It all started with Hereditary.
After watching a preview of the A24 horror film, Alix Ross and Elijah Funk of Online Ceramics — the clothing company and streetwear fixture beloved for its Grateful Dead tees — were inspired to the point of action. The two designed a promotional shirt for the film, which they intended to release as a bootleg.
Eventually, they connected with A24, and the two parties inked an official partnership — and a lucrative one at that. The duo's merchandise for hits including The Lighthouse and Uncut Gems (AKA "Unca Jahmz") are so sought-after, they're resold on Grailed for hundreds.
Now, A24 and Online Ceramics are back with another drop for X, the Ti West horror flick starring Kid Cudi, Mia Goth, and Jenna Ortega.
I'll let the trailer do the talking, but X seems destined for a spot in horror hall of fame.
Out on March 18, X is described as a "horror film set in 1979 that follows a group of young filmmakers making an adult film called 'Farmer's Daughter' in rural Texas... only to have their elderly hosts catch them in the act, and turn on them."
What?!
When it came to transforming the movie into clothing, Ross and Funk's task was clear: "it had to be bloody, sexy, and have a bit of that '70s country feel," the latter told Highsnobiety.
Describing the film as a mix of "sex, pure terror, and some deeply unsettling characters," Funk and Ross looked to classic B horror movies and X-rated posters of the '70s for inspiration.
"Rather than simply mimic them, the goal was to take the feeling of them and move it into the context of our visual language today — much like the film itself does."
With a long roster of distinctly artful films, A24 has managed to transcend its releases and become a pop cultural institution.
Between partnering with Online Ceramics (whose drops sell as fast as your average Supreme drop) and launching a standalone line of A24-branded lifestyle items (think dog collars, candles, and towels), the indie studio has managed to establish its own distinct identity, one synonymous with style and craft.
Online Ceramics x A24's X collection is out now. Catch the movie in theaters tomorrow, and, per Funk, keep an eye on Pearl — "[she] has the makings to be a character who enters the canon of horror history."
