Art student aims to use clothing line to comment on capitalism in America
The UCLA Department of Art is dedicated to artists' development within the context of a research university. Students are provided the tools, facilities, and curriculum to express themselves in ways that are meaningful in the social context in which they live and work. Undergraduate student Luke Jaffar has created his own streetwear clothing line that considers the role of money in society.
"Luke Jaffar decided to question capitalism by making a profit.At 22, the fourth-year art student manages his own streetwear clothing line that focuses on the concept of money and its role in American capitalist society. Since he began designing, Jaffar said he’s created about five or six designs for sale. Some of these designs are screen-printed uniformly on wholesale blank T-shirts priced at about $25, while others are the one-of-a-kind end result of a lengthy stenciling and bleaching process. Jaffar started the brand with the intention of drawing attention to the role of money within society.
Jaffar began by finding a name for the future brand. Noticing that many popular streetwear brands, such as The Hundreds, were capitalizing on money-oriented names, Jaffar said he began to brainstorm in the same vein. Ultimately, he landed on the name Greenbacks.
Though the word “greenbacks” has a formal definition – a term for the American dollar bill, often used as slang – Jaffar felt that many people don’t know what it means. The word’s ambiguous nature excited him because it afforded him the opportunity to define Greenbacks for himself and his own brand, he said."— Clea Wurster, Jun. 9, 2018
This post is an excerpt, read the full article on the Daily Bruin website.
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