Right now, we all need a friend.
A trans-seasonal love affair, capturing fleeting moments with a vintage edge and Japanese inspirations. Australian streetwear label DearFriend release their fourth collection, Temporary Forever. We chat with head local designer Jono Friend on the collection notes and reshaping of the business in this new age. Be sure to catch the campaign film and interview below.
Talk us through your latest collection release, Temporary Forever.
The collection itself is inspired by the beauty in tiny, fleeting moments in life. It’s bright, it’s bold, it’s got a vintage flair and it’s packed with motifs that nod to the theme - from Japan and their celebration of Sakura season to a broken heart. The collection itself is also limited to 50 pieces a pop - meaning just like the inspiration behind it, it won’t be around for long.
Temporary Forever is kind of a watershed moment for the brand. We’ve had three great collections before now, but before releasing the fourth, I wanted to take a step back. I got three great people on board to help me run the label since then, and we let the brand take a rest while we worked behind the scenes to refine things and move DearFriend into the place it is now. I can’t wait to show you more of what we have planned.
What was the inspiration behind the campaign film?
We’re really, really proud of how this turned out. When we start working on a new collection at DearFriend, I usually come up with the name and loose idea behind the initial designs I’m playing with and then one of the other guys, Andrew, builds that out into the broader campaign. He just came to me one morning with this poem he’d written and a storyboard saying, “I think we could use this voiced over a sort of modern Romeo and Juliette story that gets cut short - something that says nothing lasts but that’s ok.” I don’t know, I think he was kind of jaded at the time… But the poem tells a really cool story of two people with different perspectives - one intoxicated by impermanence and the other just trying to keep up and understand why.
Aesthetically we wanted to nod to vintage Italian and French cinema, threw a little bit of Wes Anderson in there and just the right amount of Japanese culture (which made up a lot of the inspiration behind the collection). Our videographer Sam Bratby nailed the brief. I think we’ve really created a world with Temporary Forever that we’re all really happy with - if you want to dig deeper into what inspired us there’s also a Temporary Forever playlist on the DearFriend Spotify.
Why have you chosen to keep the collection exclusive to 10 pieces with a limited run?
It’s part of that reshaping of DearFriend as a brand I mentioned before. We want the people who get their hands on our pieces to really feel like they’re the owner of something unique and special - they’re a part of the friend’s club if you know what I mean. We’re also really trying to limit wastage in our industry, which is of course a massive issue. We’re working on more initiatives to push the brand into a more environmentally sustainable place, but I’m really pleased with this as a starting point.
How have you found navigating life and business through the time of coronavirus?
It’s not been fun, but I don’t think it’s really been fun for anyone. The label’s had all sorts of curveballs thrown at it to get this collection out - from the supply chain being messed up to just trying to shoot content in lockdown (the campaign video was shot before). Fortunately, we’ve got a great team who’ve kept me on my toes, and I’ve managed to find new ways to work around restrictions - webcam shoots work great!
Temporary Forever is available online from today 13th May. Don’t miss out as stocks are exclusive and limited.
