On Saturday, Gap concluded its Art of Denim series at its New York flagship on Fifth Avenue. For three Saturdays in March, denim enthusiasts had a chance to have guest artists paint and customize jeans, denim jackets and jean shorts purchased at the store.
The three-part event kicked off March 7 with industrial street artist John O’Grodnick spraying, splattering and dripping paint across Gap denim in his signature graffiti-inspired style.
The following week artist Jennifer Sanchez lent her graphic art-infused painting techniques comprised of geometric patterns and stripes, to the event. Sanchez used gold, bronze, silver and copper acrylic paints and stencils she designed herself to create patchwork-like patterns on the back pockets and down the legs of jeans. Sanchez, who prior to the Gap event never used denim as a canvas, said, “Gap contacted me and I jumped in blindly.”
New York City-based pop artist Kendrick Daye closed out the series with his loud and bold crayon-like illustrations spanning dollar signs and lightening bolts to pyramids and his signature winged-crown motif. Daye, who has printed some of his pop culture icon artwork featuring Beyonce and Jay Z onto T-shirts, said he’s never directly applied paint to denim, but is now hooked.
In addition to customizing styles on the spot, each of the artists pre-painted a range of over-the-top jeans that sold at the store for $150.
