Since Kidsuper was first featured by Highsnobiety in 2017, the Brooklyn, NY-based brand run by Colm Dillane and his rag-tag group of friends has gone from strength to strength.
In addition to several high-profile co-signs from the likes of Lil Baby, Hector Bellerin, Gunna, and (strangely but still totally on-brand) Lil Miquela, Kidsuper has recently teamed up with PUMA on a highly-successful second collection that combined Dillane’s love for football with his whacky graphics and fine art aesthetic.
Kidsuper’s entire aesthetic is built on a whim. Colm Dillane’s artistic whim, to be exact. If he has an idea — whether it’s suddenly, while sitting at the table with PUMA’s executives, or at 4 am in the morning (when he’s regularly online and sliding into my DMs) — he acts on it.
Sometimes the result is a painting, sometimes it’s a new BAPE Camo-inspired monogram. And sometimes it’s a coat with an all-over graphic of two people kissing, that opens at the interconnected mouths.
Regardless of whether you can rock Kidsuper’s loud aesthetic or not, it’s hard to deny that Dillane is bringing fine art to the fashion world, unlike any other brand at the moment.
The kissing coat specifically, caught the eye of many of his followers on Instagram, prompting a positive response in the comments. The idea for the coat stemmed from an invite he made for his FW20 Paris Fashion Week show. “I am always trying to make unique products,” Colm tells me. “Something fun. I was designing a purse and wanted it to open on the kiss.”
“I added the artwork to some pants and I was playing around with it on illustrator and photoshop and thought it would be awesome if a coat opened on the kiss like the purse,” explains Dillane. “I still don't know if I am the only one to do it on the kiss. There's a brand called Sebastian Coolidge that did some shirts with unique opening such as faces and shapes.”
Fast-forward over a year and the purse/invite has turned into an actual coat. In typical Dillane fashion, it was announced on Instagram with the following, light-hearted caption: “THE KIDSUPER KISSING JACKET MADE FOR ALL THE LOVERS OUT THERE, AND IF YOU AREN’T GETTING ANY AT LEAST YOUR JACKET IS.”
Other recent strokes of genius include the landscape top and pants, which feature three distinct landscapes as an all-over print, as well as the kissing pants (if you want to match your coat), and a running graphic plastered on several coats and jackets.
It’s hard to place Kidsuper’s all-over graphics because they’re mostly all original artwork. While logomania has subsided over the past years and given way to a more conservative and color-driven aesthetic, bold patterns and graphics still pop up in brands’ collections, albeit mostly as statement pieces.
One has to look no further than Dries van Noten and BODE, for example, with both brands utilizing eye-catching patterns and colorways, much in the same way Dillane does with Kidsuper. The big difference, however, is that Kidsuper collections nearly entirely comprise statement pieces.
Kidsuper’s next drop is apparently coming soon (unsurprisingly the designer doesn’t follow a concrete release schedule) at Kidsuper.com. In the meantime, if you’re looking for more, all-over print and graphic pieces, scroll through our selection below.
Shop All-Over Patterns & Graphics at Highsnobiety
Our designated Selects section features products that we love and want to share with you. Highsnobiety has affiliate marketing partnerships, which means we may receive a commission from your purchase.
