The smiling skull with the inverted cross first saw the light of day in 2004. Together with Björn Atldax, I designed a label for Cheap Monday, a new line of limited edition low budget jeans by the ‘denim professor’ Örjan Andersson. We wanted to make something that was different from, but also commenting on, the imagery of popular denim brands at the time. We came up with a large cheap-looking patch with the tagline ‘Över min döda kropp’ (Over my dead body) and the stylized drawing of a human skull, fashioned after a Mexican Dia de los Muertos celebration mask, with a cross turned upside down on its forehead. Day of the Dead is an ancient rite to honor deceased relatives, rooted in Aztec culture thousands of years before the arrival of Christian Spaniards in the New World. After that time, like many rituals, the festival merged with Catholic observances and its symbols. With the release of the Spring 2010 collection, about a year and a half after Cheap Monday was acquired by clothing giant H&M, the cross has been removed and replaced with a single vertical line.

Rest in peace.

Smiley with courtesy of Jens Schildt!

For the show, I have been working with the wondrous Dutch fashion designers And Beyond. Other pairings include Ian Wright and Riitta Ikonen, Job and Roel Wouters, Fontaine Anderson and Deanne Cheuk, and many more. Private view on January 14th, 6.30 to 9pm. The show is open from January 15th to 24th 2010, 12 to 6pm, open late on January 21st, 12 to 9pm. A Foundation Gallery at Rochelle School, London E2 7ES.