Founder Steven Banks on Electronic Poet:
After working in Ibiza in the late 90's I moved to Leeds in 2000. It was here that I started throwing parties in photography studios, basements, hotels and anywhere else you weren't supposed to. The parties' reputation and followers grew to the point where I had to take the party to a club - the club was Mint, the party was called Asylum and since 2002 the world's best DJ's have rocked the Asylum dancefloor from Jazzy Jeff to Richie Hawtin, Soulwax to Jamie Lidell.
These DJ's, bands, producers, record labels became known to me as Electronic Poets, and with no formal background in fashion apart from a keen eye, i produced a short range of Electronic Poet T-shirts to give out at the Sonar Festival in 2006. The response from these T-shirts only confirmed what i thought could happen, and here i am: A/W 08, my second season!
For A/W 08 Electronic Poet continues to impress, appearing on the radar of some of the finest retailers across Europe and beyond. The collection will be sold in stores such as Coffee n Television in Madrid, World in NYC, all three Selfridges across the UK, and there will be exclusive pieces sold online at Oki-Ni.com.
The signature quilted section appears again across hooded, zip through, crew and funnel neck in black and heather grey colourways. The all-over print this term is a striking snowflake which cleverly consists of tiny disco balls, keeping in sync with the label's musical theme, this can be seen on the same style sweats as the quilted. New for this season is the complex but beautiful threaded hoody and zip through hoody, featuring hand threaded-pieces of sweat fabric creating both stylish and breathable pieces with ease.
Strong graphics based around the five senses are the influence for the tees, with hearing, sight, taste, touch, and smell all evident. The musical collaborations this season are Manchester's legendary Electric Chair, Paul Woolford who is one of the busiest and most in demand DJs, and the excellent clubnight Below from Birmingham. As usual, when someone purchases one of these tees they receive an exclusive mix from their chosen collaborator.
The graphic designer collaboration is mastered by Si Scott, whose work for MTV, Orange and Nike to name but a few is easily recognisable. Si has designed a beautiful Techno Tree with his signature flowing lines, from which Ed Karney from Mixmag pieced together his take on techno's family tree.