Jean-Michel Basquiat X Browns

From street graffiti artist to gallery darling, Basquiat's meteoric rise to fame in 1980s New York is the stuff of urban legend. The Basquiat: Boom for Real exhibition, which opened back in September, is a huge deal in the art world.

To celebrate the upcoming exhibition, Browns are taking Basquiat out of the gallery and putting his works back on the street where they belong, with help from New York Streetwear brand Rome Pays off. The capsule collection, which launched mid-September, is viewable online, and it's pure urban wear.

Basquiat's Mona Lisa, originally painted in 1983, grimaces gaudily on a skateboard. His cryptic phrases come in t-shirt and hoodie form. His early graffiti was written under the moniker SAMO©. You can buy the SAMO© FOR THE SO-CALLED AVANT-GARDE t shirt for £90, while the white leather canvas sneakers, covered in artwork, are £225. You'll find decorated denim and sweatshirts, too.



Considering what a huge market there is for intelligent streetwear, this is a genius collaboration. Art-inspired skateboards are a 'thing' now - Grayson Perry sold a Duchess of Cambridge-inspired 'Kateboard' at his Serpentine Exhibition over the summer. But, most importantly, this project - commercial as it may be - retains the essence of the young graffiti artist and his subculture.