"You're basic, bye." "I feel like fries" and "Where all the cute boys at?" might be some of the most popular phrases used in casual conversation with your closest pals but they also just so happen to be the tongue-in-cheek slogans printed across the tees from one of our favourite streetwear brands, Illustrated People. Launched 12 years ago and designed by Creative Director, Phoebe-Lettice Thompson for the past couple of years, Illustrated People is the Brick Lane-based brand all of London's most colourful, cheeky and fearless female dressers love.
At the end of 2015, we previewed the campaign images of Illustrated People's collaboration with stylist, Violetta Fancies You, on a three-piece capsule collection of silk pyjama sets. The campaign was the first major shoot for rising model Iris Law, the striking teenage daughter of Jude Law and Sadie Frost.
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This week the brand is back with another killer campaign for SS17, starring a dynamic cast of bright young things, including budding 16-year-old model Kim Turnbull – the granddaughter of late artist William Turnbull, girlfriend of Rocco Ritchie and close friend of Brooklyn Beckham. Talk about teen elite.
"This is our first shoot in over a year and I took it as an opportunity to use it as a refresher for the brand, a 'Hello 2017, this is who Illustrated People is,'" Phoebe explained to Refinery29. "The girls I got involved were selected by me; I did a casting and approached a few that were giving us a lot of love online. It's important being a London-based girl's label that we try our best to represent that."
If 2016 was the year of celeb merch and the hoodie, it looks like we're still going to be living in slogan sweaters and must-have tracksuits for 2017 too, courtesy of Illustrated People. You need not fork out on Vetements and Off-White when there's streetwear as fun and affordable as this.
Check out the campaign images shot by Olivia Richardson and our interview with Phoebe below.
What was the inspiration for SS17?
Two films were the starting point for this collection, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet and Tarantino's True Romance. You've been at IP for a few years now. How has the brand evolved and how would you like to see it continue to grow?
Illustrated People has made a steady transition from a T-shirt/jersey concession into the girls' streetwear brand we are now. For the last two years I've been laying solid foundations for IP's future; now we are at a really exciting stage. The launch of our new e-tail store has been a success and we have some new major sales accounts I'm very pleased with and aim to build upon. We've gained quite a specific online fanbase off the back of our throwback styles, such as the AW15 popper trousers and SS16 raver octopus trousers. My focus is to continue to push us forward with more hero pieces alongside core IP classics, hopefully growing the brand in the U.K. and abroad.
Two films were the starting point for this collection, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet and Tarantino's True Romance. You've been at IP for a few years now. How has the brand evolved and how would you like to see it continue to grow?
Illustrated People has made a steady transition from a T-shirt/jersey concession into the girls' streetwear brand we are now. For the last two years I've been laying solid foundations for IP's future; now we are at a really exciting stage. The launch of our new e-tail store has been a success and we have some new major sales accounts I'm very pleased with and aim to build upon. We've gained quite a specific online fanbase off the back of our throwback styles, such as the AW15 popper trousers and SS16 raver octopus trousers. My focus is to continue to push us forward with more hero pieces alongside core IP classics, hopefully growing the brand in the U.K. and abroad.
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Did you cast some of the girls in this campaign from Instagram? Has social media been instrumental in building the brand and increasing brand visibility?
Yes I did, that's how I found all of the girls that were involved in the shoot. I advertised a casting call and contacted a few cute girls that had been posting about IP. Instagram has been very important to the brand's growth; it has been an effective way for us to launch and promote new styles, collaborations and offers. You recently collaborated with Ed Hardy. If you could collaborate with any other brand, who would it be?
I loved working with Ed Hardy, there will hopefully be another project with them coming out later this year. I did a really fun collaboration with Charli XCX where I designed a three-piece merch collection for the launch of her new single. I would like to work with a major popstar again and do a trainer with a major activewear label.
Yes I did, that's how I found all of the girls that were involved in the shoot. I advertised a casting call and contacted a few cute girls that had been posting about IP. Instagram has been very important to the brand's growth; it has been an effective way for us to launch and promote new styles, collaborations and offers. You recently collaborated with Ed Hardy. If you could collaborate with any other brand, who would it be?
I loved working with Ed Hardy, there will hopefully be another project with them coming out later this year. I did a really fun collaboration with Charli XCX where I designed a three-piece merch collection for the launch of her new single. I would like to work with a major popstar again and do a trainer with a major activewear label.
Which women within the industry or brands inspire you?
I really admire Kate Phelan because of the work she's done at Topshop and because I made a similar move from working at a fashion publication to a retail business (obviously on a much lower, smaller scale!!), so I find her success inspiring. At the moment I also really like Natalia Maczek from Polish label MISBHV, Marques' Almeida, Dsquared2 and Marc Jacobs SS17.
I really admire Kate Phelan because of the work she's done at Topshop and because I made a similar move from working at a fashion publication to a retail business (obviously on a much lower, smaller scale!!), so I find her success inspiring. At the moment I also really like Natalia Maczek from Polish label MISBHV, Marques' Almeida, Dsquared2 and Marc Jacobs SS17.
Follow Illustrated People on Instagram @IllustratedPeople