New York City-based contemporary artist Todd James has loaned his talents to luxury streetwear brand Faith Connexion for a new ready-to-wear collaboration that will be launching for spring/summer 2020. James is a self-taught artist who began painting the New York City subway system under the name REAS when he was very young. His best-known works include Beastie Boys' Brooklyn Dust Elephant logo (1987) and The Source logo. He has also done work for Mobb Deep, Red Man, Eminem, Kid Rock. Art from his coloring book/zine Attitude Dancer was used as a cover for Iggy Pop's Beat 'Em Up album too.

Collaborations are a core part of Faith Connexion’s DNA, and James’ established history in the worlds of art and music made him an ideal fit for the brand. “At Faith Connexion, we are able to connects the dot between art and fashion,” said Faith Connexion founder Maria Buccellati. “The way we see the intersection between art and fashion differs with each collaboration we pursue, each collab is always different and game changing to the intersection between art and fashion, for us, is always an evolving conversation. We use our clothes as a canvas and free the artists to express their inspiration on the clothes, and in this way art and fashion really bind together.”

The idea for the collaboration with James came from a curation with Swizz Beatz, a partial owner of the brand, and their goal to create an aristocratic bandit pirate. “I think the interaction between art and fashion is like a relationship between a brother and sister,” Swizz Beatz said. “The approach with Todd James was to let him be authentic as possible and that led to a result of a great capsule. The process was making the connection with Todd and Faith to see how this relationship could unfold. It took a few months to get things going but the turnaround was efficient and fast. People loved the colors and fabrics used on this collection and I hope the world get to see this greatness soon. I see this collaboration being for the world to love.”