For W’s annual The Originals portfolio, we asked stars of film, fashion, art, music, and more to share their insights on staying true to themselves. See this year’s full class of creatives here.
Cherry World is a new lifestyle brand formed by a ragtag group of idealists: Josh LeVine, cofounder of the Los Angeles–based denim label Frame; Francesca Burns, a stylist, consultant, and publisher who has worked with the likes of Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott; Fergus Purcell, a commercial artist perhaps best known for designing Palace Skateboards’ logo; and the veteran photographer Glen Luchford, whose 1990s campaigns for Prada have been recognized across the art and design worlds.
Josh LeVine: We really just wanted to use Cherry World as a platform to work with our friends. Having been in the fashion space for a handful of years at this point, it’s really just about wanting to do something in our way, and with who we thought were the best of the best.
Francesca Burns: It’s so exciting and exhilarating to work in this constant, dynamic exchange of ideas. Really, it’s very fun. I can’t put a better word to it.
How do you approach who is best at what?
Fergus Purcell: We’re a small group. That means the communication is very fluid, as are our roles. Everyone’s ideas are valid, and they can manifest easily. The solid rock is Josh’s production smarts—and his passion. As a commercial artist, my thing is never solely about ideas; it’s about how you make the good ideas into reality. That’s why Josh occupies the key role: the make-it-happen person.
Glen Luchford: I’m not sure we ever said, “You’re doing this and I’m doing that,” although my experience tells me that’s a good idea. Everyone seems to instinctively know what they’re doing and gets on with it. It’s a hassle-free zone.
Models Brian, Anna, and Elan.
The DNA of the brand binds the skater heritage of Los Angeles, where Josh and Glen live, with the street style of London, where Francesca and Fergus live. Plus, a healthy splash of global cannabis culture.
FB: And we really wanted to create a brand that was focused around a California lifestyle. We talked a lot about a young Rick Rubin, via Snoop Doggy Dogg. This kind of energy, freedom, relaxation, and free-spiritedness. As an English person, I have grown up watching that fantastic part of American culture. The skate culture of California, and South L.A. culture more generally, has always held this real appeal. Often, being an outsider—from that point of view—you become really optimistic about these ideas. When we were researching old skate and surf brands, really going deep into this world, it was just so exciting because these are the things that I grew up looking at and loving. Obviously, Fergus comes from a background in skate culture. So for him, California was such an important part of that identity. And for Glen, too, he started off taking pictures of skateboarders. He talks a lot about how that culture has a real romance to it.
Is the name Cherry World connected to the choice of a scorpion as a logo?
JL: “Cherry” means so many different things. There is the connotation of a cherry red car, or the bowl in the pipe still being “cherry.” And then, obviously, “world” makes it feel so much bigger—bigger than perhaps it is at this point. A subculture aspect is driving the brand identity. It’s liberating to just do whatever you want. What about doing a weed leaf on the button? What about a scorpion logo? I want to get Ferg’s answer on the scorpion.
FP: It’s something to do with the feeling of watching kung fu movies in the afternoon—Shaolin Wooden Men or Drunken Master.
Model Elan.
What are the core pieces of the debut collection?
GL: Good clothes, good vibes.
JL: Amazing, beautiful products made in L.A. Killer jeans and killer tees and killer cashmere sweaters and killer woven shirts.
FP: “Let’s make stuff in America. It does cost more to do that, but what a cool thing to do”—that was the position. The resulting product is really good.
GL: Personally, I love the green varsity jacket. But the denim is where we’re putting a lot of energy, and I’m excited about that.
FB: Denim is really the backbone of all of it. Some personal photography from Glen’s archives also appears throughout the collection.
GL: Josh and Ferg suggested some ideas, and I liked them, so we fished them out.
JL: There’s a sweater we’re doing called the Carl, named after Glen’s childhood best friend. He took a photo of Carl when he was younger. We found it and we digitized it, and we’ve done it as a four-yarn jacquard sweater. It almost looks like a photo from way back, but it’s actually a lightweight sweater.
GL: Carl was the first punk I ever met in the late ’70s, so he had to squeeze in there someplace.
FB: Incorporating some of Glen and Fergus’s work has been so, so important.
JL: For next season, we’ve taken some of the first commercial photography Glen did, shooting Lollapalooza back in the day, and Ferg developed a printout of it for shirting. Lots of Ferg’s art has been put into the clothing via graphics, screen printing, embroidery, and intarsia. We want to integrate these ideas in really interesting ways, rather than just screen printing a photo on a T-shirt.
Will any of you make original works specifically for Cherry World?
FB: Glen shot part of the lookbook, and I shot part of it. Glen is English and has been living in America for a really long time, but he has such strong roots in London. So we were casting friends and family, like Mark Lebon, for example. Mark is not only a photographer in his own right, but the father of the photographers Tyrone Lebon and Frank Lebon. He’s also Glen’s old landlord. Glen used to live with Mark. Mark used to be my boyfriend Angelo’s teacher at college as well. So we were like, “Can you come and do some pictures?”
GL: I don’t think a lot of thought went into it. We just got some buds together and had a fun day, which seems to be the number one doctrine of CW: Let’s have a good time.
Hair by Mikey Lorenzano; Makeup by Sam Visser at Art Partner; Models: Anna Cordell, Elan Lee, Billy Luchford, Brian Maxwell, Jaid Nilon; Casting Director: Rachel Chandler at Midland; Casting Producer: Ellie Gill; Produced by Alice Films; executive producer: Laura Lotti; Studio Manager: Aleksandra Zagozda; Makeup Assistant: Laura Dudley; Lighting Technician: Jack Webb; Photo Assistant: Alex de la Hidalga; Production Assistant: Cora Rafe; Styling Producer: Gabby Lambert; Stylist Assistants: Natasha Devereux, Lindsey Eskind.
