Nostalgia in reverse: SOUVENIR WORKS DROP 1 explores subcultural collage

London-based imprint SOUVENIR WORKS have released their first round of unique garments entitled ‘Nostalgia in Reverse’.

With menswear in a state of constant cannibalism and the Internet robbing subcultures of their meaning, it’s refreshing to see something that seeks to put the context back into clothing. Sometimes to be truly new you have to rearrange the old, and this is where Souvenir Works comes in; using rare vintage items from their collection, the brand seeks to find new identities from existing garments by combining them into one-off pieces that are greater than the sum of their parts.

The resulting hybrids combine the physical source material at the same time as colliding the cultural references that each article represents. A classic Aquascutum mac is paired with a British army field jacket to create a mash-up that explores the garments’ past and present (the iconic Aquascutum trench coat was originally developed for British military use in World War I and II). A vintage Pendleton overshirt is combined with the famous Columbia Bugaboo to riff on different eras of outdoor gear, while a Helly Hansen anorak is merged with a pinstripe Polo Ralph Lauren shirt for a weatherproof creation that gives a tongue-in-cheek nod to the ’90s hip-hop obsession with ‘Lo.

The range of unique hybrid garments will grow and evolve as the brand progresses. Running alongside these one-off pieces, a selection of t-shirts continue the theme of using the past to create something new, with graphic prints drawing from diverse sources including Nirvana, Shakespeare, bashment and Donald Trump.

SOUVENIR WORKS DROP 1 is available now from the brand’s webstore. Take a look at the new pieces below, and hit the banners to shop the drop now.