Mushpit presents... Forever
‘We’re really happy to be working with Converse because they’re a brand that sit very naturally with us and our readers – AKA we all wear Chuck Taylors all the time and that’s just the truth. I’m literally wearing them right now,’ says Mushpit’s Bertie Brandes of the title’s new collaboration with the sneaker company.
The shiny new A5 zine called Forever is a slither of Mushpit tone and energy – there’s the same fake adds, quizzes, humour, and lo-res imagery – expect all the models inside are wearing converse and occasionally talk about converse in their interviews.
On the editor’s page, Bertie and co-Mushpit founder Char Roberts have included iPhone photos of them in converse trainers taken long before the project began to demonstrate how the brand has always fit with their aesthetic. ‘Converse were very happy for us run wild with our wickeddd humour and that’s obviously absolutely key to what Mushpit is. So yeah it’s been good, very refreshing and I think quite unusual,’ say the editors of the whole experience. Inside, they’ve focused on a group of London-based artists, musicians and film-makers for the zine, all whom also felt comfortable working with the brand presence, mainly because they wear the trainers already anyway.
I do wonder whether fake ads for Converse that are really part of a real ad for Converse deflates the power of the satire though. ‘Obviously first and foremost, this is a piece of Mushpit and we would never compromise on our content or risk it undermining anything else we do or say,’ say Bertie and Char when I ask them about this potential issue. ‘We're really happy with how this mini-zine can sit between clearly ‘branded’ work and mad, bad and radical Mushpit main issues.’
Forever, which boasts a set of covers, is going to be distributed at various University of the Arts London sites, as well as the magCulture shop, Goodhood in Shoreditch, WAH Nails in Soho, and The Alibi in Dalston. ‘There will be a few more stockists but because the zines are free (and shinyyy) they're hard to keep in any one place for very long,’ say Bertie and Char. ‘If you have the chance to grab one we suggest you do!’