Louis Culture Tells Us His Story In MCQ's Breathe Collection.
South London artist and rapper Louis Culture is pushing through the vast underground UK rap scene as a prominent voice. With a style synonymous with versatility, Louis Culture utilises his skillful ear for captivating sounds and executes his music successfully, as seen with his recent critically acclaimed EP “Smile Soundsystem” and a recent single “Cheer Me Up”
featuring Saint Jude which serves as a taster of his forthcoming new project out this year.
Still scratching the surface of his talent as a new breakthrough, Louis is emerging as one of the UK’s most exciting and imaginative young artists, already drawing an abundance of critical praise from notable publications. Louis Culture also forms part of the Elevation Meditation collective alongside Finn Foxell, Lord Apex, and p-rallel, the rising star continues to be held in serious regard in London’s influential circles as well as the fashion world, with recent activations with Bianca Saunders.
Speaking to the artist himself, Louis Culture wears the seventh icon by MCQ. BREATHE is inspired by the myriad ways in which air influences movement, combining techwear elements from parachuting and sailing with aesthetic references to meditation: literally and figuratively taking a breather.
WORDS - Shorayi Mauluka
DIRECTOR - Derrick Odafi
DOP - E.Greaves & Anarfi (Foolish Professionals)
EDITOR / COLOURIST - E.Greaves
PHOTOGRAPHER - Sami Zubri
GAFFER / PHOTOGRAPHER - Lewis Inman
STYLIST - Gloria Iyare
STYLING CONSULTANT - Jessica Rushforth
INTERVIEWER - Arema Ahonsi
BTS - Zuriel Perkins
Newer release ‘Naked’ hears the rapper on an energetic lo-fi production with a contrastingly mellow flow which currently sits 4th in his Spotify top 5 most popular songs. Additionally, his ‘Being Me’ single used in the new Louis Vuitton campaign shot by Tim Walker shows just how adaptable and limitless his music is as it spans into the luxury industry.
Fabrics for the MCQ BREATHE collection are sheer and layered to play with transparency, while drawstring details allow for adjustability and volume, leading to overall lightness and ease of movement. This buoyancy is further developed through asymmetric patterns and cutout details. Colours and prints reference the sky and the therapeutic effects of nature; and a breathing apparatus designed by Tom
Ducarouge is reworked in illustrations and hidden in coat pockets as a tactile and visual tool for breath-control exercises.
As usual we collaborated with an entirely new team of creatives for BREATHE. The breathing apparatus created by industrial designer Tom Ducarouge is based on the observation of cardiac coherence and generating conscious breathing and awareness of breath. It can be found embedded in clothing throughout the icon. We also collaborated with Amsterdam-based
sneaker brand Areté who created a shoe for BREATHE inspired by British youth culture and featuring a multi-layered construction to reference the icon themes.
