Malin Busck, a graduate of the Borås School of Textiles in Sweden has always wanted to create alternative streetwear with a global aesthetic. She started her streetwear label ‘Hi On Life’ back in Malmo Sweden, transplanting the brand to Accra, Ghana in a bid to join the sustainability movement. Busck’s label is a rebel in many ways; it disregards classic silhouettes and embraces an aggressive androgynous way of dressing the human body, working volume into the most casual of pieces.
The H.O.L style could be described as Street Couture with a fusion of Scandinavian clean cuts and African bold prints and applications. The music- and club scene is a great influencer as well as everyday street life. Most styles are unisex and sold in one size or by personal measurements.
‘Hi On Life”s new collection 2.0.2, continues the marriage of traditional Ghanaian workmanship and cultural aesthetics with Malmo’s Swedish expertise and construction. Busck’s collection have attained sustainability, each piece created in collaboration with local Ghanaian tailors and artisans. Weddings, parties, funerals and street life have inspired Busck’s material choices with her pieces emblazoned with monochrome prints of traditional motifs usually used to distinguish royalty.
And really, what is there not to love about 2.0.2? Busck reworks sports bra with name brand straps announcing the label, underneath layers of vibrant blouson style hoodies and sweat shirts, branded hats and tarpaulin oversized track suits. The embroidery techniques and the deliberate unpolished finish of the clothes help to sell their street worthiness and help them appeal to the alternate subcultures Busck draws inspiration from.
Busck knows exactly what she is doing, and to see a female designer take menswear so decisively and deconstruct it gives us joy.
