There's just one week to go before we open the doors to the Old Truman Brewery for another season of Jacket Required. Ahead of the show, we wanted to share the SS20 creative and introduce the minds behind this season's vibe. Aron Leah, founder of Fried Cactus and artist Ricky Also gave us the low down on their process for the design.

 

This is our first collaboration together, we recently moved our studios into the same building and found although we have quite different styles our attitude, ideas and approach overlap and work together really well. To work on this project for Jacket Required seemed like a great excuse to explore this and see what the results would be.

 

 

 
I have a pretty broad and varied creative background which began back in the late 80’s with graffiti and then branched into graphic design as I was looking to make a career from my love of typography and illustration. I have worked for many London design studios over the years since including the infamous Crooked Tongues / Unorthodox Styles studio, where I was able to work with leading streetwear brands and contribute to the quickly emerging sneaker culture back in the early 2000’s. 
 
In 2007 I decided to set up my own creative studio - Paintshop Studio - where I could combine my love for graffiti and the energy of the movement with graphic design to explore where this would take me. I applied this energy and unique approach to a wide variety of mediums and projects from advertising, interiors, illustration, apparel design, events and packaging with some amazing results. I’m happy to say that 12 years later Paintshop is still going strong and we are lucky enough to work with some incredible brands and on projects that still keep me excited and passionate about my work.
 

 
I'm completely self taught, and couldn't be prouder of that. 
Having always been heavily influenced by music and the bmx/surf/ skate industry, I found myself immersed in this lifestyle and took an interest in the clothing brands within that culture. I also spent along time working in the coffee industry and travelling over winter to warmer climates. 
 
I began working as a graphic artist for a lifestyle brand and starting honing my skills as a designer. Learning about fabric, print techniques and getting obsessed with the finer details of garment design and how my work fit with that create a really thoughtful product.
 
I started getting requests for logo design and became obsessed with learning the rules and etiquette of logo and brand identity design. Taking inspiration from personal experiences and finding ways to strip those ideas back to give them more meaning and working with the constraints of design and application helped me find my own style. 
 
As my client list grew so did the projects, and I started working with various brands on full collections. It was a true collaborative effort which made the process all the more enjoyable. 
 
I started Fried Cactus Studio as a way to tip the scales from 9-5 to full time creative freelancer. It has now allowed me to collaborate with different businesses, mostly in the food and beverage industry and this opened me up to full branding and packaging projects. 
 
The studio continues to grow and I couldn't be happier and more grateful to everyone who has supported me and the awesome people I get to collaborate with.  

 

We have both been involved in the apparel industry for many years and know what a key event Jacket Required is, bringing the industry together, and thought it would be a perfect fit to collaborate and combine our skills for the event.

 

As always the event is a good chance to get together with friends, see what the industry is doing, meet new people and check out new brands. Also, we did hear there was a chance of a cold beer afterwards!



 Don't miss the SS20 edition of Jacket Required, coming to the Old Truman Brewery 24th and 25th July.
 

Register to visit