Last weekend we gave you a detailed preview of the Hanon VCMP Project. Today we give you some more background information on how it all came together.

Since we do not come across many collaborative projects these days that go much beyond wanting to create a product, but rather have a strong message behind the project and communicate something in a meaningful way, we took some time out to sit down with Chris Johns to talk about how the VCMP Project came about.

Highsnobiety: Hi guys, can you give you tell us how the project started? Who had the idea, what was your inspiration?

Chris Johns: The idea for VCMP came from Reebok designers Christopher Torres (now working elsewhere) and Chris Johns. The project started in November 2006 as a simple discussion about a Vanity Fair article Chris Johns had read. The article, written by Henry Porter, was both shocking and enlightening. It described how disturbing things were in the UK vis a vis an erosion of privacy rights and civil liberties. It also detailed the proliferation of CCTV’s and other ways to monitor the public. Torres thought we should create a project bringing light to the subject, and we went from there. Without him seeing it as a viable idea, it would have ended there.

HS: The project involves lots of partners. How did you choose the collaborators?

Read the rest of the interview after the jump.

In the previous post we gave you the complete rundown of the Visual Countermeasures Project (VCMP), involving Hanon, 6876, Call of the Wild, Reebok, Henry Porter and Nino Leitner. We previewed the Reebok Stomper and the 6876 Jacket from the project and here we continue with a closer look at the collaboration, which also involves a Call of the Wild T-Shirt.

The 100% organic cotton tee by Call of the Wild features a screened chest graphic specially designed for the VCMP project, as well as VCMP special edition statement tag and Call of the Wild branding tab. Limited to 60 pieces, the t-shirt will be released along with the Reebok Stomper and the 6876 Jacket on February 25th at Hanon.

Detailed images of the t-shirt follow after the jump.

A “Big Brother” culture, fuelled by technology and fear, is an expanding element of today’s world. This is especially true in Britain: the proliferation of CCTV cameras to monitor citizens movements, new state imposed limits on freedom of speech, and a serious erosion of individual privacy rights are all now commonplace.

The Visual Countermeasures Proejct (VCMP) is a multi-disciplinary 2.0 collaboration which aims to shed light on these crucial issues and encourage debate. VCMP speaks to individual freedom for all, for privacy, and for free speech.

Over the years we have reported about hundreds of collaborative projects, mostly because we are interested in the fusion of at least two different designers/brands and it that outcome. VCMP certainly takes the idea of a collaboration further and does not only impress with a strong line-up of product, but most importantly with a strong message behind the entire project – a message that raises some critical questions in our society.

Participants in the project include Hanon Shop, founded in 1990 in the UK by Brian Toft, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2010. Brian put together an impressive group of brands and people in order to make the project happen. They worked with 6876, Call of the Wild, Reebok, as well as novelist Henry Porter and film director Nino Leitner. Leitner is about to release a movie at the Austrian film festival, dealing with the exact issues of CCTV cameras and their consequences in society, making this an incredibly round project overall. Check out the trailer of the “Every Step You Take” movie here below.

First we present you the Reebok Stomper of the collaborative project, with the other product to follow afterwards. The Reebok Stomper was originally produced for director James Cameron’s 1986 sci-fi blockbuster Aliens and worn by the main character Ripley throughout the movie.

Not widely available and the purpose of the Stomper has always been a mystery it was the perfect silhouette for the VCMP project. It features a full reflective Scotchlite upper, full velcro fasten design and general dark look. The sneaker will be released February 25th along with the rest of the project and is limited to only 60 pairs worldwide.

Detailed images of the VCMP x Reebok Stomper follow after the jump.

James Lavelle’s Surrenderous has worked with UK label Call of the Wild on a capsule t-shirt collection, entitled “The Angel” Collection. The collection consists of overall 4 t-shirts and will be released for Spring 2010. Each t-shirt will also come with a free UNKLE mix CD.

Take a detailed look at the complete range of Surrenderous x Call Of The Wild T-Shirts after the jump.

We take a look at some t-shirts coming from one of our favorite UK labels, Call Of The Wild. The line-up that we present you here is out of their Spring 2009 collection,which means that it will still take a while before they get into stores.
Call Of The Wild presents a nice set of graphics t-shirts for Spring 2009, where we have seen mostly paneled t-shirts in previous seasons. It will make for a nice balance in the coming season.
More images of the t-shirts follow after the jump.

Long ago announced, the Reebok Nightsky Boot that was done in collaboration with Call Of The Wild has finally been released. The Gore-Tex boot comes in black with a few nice details, while keeping the overall look simple. Sold Out has them in stock now.

We present you the upcoming Call Of The Wild Spring/Summer 2008 collection. The brand continues to explore working with panels and different materials. The new collection looks very interesting and smartly combines different materials, patterns and colors.
The Spring/Summer 2008 collection consists of t-shirts, longsleeves, hoodies, cardigans as well as some very cool shirts. Also the Spring/Summer collection brings a collaboration with Reebok on a hiking boot in two colorways.
All that and more in the detailed preview after the jump.

After the Nike (Co)-Lab collaboration of Call Of The Wild earlier this year, here comes already the next collaboration of the two brands. This time Nike ACG got together with the London brand on some t-shirts. Mostly Call Of The Wild remixed the ACG logo and added some of their signature styles to it. It’s good seeing Nike ACG adding some style to their line. Expect to see this in store soon!

Call Of The Wild from London has always been doing things a little different than most other brands. It is the same for the new Autumn/Winter 2007 collection. Different colors, different graphics and especially completely different and very interesting cuts.
In the new collection you find t-shirts, hoodies, jackets and some pieces that we have a hard time describing. You just have to see it. The cuts in this collection remind us a little bit of the Nike windrunner cut with the triangle in the front. Call Of The Wild divides their pieces into panels and only certain panels come with graphics, mostly graphic patterns. A very interesting collection overall. Also the Reebok collaboration walking shoe that we showed you yesterday fits in nicely with the collection. Check that again out here.
The collection will be releasing soon at New Dandyism and other retailers around the globe. Now head after the jump to see the complete Call Of The Wild A/W ‘07 collection. It sports many surprises.

Here we give you a small preview of the Reebok x Call Of The Wild Walking Shoes that they are still working on. They come in two colorways – black and brown and premium leather uppers. The lining is a custom pattern by the brand and they also added some smaller details on the outer sole. For now it is not clear yet as to when these will be released, but we’ll keep you posted. Definitely interesting, as it is not your normal sneaker collaboration that we see all the time.