Butter Goods – Into the Rabbit Hole
Words: Amber Grünhäuser
Independent skate label Butter Goods is turning up the heat with some genial Australian West Coast ambience. Founded in 2008 by skaters (and friends) Matthew Evans and Garth Mariano, Butter Goods is well established in the local Perth skate scene and beyond.
Butter Goods exists in that glorious dimension where skateboarding and music collide. Taking musical cues from skate videos of the »time before the internet was what it is today«, Butter Goods gladly dived into »the rabbit hole that is record collecting« in search of that special something they had never heard before. The appreciation of good music is expressed throughout its collections in borrowed lyrical odes and graphic tributes to iconic and lesser-known music giants from the archives of Jazz, Funk, Soul, Roots, Reggae, to name but a few. In Butter Goods apparel, music schooling sits alongside a diverse range of counterculture and streetwear references.
»I’ve always treated designing somewhat like sampling. You pull from the past to create something new. Hopefully we can introduce a new wave of kids to something they may not have come across before«, Mariano says.
Noted for its clean aesthetic, Butter Goods comprises of everyday staples and layering basics to keep one’s street game strong. In 2018, together with Huf they dropped the Huf x Butter Goods »extremely successful international business« capsule with the crown jewel of the collection a Hupper 2 Lo shoe with a »Butter« back print and rose embroidered upon the tongue.
For the Butter Goods SS 2019 collection, bright colours are placed beside navy and neutral classics. Colour blocking and logo pieces appear along with graphic embellishments and relaxed styles. On the other-worldly tip, be prepared to be taken on a Mystic Voyage, as Butter Goods pays homage to Roy Ayers in T-shirt graphics and the Egyptian deity Horus with trousers that feature an allover insignia print. In the words of Mariano, Butter Goods latest drop is, »… as always, it’s just a mismatch collage of a ton of our influences. We try not to be too systematic about things«.
»Music is everything. It drives things culturally; it drives a lot of what we do.« – Garth Mariano
Take a look at some of Butter Goods’ SS19 looks:
Shop Butter Goods at HHV: www.hhv.de/shop/en/butter-goods
Visual content: Butter Goods
