Founded in 1993 as an offshoot of his eponymous label, Wild & Lethal Trash was Walter Van Beirendonck’s youthful and future-forward clothing label. It borrowed heavily from club kid culture, dealing out heavy doses of neon clothing, and repurposing cartoon characters in a way that suggested drug-induced euphoria moreso than Sunday mornings. The graphics were often bold and chaotic, intentionally lacking a focal point as a way to highlight and repurpose the visual over-saturation created by the internet era.

W.&L.T. was very much a brand for the moment. It was not a tribute to the past, as designers like Hedi Slimane and Ann Demeulemeester’s work skewed towards, but rather a reaction to the present, a realtime interpretation of culture. Take for example W.&L.T.'s early embrace of the internet, or its inspired translations of club kids and ravers during the formative days of the movements. It then makes sense that they would experiment with graffiti iconography, as W.&L.T. was in its heyday at the same time that graffiti emerged as a prominent method of expression and rebellion for artists outside the mainstream. Though a key element of ‘90s counter-culture, it was generally maligned by the general public and dismissed by the art world due to its genesis outside the upper-crust of society. This top features several verbal signatures of W.&L.T., including their “Kiss the Future” rallying cry, a slick expression of self-determination, and “Choose Your Totem”, which can be seen as a ‘90s flip on the famous “No Gods, No Masters” rebel cry. For a generation of ‘90s youth conspicuously mismatched with their predecessors, this attitude was undeniably appealing. 

Condition: 9/10. No significant flaws. 

Tagged size: S

Shoulder: 18in

Pit to pit: 20in

Length: 22.5in

Sleeve: 23in