Artwear is a Cape Town based collective and creative studio that produces streetwear, offering an alternative to the uniformity of mass-produced clothing that dominates the local fashion scene. Its origins date back over 20 years, to the mid 2000s, when friends who met at Athlone Library began collaborating on creative projects.
Each piece is designed, printed, and released with intention, our work spans new garments, upcycled pieces, and one-off creations. Some runs are limited, some are singular but all are treated as canvases.
Artwear exists to give people something different to wear: clothing with character, story, and authorship at a fair price.
What is it about art, anyway that we give it so much importance?
Artists are respected by the poor because
what they do is an honest way to get out of
the slum using one’s sheer self as the
medium. The money earned is proof pure and
simple of the value of that individual…
The Artist.
– Basquiat (1996)