Source: Playboy / Adrian Brandon
Playboy is still one of the top names in the men’s lifestyle and entertainment space, moving to an all-digital format last year after a decades-long run in print. The digital publisher has offered clothing via its Playboy Shop for some time now, and a new collaboration puts the spotlight on a rising artist who depicts the vast scope and beauty of the Black experience
By way of the “For Good” designer collaboration with Playboy, Adrian Brandon, a native of Seattle, Wash. who now calls Brooklyn, N.Y. home, will unveil a series of four designs that draw from his experience as a Black person in America.
The first release for the Playboy collab is an artfully-designed sweatshirt hoodie that radiates with not only Black pride but the simplicity of the design itself allows for wide interpretation. Playboy caught wind of Brandon’s work by way of his Stolen series, perhaps one of the most arresting works of art we’ve seen regarding the horrific instances of police shootings and Black victims.
As explained by Brandon himself:
This series is dedicated to the many black people that were robbed of their lives at the hands of the police. In addition to using markers and pencil, I use time as a medium to define how long each portrait is colored in. 1 year of life = 1 minute of color.
Tamir Rice was 12 when he was murdered, so I colored his portrait for 12 minutes. As a person of color, I know that my future can be stolen from me if I’m driving with a broken taillight, or playing my music too loud, or reaching for my phone at the wrong time. So for each of these portraits I played with the harsh relationship between time and death.
Brandon’s latest design for Playboy is more inspirational but no less moving.
Here’s the explanation of the piece as viewed on Playboy’s site:
The unmatched joy of dancing and the connection between two souls moved by music is both therapeutic and electric. For this illustration, I was inspired by Black people dancing as protest amidst all the darkness, creating a moment of their own love, protection and shine.
To learn how to support Brandon’s art, visit the Playboy Shop link here. All sales of the designs go directly to Brandon.
Source: Playboy / Adrian Brandon
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Photo: Playboy
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