YMC X DDF

After graduating from Camberwell College of Art with a Graphic Design degree, Daniel David Freeman (DDF) began working as an illustrator drawing gruesome visuals to accompany VICE articles. Since exhibiting in dozens of group shows across London – among them Somerset House and the Institute of Contemporary Arts – Freeman has balanced the scales of a respected artistic practise with commercially successful projects for brands, institutions, record labels, publications, streaming platforms, radio stations and musicians. This is his first collaboration with YMC, read below for the inspiration behind the designs.

“A massive part of my work is championing the unknown through emblematic visuals so creating bold imagery to illustrate historically secretive practices made for a really fun project. A successful t-shirt should align you to an idea or create an association and these illustrations do this with the occult. Witchcraft has long had an impact on alternative subcultures and my pieces offer the wearer an opportunity to express fandom for it in the same way they would music or a brand. For the final graphics I tracked down a couple of endearing spells and hexes that perfectly aligned with the subtly spooky undertones of the collection with an additional air of positivity and romanticism.

For just under a year I have been working on a one man brand called ‘Get A Life.’ The aim alongside exploring wearability is to challenge waste within the fashion and arts industries. The pieces I am embellishing for this mini collection comes from YMC’s existing stock so any additional carbon footprint has been deliberately reduced. Re-using and repurposing materials is integral to my practice; by approaching fashion in a more creative way I can do my bit to help minimise waste. By embellishing used objects and garments I hope to inspire others to give new life to their possessions through artistic customisation.”