Now that’s what we call a novel partnership, New York-based Gabriela Hearst has created a collab’ collection with cult Californian band Grateful Dead, debuting this month on both coasts.

 
“The collection explores concepts from the Grateful Dead’s graphic ethos and aesthetic history that resonated with the designer, featured on purposeful, considered garments made from low-impact materials that are synonymous with the Gabriela Hearst brand,” the fashion house announced Monday.
 
Though they have only ever gained one Top 40 single in their 30-year-career, the Grateful Dead remain one of the highest grossing American touring acts in history. Formed as a quintet in California in 1965, they embodied the psychedelic rock era’s mind-expanding counterculture, and gained a huge following – known as Dead Heads – by allowing anyone to tape their live shows, and freely distribute the recordings. After guitarist Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995, the group disbanded, though members of the Grateful Dead have toured intermittently under other names ever since.

However, rather than referencing the band’s well-known psychedelic iconography, Gabriela references the band’s lesser-known Beatnik origins, with a more minimalist and graphic aesthetic.  
 
“The collaboration looks at how the band were inspired by the Beat Generation to characterize the underground, anti-conformist youth gathering in New York at the time,” Hearst stressed.
 
Hence, the special collab’ features Grateful Dead’s cover artwork by Roy Henry Vickers, seen in their live album ‘Pacific Northwest ’73-’74: The Complete Recordings’ released in 2018. While also playing with the influence of the Pacific Northwest on the band, mingled with Hearst’s rough-hewn aesthetic from her youth in Uruguay. 
 
The collection’s featured artwork is embroidered, and screen printed on sustainable materials. Designs include deadstock French terry sweatshirts, recycled cashmere felt baseball hats, deadstock cotton jersey T-shirts and long-sleeve t-shirts. There are also recycled cashmere felt shirts, cashmere jersey T-shirts and long sleeve T-shirts, all featuring tonal embroidery of a new Gabriela Hearst & Grateful Dead logo.
 
“The Dead’s musical legacy remains unfathomably rich, spread across a combined body of live and studio recordings. Creating an artistic ecosystem all their own, the Grateful Dead would transform American music and arguably even America itself,” Hearst argues.
 
Rounding out the collection are a blanket, scarf, socks, and the brand’s classic Lawrence sweater – crafted from Welfat cashmere and hand-knit by women’s non-profit co-operative Manos del Uruguay in the vibrant colors of the artwork.
 
The collection launches this week in Gabriela Hearst Beverly Hills, New York and London flagship stores and online.