Despite being more than 5000 years old, Stonehenge still remains a mystery. Who put it there? What even is it? In an attempt to unlock some of its mystical powers, Sofia Prantera of fashion label Aries has collaborated with artist Jeremy Deller on a new collection inspired by the iconic structure.
“We started the collaboration with t-shirts when Jeremy was working for the English Heritage, and we decided to create some merchandise for the Stonehenge gift shop together,” Prantera explains to us. “The Stonehenge trilithon structure is such a recognisable shape, we approached it like a graphic brand collaboration.”
With t-shirts featuring ancient historical symbols – no, that’s not a penis – and Stonehenge’s iconic trilithon, the collection also includes hoodies, tie-dye pieces that read ‘STONEHENGE, built by immigrants’, and, our personal favourite: ‘Make Archaeology Sexy Again’.
In addition to being the inspiration, Stonehenge also acted as the location for the book that will accompany the collection. Shot by photographer David Sims, it features models looking mystical around the famous site at different times throughout the day. “We had to wake up at 2:30am and it was really cold, but everyone was in a great mood,” the designer recalls.
As well as the collection, there will also be an accompanying book and exhibition – opening at 180 Strand on January 16. Like the historical structure, the pieces from the collection will feature like artefacts, alongside the Sims-shot images. But what if the items were actually artefacts discovered in the future? “The Robot Lizard aliens will be puzzled by them,” Deller says. He’s probably not wrong.