Art Comes First

Their motto: Inspire To Be Inspired

Art Comes First [ACF] is a consultancy collective of designers, tailors, photographers, art directors, musicians & rebels. Founded by Sam Lambert and Shaka Maidoh, former Savile Row tailors, the duo seek to provide creative nourishment and inspiration through dynamic collaborations in art and fashion. Their expert understanding of the magnetism that intrinsically binds art and fashion comes directly from their clear admiration of the history of craftsmanship and a deep seated respect for the future. Through our partnership with Art Comes First we explore branding innovation through a series of collections and events - aspiring to tell powerful stories whilst blending together the worlds of fashion.

Complex Con 2018

ACF were the perfect partner for a widescope collaboration at Complex Con 2018 with Avery Dennison. A project that encompassed youth culture, fashion, art and spatial design.The third annual ComplexCon played out over two days (Nov. 3-4) in Long Beach, California. The festival, targeting the youth consumer, is a place where music, fashion, art, and culture meet. It’s a cleverly curated convention that sees over 60,000 attendees through the door to browse and buy limited edition items from the best brands in the fashion world ranging from high and low to streetwear staples. For 2018, more than 100 brands were present, delivering must-cop items to a frenzied crowd.

ACF have always featured denim as part of their apparel collections but usually only one or two pieces. Complex Con 2018 was the first time focusing on a full denim offering, working closely with the RBIS brand partnership team to develop a range of core branding and embellishment solutions that captured and communicated the essence of the collection.

“It is important to us that we made a collection that people can wear everyday, something that fits the times we are dealing with aesthetically and practically and it was only right we launched this by partnering with innovative and the best in their fields such as Avery Dennison to help interpret our vision in many different ways! This is the inevitable, the future of fashion: looking after what matters, protecting it and innovating it for the next generation to come”

Shaka Maidoh

Art Comes First x Fred Perry Rocksteady Capsule

Art Comes First was inspired by Jamaican culture for their Spring/Summer 2019 capsule collection in collaboration with Fred Perry. The colorful four piece polo shirt capsule and packaging took inspiration from Art Comes First’s favorite record sleeves.

"The inspiration of this collaboration is the ROCKSTEADY music genre style, started in Jamaica in the 60s/70s. We created our first colourful collection ever, inspired by rocksteady album cover artworks. They are always full of colours and have cartoonish vibes, specific to this very cultural music style. The collection celebrates our music super heroes, such as Big Youth, and many other Jamaican legendary DJs".

To launch the collection, Art Comes First did an instore takeover with panel discussions, live art, complimentary drinks and DJ sets. On show was a vibrant installation of the packaging sleeves developed by Avery Dennison in partnership with Art Comes First - especially for this limited edition Fred Perry capsule. The collection launch party took place at the Fred Perry Coal Drops Yard store, London March 29th.

El Charro Negro Collection

Art Comes First takes inspiration from a trip to Mexico for their Spring Summer 2020 range. The collection is based on Charro culture and mixes western Mexican style with their trademark sartorial punk, heavy metal work vibe. ACF takes inspiration from Mexican cowboys - wrangling cattle, riding, training and the keeping of horse practices that have been mastered by black Americans since the 1800s.

Mexican culture is so rich in handicraft techniques such as embroidery, tapestry, metalsmith and weaving. ACF felt obliged to bring this style to their newest collection!Going deeper into the idea of sartorial western, ACF made products within the UK by bringing back all of their tailoring to London, including a range of wide brim hats. ACF’s artistic expressionism and cultural craftsmanship ethos is illustrated on the garments using Avery Dennison external embellishments. “Our idea for this collection is to show that our fashion is more inclusive than exclusive, we are part of the global village. El Charro Negro collection was born based on that core ethos.”

Standout pieces include a range of Western-style jackets, oversized denim wear including jeans, tailored blazers and accessories. The Brand Partnerships team collaborated with ACF on this new collection to showcase a range of beautifully crafted woven labels, component Weave™ fabric, external embellishments and point of sale branding.

Brand Solutions

External Embellishments Woven Labels Core Branding Graphic Tags Packaging