A lot of you have been following Civil Unrest for a while now and I’ve never really talked about the meaning behind my brand and the name. Civil Unrest as a name had been an idea that my friend and I brainstormed although it didn’t become final until I seen it on a bus-stop timetable disruption for a car hijacking near me. I wanted to create clothing in a way that appealed to my generation in Northern Ireland. In 2021 the effects of Brexit took place causing the ‘Northern Ireland protocol’ and creating the ‘Irish Sea border’. This sparked the some of the most severe unrest seen in years with several nights of rioting, including car hijackings and buses being burned. Everything from this situation has formed the idea of civil unrest in my head. I wanted to convey the feelings of this moment in time through my clothes.
Some pieces I find have properly represented this is the ‘ihatecivilunrest’ t-shirt which shows a black and white image of tear gas being used, on a distressed and dyed fabric. The fragment hoodie which is a representation of how communities can be broken into pieces during times of civil unrest. The spike tees show a devil like character with a large grin. This character is meant to represent the generation that grows up in a post-conflict area.
Despite growing up in a much more peaceful and mixed time than the troubles, the topic of these times of unrest still interest me. Belfast is now embracing a more modern identity with emerging musicians and artists making their way. I want my brand to embrace this new identity through my clothes and creative vision, while highlighting the times that has formed the city into what it is today.