Beware the Playdead Cult
Artifacts / 1/7/2008 6:32:56 PM
Welcome back fellow dark readers! Our very first article for 2008 is brought to you by our prolific guest writer Miguel Gallego. This time he's found an awesome place to hang in his own backyard. (And where I found my all time favorite t-shirt...Bat Boy on red!)
ATTENTION CITIZENS: If you do not fit in, or choose not to fit in to this "totally dull, mindless, thoughtless age of media-crap" then you can create your own place. This dangerous idea spawned Playdead Cult, an underground Toronto clothing and media collective established in 1999 by renegades Bean and Stu. The slogan for their urban Goth themed designs is For the Black Collar Worker and the number of cult followers is not only growing, it is spreading internationally.
Stu Andrenelli started out designing merchandise for his high school band and screen-printing skateboards. Bean was teaching belly dancing when she and Stu hooked up. To avoid 9-to-5 syndrome they began designing and printing their Playdead Cult T-shirts and holding band nights at local clubs to sell their merchandise. Soon people were clamoring for their unique, creative clothing. They eventually formed a sideline business to create tour shirts for Billy Talent, Kill Switch Engage, Coheed & Cambria, and dozens more. But the successful sideline became an all devouring monster threatening their creative fulfillment. In time they learned to shut out the "you shoulds" (as in, "You should do this...") and follow their own dark dreams.
Now Stu and Bean focus solely on expanding Playdead Cult as a branded entertainment source, "like Disney", jokes Stu. Bean quickly adds, "Playdead is our portal for everything we want to express and do." Bean loves to combine scenes and people and influences so folks who would never meet under normal circumstances can get together. A good example, Playdead's inclusion in the 2006 L'Oreal Fashion Week runway show where fashionistas mingled with horror and Goth elements. After the event Fashion Television maven Jeanne Becker pulled Bean onstage for an impromptu interview and hug.
Playdead Cult's dark, playful clothing and accessories are available on-line and increasingly throughout boutiques in Canada, the US, and Australia. "We're really happy with the team we have together now."
In addition to the expanding fashions, Stu has gallery shows of his original artwork on found objects, from spray paint cans to 4'x8' plywood sheets. He wants to do a musical (because he hates musicals), and get more into filmmaking. Playdead also hosts DJ nights at local clubs with Stu spinning and grinning.
The storefront, Playdead Mansion, in Toronto's Parkdale district is a converted garage festooned with Stu's signature skulls. For six nights in October 2007 it was the site of their first haunted attraction, the Nightmare on Queen Street, with line-ups around the block. They promise it will be bigger and scarier next year.
So, what"s next? Toys, cookware, theme parks? Wait and see... The Playdead Cult is growing!
Miguel Gallego
Jill's p.s. To see more of Playdead Cult visit their website and their myspace page and to talk to Miguel you can email him here at Killer-works.
