We talk to skater-turned-fashion designer, Louis Slater on why his label SEX got banned from Instagram, and why he couldn’t give a fuck if fashion girls wear his clothes
When ex-pro-skater Louis Slater brought his eery oil paintings – depicting mangled bodies and exposed genitals – down from Sheffield to East London’s Wayward Gallery in the summer of 2010, it marked a moment in time when skaters were finally growing up (incidentally Palace first launched around this time too).
Over the next few years, the quiet skater-turned-artist opened Slugger, a cult skate shop in Sheffield with its own popular brand, and continued to make art, experimenting with illustrative doodles on fashion magazines alongside the paint.
The logo captured the hearts of thirteen-year-old boys wanting to annoy their parents
In 2015, Slater launched his second brand SEX, which melded his signature scrawls (Each deck features a hand-drawn pattern by Slater); his obsession with the perverse, and imitable skate-brand knowledge.
The tongue-in-cheek logo quickly captured the hearts of thirteen-year-old boys wanting to annoy their parents, and interestingly, an Instagram audience of girls keen to post pictures of themselves in the white cotton knickers emblazoned with the irreverent logo.
When Slater is asked how he feels about the Insta-babes adopting his clothes, he modestly answers, “I’m just grateful that someone is wearing something I have created”, and then adds, “Thank you to anyone who has ever bought any SEX products”.
“I don’t mind anyone wearing my clothes: gay, straight, black, white, fat, thin. And, I don’t give a fuck whether you skate or not. SEX is for everyone.”
Riding the wave of skate’s cross over into fashion, that has seen boarder’s favourite brands stocked in Dover Street Market, Vans on the Vetements runway and “skate styling tips” from Vogue.com – SEX went from strength-to-strength gathering over thirty thousand Instagram followers.
“If an alien wants to come down and put a SEX tee on, then great”
Some skaters voiced their disdain for fashion’s adoption of their look, online magazine Fashionista went as far to publish a story entitled, “How skaters really feel about fashion’s appropriation of their culture”.
I mention this to Slater and he disagrees, saying, “I don’t mind anyone wearing my clothes: gay, straight, black, white, fat, thin. And, I don’t give a fuck whether you skate or not. There’s too much bullshit and control in this industry. SEX is for everyone. If an alien wants to come down and put a SEX tee on, then great”.
“no-one is in control of anything, social media is a joke”
Then, unexpectedly last week, Instagram’s obscenity filter deleted the entire SEX account. The incredulous fans found it amusing, and left comments on the new account ranging from “We still behind you” (sic) to “Killing it”.
Slater says that he wasn’t that bothered about the social media platform’s censorship, saying “it gave me confirmation that no-one is in control of anything, social media is a joke, and society’s views on what is acceptable is absolutely ridiculous”.
SLEEK are huge fans of the cheeky brand, and its refreshingly down-to-earth creator. We are confident that the latest line, that experiments with bubblegum pink denim co-ords – will consolidate SEX as fashion’s favourite new skate brand.
SEX is available online at Sexskateboards.com and instore at GOODHOOD.
“Thank you to anyone who has ever bought any SEX products”.
Photography & Casting: Laura McCluskey
Styling Helen McGuckin
Makeup & Hair: Sophia Cox
Models: Holly, Aramide, Dylan, Harvey, Luke, Che, Jim & Alice
Thanks to Labyrinth Photographic