Rave On

You might assume that a fashion label inspired by electronic music and rave culture would flounder during a time of no live music, with gigs off the agenda and clubs firmly shut.

However, Liverpool-based streetwear brand Wasted Heroes is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary and has big plans for the future.

Words by Dan Haygarth

Founded by Russell Reid, who previously designed flyers for Liverpool clubs Circus and Chibuku, Wasted Heroes was established in 2010 and describes itself as “a unique streetwear label, born on the dance floor but rapidly becoming a music and graphics-inspired brand that stretches beyond the parameters of electronic music.”

Producing distinctive t-shirts, hoodies and jackets, emblazoned with slogans, emblems and designs, the brand embraces ethical production methods and has been worn by big names from the electronic scene, including Fatboy Slim, Carl Cox and Charlotte de Witte.

With the 10th anniversary looming, Russell spoke at length about the brand’s first decade, its ethos and ambitions for the future, appropriately beginning at its inception: “I wanted to get my graphic designs onto t-shirts but I think at the start I tried to be quite broad with it.

“I had the approach of ‘I’m a streetwear brand, I’m not tied to any one demographic’, but then you soon realise that you need a niche. It makes it easier when you can say ‘my niche is dance culture, let’s really get involved in it and use what I’ve got available’.

 

 

“I think that clubwear, streetwear and rave culture all tie in. Streetwear is not quite a uniform, but it kind of is for club kids – it’s very casual, relaxed, but cool, so it fits well together.”

The brand’s niche has led to approval from big names in the electronic scene, much to Russell’s satisfaction: “There are many DJs who have purchased from the brand without us realising, it was only about a few months ago that Fatboy Slim turned up at a Liverpool show and wore one our jackets – I didn’t even realise that he’d bought one.

“Carl Cox wearing our clothes in front of 20,000 people gives you a real buzz. People from other brands often ask ‘how the hell have you done that?’, but it genuinely is just the DJs buying the products. Seeing somebody that big wanting to purchase your product, as opposed to having to shove promotional t-shirts down their throats, is an ongoing highlight.”

An environmentally ethical approach is also central to Wasted Heroes and is something which Russell believes is indispensable: “It’s a necessity for fashion brands in this day and age. We use water-based inks and we have done since day one, the quality is really good but they are quite expensive.

 

 

“Over the past few years, people have become more environmentally conscious and we realised that we were already doing it, we didn’t have to change anything.

“Our t-shirts were vegan anyway, everything was sourced ethically, so I think both by chance and by doing the right thing, we were all set up to be environmentally healthy. You can still be streetwear cool and environmentally friendly – all in one.”

Liverpool has a strong style heritage and an eminent relationship with streetwear, with football casual culture an enduring example of the city’s informal sartorial interests. Embracing Wasted Heroes’ roots in the city, Russell is trying to strengthen its bonds with the local area.

“We’re really proud of being in Liverpool and we want to do more in the city, but we haven’t done enough. We had a couple of pop up shops on Bold Street, but there’s nowhere like that anymore.

 

 

“We are tucked away in a studio space on Duke Street, above a newsagent, and because it’s more of a print studio and an office, it’s not really focused on people coming in and out.

“But we’re moving to London Road in January, to the tapestry district, so we are going to have a premises that has a shopfront, which means that we can have a Wasted Heroes showroom or shop, where people can come in and purchase. We could almost make a factory out of it, because we do produce all of the garments in-house.

“When we move, we will look at investing in some machinery which would allow us to print t-shirts on demand. We will try to collaborate with more local artists and brands. It will be under the Wasted Heroes umbrella, not branded as Wasted Heroes, but we are going to try to create a hub or an online store for local illustrators, selling t-shirts.”

The midst of a pandemic is hardly the ideal time to celebrate a 10th anniversary. The inability to bring people together to mark a decade of the brand is disappointing, but Russell has some celebratory ideas in the pipeline. As well as releasing digital content, an exhibition has been mooted.

 

 

“Hopefully we can do something early summer or spring. One of the ideas that we had, as we probably have 10 years’ worth of designs – between 200 and 400 of them – might be to exhibit them somehow, maybe in a warehouse environment or a gallery space where social distancing would be a possibility, so we are going to try to push that.

And of course the office move has kind of caught the 10th anniversary by chance, so maybe a new shop might be an exciting new thing to happen for the 10th year.”

The brand is a labour of love for Russell, for whom the freedom and creativity make his hard work and long hours worthwhile. “I love being able to design a t-shirt – having a design idea in the morning, when that lightbulb goes off, and by that night, I’ll have a screen made, I’ll have a sample printed, I’ll have photographs and it will be on the website the next day.

“Designing something that people love so much that they’re willing to purchase it, it still kind of blows my mind.”

www.wastedheroes-shop.com