Now, here’s a brand you may not have heard of unless you live ‘daaayynn sarrrfff’. But fear not! I’m here to give you the rundown on a cool new emerging brand that’s not going to break the bank. We call it Oiboy.
The brainchild of two founders, George Langham and Dylan Hartigan, the South London duo use their hometown heritage as their main inspirations for the brand. Walking down the streets, you’re hounded by the same few shops and businesses abusing your eyeballs. Betting shops, skin care brands, off licences and markets all trying to sell you cheap shit that you don’t want or need.
As I say time and time again, fashion should be fun. And when it comes to good humour with clothing, Oiboy are serving it to you with full force.
We’ve all been minding our own business while walking down the street at some point in our lives when we’ve witnessed in a slogan tee that has actually made you laugh. I once saw a very militant lesbian walking down the road with a top that said “it’s a bitch being butch” and it genuinely made me laugh out loud to the point where I thought I might get assaulted.
Regardless, whatever the slogan was, it made you laugh and that’s exactly what Oiboy are doing. They’re making you laugh by spoofing some incredibly well known brands, from beers to betting shops, nothing is sacred once the pair get their hands on it!
All it takes is a couple of rearranged letters, a slight tweak on a well known logo and you’ve got yourself a rather punderful brand. Not all British folk have a stiff upper lip, others are too busy with their tongue-in-cheek humour.
Adding to their take on ‘fast fashion’, Oiboy’s brilliantly named collection Stolen Goods is exactly what you’d expect. Their promotional short film features one of the youths of today coming out of a shop with quick haste – implying that he’s been shoplifting as he runs down the high street stripping off his clobber and throwing aside his garms.
If you haven’t had a gander at the collection properly, you may have missed one of their best features. The hats and some of the tops come with fake security tags, etched with the Oiboy logo. Not only is their collection a blatant piss take out of designers ripping ideas from other designers/companies, they’re now even mocking the fact that their designs are ‘stolen’.
The Oiboy mantra is that “talent borrows, genius steals” and nothing could be more true when you see their collection. Their stand at LFWM’s stand in the BFC’s Designer Showrooms was permanently busy with people fluttering by to cop a glare at what they were producing. These guys are definitely going to be one to watch.
I strongly recommend that you have a gander at their collection. It won’t break the bank… Just promise not to steal it!
