nonnative just took a mural and turned it into a capsule. The Tokyo label has released Potato Head x Rostarr x nonnative, a limited collection of apparel and accessories made for Potato Head to mark a large-scale art installation by New York artist Rostarr at Desa Potato Head Bali. It dropped on Friday, October 16, and it is the best-looking resort collab of the season.
From the wall to the closet
Potato Head calls itself a Creative Village in Seminyak, Bali, bringing together hospitality, art, music, design and sustainability under the motto Good Times, Do Good. At its Desa Potato Head resort, artists are invited to bring their work into the spaces guests actually live in, from murals and music to clothing and everyday objects. This collection runs on the same idea. Rostarr's graphic language starts on the wall and ends up on pieces you can wear home.
That graphic language is the whole point. Rostarr is an artist, designer and calligrapher born in South Korea and based in New York, and nonnative describes him as an influential figure in the city's creative scene since the 1990s, working across art, fashion, music and design. His style turns lettering and symbols into bold, moving compositions that draw on traditional calligraphy, modern abstraction and street culture. The feature image above shows the black and white mural going up, and you can see why it would translate so well to cloth.
What is in the drop
Instead of building new shapes, the collection reworks existing nonnative pieces and puts Rostarr's graphics on them. nonnative also calls Rostarr a long-standing friend, so this reads as a real collaboration and not a logo swap. The lineup:
- Officer Stand Collar S/S Shirt in linen canvas, gray or charcoal
- Dweller Easy Shorts in linen canvas, gray or charcoal
- S/S Tee and L/S Tee, each in white or olive
- 6P Cap in black
- Shoulder Bag in gray
- Beach Sandal in black and white
The shirt and shorts in matching linen canvas are the pick here. Worn together they make a full warm weather uniform, and the stand collar keeps it sharper than a standard camp shirt. The beach sandal is the fun one, a reminder of where this whole thing started.
Where to get it
The collection is stocked at the nonnative shop in Tokyo, the nonnative shop Osaka, COVERCHORD online, Potato Head's Good Times General Store in Bali and Dover Street Market Singapore. For everything else from the label's current season, start at nonnative.
Our call
This one is Surfacing. A Japanese label, a New York calligrapher and a Bali resort meeting on linen canvas is the kind of three-way collab that only happens between friends. Quantities are limited and it has been out for five days, so if the shirt and shorts set is calling you, move now.
More Japanese labels worth knowing: Kapital explained, plus our Japanese workwear gift guide. For another Japanese label collab with real roots, see Needles x A Tribe Called Quest.
