Sling Shot

Early in life we develop deep, emotional alliances with type: "The Hero", "The Villain", "The Jester", "The Princess", "The-boy-who-saves-his-buggers-in-the-corner". These archetypes are all accounted for and sufficiently filled while barely learning how to read our first book. Whether by nature or nurture, there isn’t much in the way of personal choice. Once these roles are assigned, they’re awfully difficult to shake. So it’s no surprise that the resurgence of iconic signifiers of these adolescent roles are popping up in the least likely of places.

Within a brands identity, especially within the fashion sector, the commodity of heritage is not measured in yards of fabric but in periphery. The decoration. The wallpaper. Miscellany. These otherwise insignificant elements, when reevaluated flesh out the narrative of a brand.

Here are some recent examples from a Brooklyn-based, fashion and “goods” company, Hickoree’s Hard Goods:

Audubon Bird Call

Metal Ruler

School Yard Whistle

Old Matchbook

Fashioned after a 1950’s dime store of bric-a-brac, Hickoree’s main draw for the uninitiated is the fine clothing they sell at moderate-to-high price points. But further investigation reveals the brands penchant for fleshing out their story, and playing to iconic archetypes by selling repurposed ephemera from a seminal point in image projection: When TV sets worldwide got a glimpse of what American life was . . . or at least what American’s wanted life to be.

Links to consider:

Hickoree’s Hard Goods

Field Notes