanese streetwear icon, Hiroshi Fujiwara's Fragment Design, on a capsule collection of shirts.
The shirts from this collab are, again, more of the same. The graphics are reused from past seasons with the addition of the ever recognizable Fragment lightning bolts in bright colors for summer.. Despite the reused graphics, the fact remains that they're still popular. For the same reason that Jordan can release the same shoe every couple years, Kaws can do the same with his skulls and X's.
The construction on the items is great. The shirts are made with a thick and soft cotton and the silhouette has a good fit. The print is heavy and feels like it will hold up after plenty of washes. The retail price was $90, but if you can find a place where they haven't sold out yet, you might be able to get yourself a steal. Because of the quality and nostalgia value of these shirts, I'd give them a
9/10-
especially if you can find them on sale! Check out some more pictures below.
