By Emily Jade Ricalton
After the world woke up to the shocking news of Kurt CobainÔÇÖs successful suicide in 1994, April 5th, to be exact, there has been an ever-longing within the music industry, and creative world as a whole, to pay homage to the leader of Grunge.
And this is exactly what weÔÇÖve seen in the 25 years since CobainÔÇÖs death. In 2015, the film, created and directed by his only daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, ÔÇÿMontage of HeckÔÇÖ was released, giving the viewer a great insight into the mind, interests and creative workings of this admired singer. Now, just four years later, the Kurt Cobain Estate, which is owned by his 27-year-old daughter, has designed and created a clothing brand called ÔÇÿKurt Was HereÔÇÖ, which has been inspired by KurtÔÇÖs artwork and personal journal entries.
The Kurt Cobain Estate is valued at around $450 million (┬ú361,692,000.00 million), earning revenue from the albums sold since his death and the amount of streams that the band receive annually. Frances Bean owns around a third of the Cobain estate, using the majority of her shares to keep the life of her father alive within the modern day. This clothing line isnÔÇÖt just a representation of her fatherÔÇÖs legacy to art, but it is also an homage and dedication to the person that he was, and could have been, to her life. It is a symbol of pure respect and deep admiration.
The collection itself features a selection of short and long-sleeved t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies that have all been imprinted by Kurt CobainÔÇÖs sketches, drawings and other hand-written sentences. The clothing items are without a doubt an iconic representation of the grunge subculture and style, making them pieces that I highly approve of. From plain white tees to tie-dyed patterns, this collection screams a simplicity that could help to improve any outfit or style worn by its purchaser. The brand is what I call high-quality grunge, and it is a perfect way to bring Kurt to the masses, especially when considering younger audiences who might adore skate culture, such as ÔÇÿThrasherÔÇÖ and other basic clothing lines. In other words, it is definitely an over-priced, but highly worth it, hipster brand.
The brand, which only features just over 50 pieces of clothing in total, is contained within a partnership between ÔÇÿThe End of MusicÔÇÖ, ÔÇÿLLCÔÇÖ (the business arm of CobainÔÇÖs estate) and ÔÇÿLive Nation MerchandiseÔÇÖ, and according to Live Nation, all designs created have been taken directly from CobainÔÇÖs work and have not been edited or resized for print. Due to this reason, I believe that this makes the brand extremely authentic and realistic, it provides its wearer with a deeper connection to the late singer, allowing him to live on throughout both the music and fashion industries. With each item having been designed under the creative direction of Frances Bean, this collection is something of a special and beautiful nature, elements of which IÔÇÖd like to see more within the fashion industry ÔÇô high quality fashion with a purpose and meaning, items of clothing that deserve respect and admiration.
In conclusion, Quench Fashion obviously approves of ÔÇÿKurt Was HereÔÇÖ, making it one of our most anticipated brand reveals of 2019. Being released on just September 9th2019, the brand is available for purchase in the department store, Selfridges, whether this is online or in person. The collection can also be bought online at ÔÇÿKurtCobainShop.comÔÇÖ and ÔÇÿBarneysÔÇÖ, if you happen to be shopping worldwide anytime soon.
Out of the ten items sold online at Selfridges, the lowest t-shirt ranges at about ┬ú100 and the highest prices at ┬ú130, making it quite a high-end brand. However, even though this may seem slightly over-priced at first, just remember that each t-shirt is a replica of CobainÔÇÖs personal art, adding a meaning to the item of clothing that makes the price almost justified. Having said that, all clothing items made for the collection are made purely out of 100% jersey-cotton, meaning that the price is also exemplified through the quality of the brand. So, if I was you, IÔÇÖd definitely consider making a purchase, especially as it is a unisex brand made for all.
Links to the collection will be included below.
Selfridges – https://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/cat/?freeText=kurt+was+here&srch=Y
Barneys ÔÇô https://www.barneys.com/designer/kurt-cobain/men/N-1pojkv5Zfh7rea
KurtCobainShop –https://kurtcobainshop.com