Designing Neon Underground

Flashback time. When the Captain was little more than a Junior Seaman I would create a buzzy print like Lavender Trip or Party Monsters and put that print on a broad range of garments. It worked - both those prints are now legendary in the NZ festival scene - but as the Captain has grown I wanted to challenge myself as a designer and make collections that feel curated and wearable by everyone.

I also wanted to break away from the perennial Hawaiian shirts, leggings and bucket hats that formed a big part of my business. People still party in winter so why not explore making cold weather options? And why not create capsules of complimentary garments that tell stories and make it easy to put a look together? I also wanted to experiment with selective printing known as DTF as well as all over prints. Neon Underground is the result of my grown up thinking.

A child of the early rave scene I started dancing when smiley faces were de rigueur and tbh I don’t think they’ve ever gone out of style. Retro raving is wildly popular atm and there’s plenty of us originators still on the scene as well as newbies doing the smiley face dance for the first time. It’s still a welcoming and unjudgemental community.

I started by creating the primary print of the collection which I named Happy Hardcore as a nod to those early warehouse raves. Rows of ombre coloured faces with different expressions across a classic black and white check background formed the basis but somehow it felt too clean so I played with different grunge effects. The splats gave the print real personality but something was still missing so I isolated a smiley face, blew it up to giant proportions and placed it over the pattern for maximum effect. That was the moment it clicked. The result is an original and distinctive Captain Fantastic print that manages to look backwards and forwards at the same time. I took Happy Hardcore one step further by venturing into DTF streetwear and creating cut outs of the print and placing these on vintage fleece joggers and a matching oversized zipped hoodie.

The collection’s secondary print is Neon Forest, a glowing mushroom dream. The fungus print market is well saturated and I didn’t want to design another generic cartoon mushroom pattern so I went fully botanical with fine lines, and naturalistic iconography. The unrealness comes from the colour palette of bright oranges, hot pinks, rich purples and electric blues on an inky purple black. Instantly elevated and more refined than your average shrooms. I bought these colours through to the Liquid Signal pieces in the collection where they take on the form of swirling coloured alcohol ink over black. Thoughtful placement and garment choice means Liquid Signal easily crosses over to everyday wear.

Once the prints were finished I could start obsessing over the garments themselves. The onesie was non-negotiable.... I wrote a list of the features I wanted, thick doubled sided fleece, a lined hood, proper ribbed wrist and ankle cuffs, a heavy duty two way zip (if you are a guy you will appreciate this), generous pockets and a relaxed unisex fit. I shopped around and found a supplier who could make the Happy Hardcore Onesie to my exact specifications.

If you have worn one of my crushed velvet t-shirts you can attest to the way the fabric catches the light and emphasises the colours and patterns to beautiful effect. I was keen to bring more of this magic into being with the Happy Hardcore Velvet Harem Pants, a drop crotch unisex pant that manages to be a little street, a little retro and a whole lot of comfy. I’m so happy with how these turned out. They look badass with combat boots.

Other printed pieces in the collection are made from mesh for layering or buttery soft spandex for movement, all are road tested by moi for quality and fit. My wardrobe is rather extensive hehe and I don’t sell anything I wouldn't be happy to buy myself. The Partner Collection pieces in Neon Underground are all chosen to complement the prints perfectly. There’s a neon orange cropped fur jacket and a pink fur coat with a giant hood for snuggling that both work with all 3 prints. The flattering v front flares in black will become a wardrobe staple. New style bucket hats in shaggy faux feathers are silly fun and sapphire blue rabbit fur trapper hats are simply delicious. 

Neon Underground feels like a turning point for Captain Fantastic. It gave me permission to think beyond individual prints and start creating collections that tell a story. I'm already sketching ideas for summer, so check back into From the Studio if you'd like to see what's coming next.

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Until next time,

Sam

Founder, Captain Fantastic

"Dressing for expression, not permission."