DRKN is a clothing label about street fashion that promotes gaming & digital culture. They work with European textile manufactures to create edgy, unisex, dark clothing with clear references to gaming. The main inspiration comes from Counter-Strike and you can see how that is reflected on the label through their jet-black bomber jackets, pullovers and vests that feature the game’s train map as a geometric camouflage print.

“Darkness represents the anarchy of the online worlds we live in and it also a consequence of the inspiration we get from all the dystopian worlds we find ourselves in when we play games. The darkness is our world—our heritage.” DRKN Designer Erik Bjerkesjö
 
DRKN got together people that are « globally connected in this subculture », and that can « apply their power very quickly ». It is about time this huge segmentation of the market – that just keeps on growing – had a label that truly represents them.

« What striked me the most with DRKN is that we are entering a new market, where basically no one is. With this collection, we offer an alternative to most clothing brands out there. We do not have a traditionally defined cultural or social heritage and we have no preconceived idea of who our customers are in the real world. Instead, we want to inspire people to embrace the values of the virtual world and encourage them to not restrict their imagination and become whoever they want to be.

I have been focusing on creating a unisex brand identity. Any person who, just as us at DRKN, feels that they are part of a very dark and chaotic world, partly due to the online worlds they live in, will understand our inspiration and what we fight for. We want to show the world that games matter and that gaming culture, as well as people dedicated to games, should be taken more seriously. Gaming is actually a really cool and interesting lifestyle. With this collection we want people to be able to express that passion and achievement. We are also really into science fiction and how the world is being changed by technology. We believe in a world where humans are much more enhanced by technology, which is something you will be able to see us work with in the future.

We do it by giving people the opportunity to express their online identity through their DRKN clothing, in a way that makes them proud of who they are. The DRKN brand is in itself connected to gaming and digital culture and then we have a lot of pieces that contain direct references to games, ranks and achievements. We also give our customers the ability to customize their look with different patches based on their favorite game, team and rank. Any brand targeting youth culture should definitely consider the online world and how people build and want to express their identity.” DRKN Designer Erik Bjerkesjö.

Runway pictures: Photo courtesy of www.bon.se | Styling Qhris Magsino | Hair & Make-up Martin Sundqvist

Lookbook: Photo by Alex Wessely | Styling by Qhris Magsino

MANIFEST

The world we live in is marked by the darkness and anarchy of online worlds and science-fiction. Our identity is defined as an ongoing process, where everyone is equal, restricted only by the limitations of one’s own curiosity and ambition. The ever-increasing number of people living in online gaming worlds is now in the hundreds of millions, and counting. Old truths by which the world is organized are quickly losing their significance.

As the online experience continues to merge with the offline existence, we believe in a world that blurs the lines between reality, fiction, genders, generations, ethnicities and social classes. We believe that gamers are pioneers of future society. Together, we can achieve anything. The darkness is our domain, its terrain not yet fully charted, an unmapped landscape with potential to rewrite the future.

In an era of capitalist intrigue and surveillance we side with the anonymous anarchist who wanders beyond the limits imposed by others, in the spirit of the black mask. We believe that broad-minded technological progress is the only the way to enhance mankind. We welcome the time when robots walk among us as equals.

As creative minds, we refuse to acknowledge superficial boundaries and rules set up by others. Rather than being limited to one specific product, DRKN is many things. At our core lies the power of human imagination, no longer restricted by past notions of who we once were, but instead set on creating new understandings of who we have the power to become. This is the world now. It belongs to you.

Lydia Janis Caldana

www.drkn.com
 
Lydia Janis Caldana is a trend forecaster with a creative background and both eyes on the future. Amazed by the opportunities new technologies bring at an exponential rate, she uses her abilities to predict movements and change to help companies, governments and disrupters be in charge of a more sustainable, inspiring and tech-solutioned world. Lydia keeps a blog about technology, is the LatAm correspondent for The Future Is Already Here, a think tank for a better world, and co-curates Ello’s official community about tech, culture and innovation, Ello Future.
 
http://lydiacaldana.tumblr.com/