Interview: Electrik Sheep
By Gemma Cloughton on April 17, 2012 in Style
Not many people know about Pink Lane. Opposite Central Station, the street (often mistaken for just any old alleyway) is home to independent clothing brand Electrik Sheep. Established in 2006, the store is the brainchild of local design studio Reluctant Hero and the ultimate place if you like your tees to be a little bit different.
Since opening, the store has become popular for its distinguished designs and wide range of cult t-shirts. Things recently got really exciting for Electrik Sheep when they were approached by international clothing store TOPSHOP about their latest range of designs. Having featured the shop on their style blog in 2010 as one of the top ten places to visit in Newcastle, TOPSHOP went back for more and offered Electrik Sheep a concession range in both their Newcastle and Oxford Circus branches.
Marc Ross, designer at Reluctant Hero, described how it felt seeing the t-shirts on sale in London for the first time: “It felt great! It’s the largest retail space in the world so just having a small part of it is amazing for us. Selling outside from Newcastle for the first time in such a store was definitely daunting but exciting all the same.”
The Newcastle t-shirts feature slogans such as ‘Newcastle City Girl’ and ‘I left my heart in Newcastle’ whereas London dwellers as treated to designs like ‘London Calling‘ and ‘Somebody in London Loves Me’. The fresh designs put a welcome spin on the generic, ‘done-to-death’ I HEART LDN t-shirts which every man and his dog has worn over the last few years.
“The inspiration for the t-shirts comes from lots of things; vintage ephemera, tourist t-shirts, various memorabilia, signage, lots of places. Recently the large heart design with Newcastle and the bridge inside has been the bestseller. Everybody has loved that,” said Marc.
And it seems Electrik Sheep have a celebrity following too. Frankie Sandford from The Saturday’s was recently seen wearing their Lost Angeles t-shirt during a performance, which she customized into an abs-fab (geddit?) crop top.
“It’s always good seeing your design and product in front of that many people, so Frankie wearing our t-shirt was a good thing to see first thing in the morning! Also, Leonardo Di’ Caprio recently purchased two of our designs from Graniph clothing in Japan, who we supply t-shirt designs to every season,” said Marc.
So what’s next for this unique brand and their super cool slogan t-shirts? The sky is the limit according to Marc: “The designs and the style have no limitations with regards to locality. Branching out into other areas is definitely a goal for us. We’d like to tackle some more UK cities first and then maybe move on to places like Paris and NYC.”
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Interview: Electrik Sheep – Pink Lane's fashionistas talk us through their adventures with Topshop (@ElectrikSheep1) | http://t.co/K9POCAXM
Interview: Electrik Sheep – Pink Lane's fashionistas talk us through their adventures with Topshop (@ElectrikSheep1) | http://t.co/K9POCAXM