Underwater Fusion: David Friend x Saint Laurent

“I mostly draw for fun,” shares Friend. “This time I was mad at someone. I drew this figure made of broken shards of wood. It was three-headed and deteriorating, the figures running collectively across the page, multi-personalities running through multi-lives quickly deteriorating depending on how much it rains. The graphics I used—a ribbed guitar, a locked up skeleton waving to the people in a JFK type of way, and this ‘hangover fucking sucks’ shirt—all stemmed from this initial sketch.”

It was after posting a few sketches on his Instagram account that Anthony Vaccarello, Saint Laurent’s creative director, came across the drawings and reached out to initiate the t-shirt collaboration. Friend partnered with photographer Brandon Bowen on a series of images featuring himself submerged underwater in the t-shirts. “I work with him as much as possible, our styles mesh well together.” The images were shot over the course of two days, at night and in the morning to capture the different lighting.

“We wanted an interesting way to shoot t-shirts. Underwater gave us interesting texture and semi transparency. We knew we didn’t want to shoot in a blue pool and wanted something that looked more like a deep ocean where only a few animals would live, or continuous sinking.” The images in this series provide a vast space where movement and light are strikingly captured, a space where Friend delves into the depths, floating towards unexplored territories. Here, Friend and Bowen share their images with office.

The shirts are sold at Saint Laurent and their retailer accounts worldwide.