Susan wearing the 'RIOT' sweater, designed by Experimental Jetset for the punk band NRA, 2000.
'Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star' is the title of one of our favourite albums of the 90s, by one of our favourite artists from that era; noise rock legends Sonic Youth. When a graphic design studio named 'Experimental Jetset' emerged in Amsterdam in 1997, our attention was immediately drawn. We ran into the Experimental Jetset designers at various punk shows in the legendary squat buildings on the Oostelijke Handelskade in Amsterdam, and our paths crossed many times after that.
Their graphic work consists of straightforward typography with a functional nature, which stood out during the time and in the gritty context they appeared. We fell for the album covers and shirts for Amsterdam punk band NRA, as well as their posters for Paradiso.
The first plans for a collaboration materialised around 2005, when we asked Danny, Marieke and Erwin to make a print for the Japanese market, using our shopping bag as a canvas. The design referenced the iconic 'Thank You' texts, seen on regular single-use plastic bags, a nod to the inspiration for The New Shopping Bag. The bag was released as a limited collection in 2015, and we still get questions about it today.
This year, we invited Experimental Jetset to make a print for a collection where we, as a brand, speak up about the need to change our consumption behaviour to combat global warming. Their poetic way of dealing with social dilemmas transfers our message beautifully.
Vincent van Duin
Co-founder and creative director of SUSAN BIJL