Coupland vs. Pachter: Canadian artists launch rival fashion collaborations
The rivalry between Toronto and Vancouver now has two new combatants—thanks to Roots paraphernalia, strangely enough. On the Toronto side, there’s artist Charles Pachter, who is designing Luminato tees to be sold exclusively in Roots stores. Pachter is known for his works depicting iconic Canadian images, often moose and cottage country. (His Web site reads, “Prominent Canadian artist, born Toronto 1942, pets a moose at age 4.”) He designed the “Moose Luminous” posters for Luminato; the same moose scene appears on his limited-edition shirts.
On Vancouver’s side, there’s novelist and artist Douglas Coupland, who has partnered with Roots on a yet-to-be-revealed collection entitled Roots X Douglas Coupland. In a video about the project, the Vancouverite says, “Instead of birch bark and moose and Mounties and all that stuff, I thought, let’s take that vision of the future forward.” Glimpses of the work show telecommunications towers and satellites on leather patches, as Coupland has decided to focus on his idea that “what really links Canadians together is that we’re all far apart.” Of course, we can’t imagine either artist views his pieces for Roots as any sort of rivalry, but hey, we’re all for stirring the pot.
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