Best of issue two: Sam Lambert and Shaka Maidoh are leaders of the menswear pack
“Our original concept was not to sell anything but just create, invoke and provoke comfortable minds to think about things in different ways. The balance comes from not focusing on the commercial side, but on the creation itself,” says Sam Lambert, who, alongside Shaka Maidoh, founded Art Comes First (ACF) a decade ago. With a handcrafted aesthetic informed by an in-depth knowledge of Savile Row tailoring, infused with the rebellion of punk and a DIY philosophy, the London-based collective now has satellites in several cities, who all share a mandate of celebrating sartorial alchemy.
“We are both married to the art of craft. We have a saying: ‘Music is life, we perform cloth,’” Maidoh explains. “Every designer is a frustrated rock star, so since most of us couldn't do music, the scissors are the instrument we perform with.” It thus comes as no surprise that style aficionados and menswear addicts around the globe have embraced the brand with alacrity. One glimpse at ACF’s Instagram feed reveals several followers with ACF tattoos, the initials purposefully standing for various slogans including Ancient Culture Footstep, Artists Can’t Fear, Always Cut First and Avec Ces Frères.
In an era where collaboration, particularly in fashion, has become a must-do rather than a nice-to-have, ACF’s innate knack for teaming up with choice creatives and brands has been canny. Recent co-creations include a premium jeans line with Turkish eco-brand Calik Denim, and a capsule with British heritage sportswear brand Fred Perry, which took them to Jamaica to riff on the country’s rich reggae culture (each shirt comes packaged in an ACF record sleeve). “I think collaborations, or contributions, as I like to call them, are a great way of experimenting and creating a mix of different worlds, colours, feelings, textures and cultures,” Lambert says. “It’s the most beautiful way of visualising a fantasy. Trying new things that you wouldn't normally dare to do, but at the same time still feeling like you.”
Lambert was born in Angola and sharpened his tailoring teeth on Savile Row, first at Spencer Hart and then at Ozwald Boateng, where he and London-born Maidoh initially worked together. They started ACF by creating conceptual collections and installations, while also offering a design consultancy. Soon they became known for their monochromatic, refined designs based on essential menswear items – the perfect hat, the suitably louche leather jacket or the cleverly compartmented travel case. Fast-forward to SS19, and ACF have looked to Africa’s coastal cities such as Dakar and Accra for their Surf Afrika collection, which fuses athletic shapes with 1950s Americana classics. Meanwhile for AW19, Electric Church prays to the gods of rock ’n’ roll with its mix of ecclesiastical and on-tour silhouettes.
“Every designer is a frustrated rock star”
Over the years Maidoh and Lambert’s shared universe has expanded, as the stamps in their passports have accumulated, with these self-styled ‘black gypsies’ and perennial street-style stars adopting more and more like-minded friends who now form part of the collective. These include ACF’s official photographer David Pattinson, the musician Dani Bumba, who also works as a sound collaborator, and Dennis Okwera, who wears the dual-hat of fit model and muse. There’s also the sculptor Kirrikoo, painter Francis Enfanct Précoce and Dio Kurazawa, who leads on business and sustainability alongside Franck Fanny, who looks after the group’s Africa operations and media.
Currently ACF are working alongside one of their closest compatriots, Amah Ayivi, founder of Marché Noir, the renowned Parisian dealer and designer of vintage clothing, accessories and objets. He originally caused a stir with his concept store in the Marais, and now Marché Noir exists as a nomadic pop-up and often forms part of ACF’s fashion week showrooms. Ayivi was an early adaptor to vintage curating, and at a time when the fashion and textile industry is one of the biggest polluters on the planet, his approach to re-imagining archive pieces is especially pertinent. “Amah definitely made us start thinking about sustainability with his amazing process of buying vintage clothes dumped in Africa, amending them with local tailors and then bringing them back to Paris, where they’re still relevant for this era where sportswear fashion is leading,” says Lambert.
Together, ACF and Ayivi have formed Laboratories Blacksupermarket, a line that is rooted in the premise of repurposing vintage pieces and adding a contemporary twist that marries both of their design languages. The collection will launch during Paris Men’s Fashion Week in June, and not surprisingly will go beyond the remit of creating clothing. “Laborotoires Blacksupermarket is also our creative agency where we represent up-and-coming black creatives with raw talent in art, music, photography and fashion,” Lambert explains. Their methodology is reminiscent of the guilds of yesteryear, where apprentices would have an opportunity to hone skills and develop knowledge as well as have a platform for their finished work. With entry to market remaining a huge challenge, especially for younger and minority creatives, the initiative is much needed.
Looking forward, ACF are set to continue their fruitful collaboration with Fred Perry (“The next one is something special that mixes fashion with other art forms,” Lambert promises) and they’re also working on a visual project with contemporary artist Hassan Hajjaj, and a collaboration with The Mighty Machines motorbike brand in Antwerp. The breadth of these projects speaks to the duo’s insatiable desire to engage with fashion and craft via myriad lenses, and to not be pigeonholed in an industry that thrives on swift categorisation.
Africa may be having a moment in mainstream media, with scores of international publications and outlets shining a spotlight on talent from the continent, but when asked if this in any way affects how ACF works, Lambert responds emphatically: “To tell you the truth, I really don't pay attention to that because our work it not considered African, even though our aesthetic is very much inspired by the continent. I guess it is not so obvious for most people.” However, as a continent that is undergoing an extensive overhaul in terms of norms, aesthetics and representation, especially in the creative disciplines, ACF’s guiding principle of “destroy, innovate and then create something new that is suitable for now with a tomorrow mind-set,” resonates very well.
This story features in issue two of Nataal magazine. Buy your copy here