CHITO is a Seattle-born, Mexico-based artist who spent his early years contributing his distinguishable tags to public streets. Before the name CHITO accumulated mass attention, this creative was already well-known and appreciated amongst the graffiti community. Now this creative has had his custom-made designs worn by notable names, and even landed an entire collaborative line with Givenchy.
CHITO’s involvement in fashion started in his earlier years, when the graffiti artist came up with an idea to take his street art to the next level. CHITO’s core art expression is his symbolic airbrushed dog illustrations, which he began placing on mostly Gore-tex jackets and selling online. These custom-printed jackets are considered staple pieces of CHITO’s unique designs, although they are no longer being made some resale sites have them currently listed.
In 2018, Supreme took an adoration for CHITO’s art and undertook a collaboration with the graffiti artist. The line automatically generated mass attention due to Supreme’s high significance to the streetwear community at the time. The collaboration included CHITO’s signature pup airbrushed on various jackets, t-shirts, flannels and hats.
Past collaborations with Veilance, Yohji Yamamoto and Supreme allowed for CHITO’s work to rise on an international scale. Now, the 24-year-old is spraying his distinguishable characters in a collaboration with the designer brand Givenchy.
Givenchy’s creative director, Matthew M Williams, has been long-time friends with CHITO. Williams saw great potential in his friend’s artistic abilities, and together the pair came up with a unique spin on the luxury brand’s SS22 collection.
“CHITO made an ideal collaborator because we share that storyline; we speak the same language. Like me, he expresses his distinct visual signatures through unique pieces that give people total freedom to make creations their own personal statement,” Williams said at the SS22 show.
The line demonstrates the high-end brands’ willingness to be a part of the rising streetwear culture. Collaborating with an artist who deeply understands the streets, brings a new direction for Givenchy to undertake. The line is mostly made up of CHITO’s signature airbrushed characters, although he still added a Givenchy touch to the series by airbrushing the brand’s monogram on t-shirts and various accessories.
CHITO’s designs have now been worn by notable names like Travis Scott and Playboi Carti in some of their recent shows. While CHITO himself remains out of the spotlight, his airbrushed pups certainly have not: they are now instantly recognizable illustrations that exist within fashion.
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See also: HOW PORNO MADE FTP ONE OF STREETWEAR’S HOTTEST BRANDS
