Who or what is Anyforty? How many are there working at the label?

AnyForty is a UK streetwear brand specialising in limited run artist collaboration tee’s. Financially AnyForty is me, myself and I but it’s way bigger than that, we’re a family and at the moment we run about 30 deep, it’s a solid group of talented mates ranging from photographers, designers, musicians, illustrators, skaters &mountain bikers from all over the UK, all repping the brand day in, day out! Couldn’t of done any of this without them all.

Where did the name come from?

The name comes from the area of Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne I grew up in, spent 22 years in the NE40 postcode and the north has a massive place of pride in my heart,made me the man i am today. When i moved to the South West i knew i wanted to start a brand up and wanted to come up with a original name that would pop up on google searches. Was playing with the NE40 thing and decided to switch it into word form, blam, job done, everyone loved it!!

How long has the brand been around?

The brand has just turned 2 this march. 2 Years Strong!

Who will you be collaborating with for your Spring/Summer ranges?

Unlike last years tee’s which saw AnyForty work with a lot of international artists our first drop of the year see’s us collaborate with a predominantly UK based range of artists, RichT, 45RPM, MegaMunden, Mr Bowlegs and Stephen Bonner all rep for the UK with some stunning designs, and our one international hook up is with good friend of ours and absolute illustrative beast Hydro 74.

What were your inspirations for S/S 10?

Sounds cheesy but i try not to follow trends or inspirations for these designs, just cook up stuff i know me and the family would love to wear. You can see from the varied illustrative styles we use we don’t follow any trends, just use people we like, fuck following trends, i want to set them!!

Favourite colourway of all time?

I think my personal favourite tee so far has been AnyForty X Waste, that was absolutely next level bat shit of a tee design, walk in any store in the world and you’ll not see stuff like Norm of Waste cooks up on tee’s, proper mental!

Any Forty 2009 Collection - Artist Series

Who inspires you?

I’m massively inspired by a few artists who’ve set there own one man brands up and have had great success with them, so cats like Benny Gold, Johnny Cupcakes, 123 Klan and of course Shepard Fairey with his Obey label.

Where are you stocked?

AnyForty is only 2 years old and it’s still a bit of a struggle getting stores to pick a relatively new brand up, but at the moment we’re stocked in the king of streetwear stores online Urban Industry and Focus Skateboard Store in Edinburgh & Glasgow, and we’re in talks with getting us in Fifty Fifty in Bristol and the dope Electrik Sheep in our home town Newcastle. Hoping to get more stores on board over the next year or so but i’m not in any rush, more than happy to sell direct from the AnyForty online store, even though the multiple post office visits a week get right on my nerves!!

What are the big trends gonna be street wear/skate wear wise this year?

Really don’t know and truthfully not bothered in the slightest, like i said we’re not following anyone with this brand, just trying to make our own path for others to come through and follow!

What are your plans for world domination this year?

AnyForty’s just gonna keep dropping unique tee’s from talented artists and see where this road takes us, if it’s to world domination, happy days, if not we’ve certainly given it our best shot and we’ll settle for dominating the South West and the North
East!

Any Forty Tees by Fresh to Death and McFaul

Who would you most like to see in an Anyforty t shirt?

This is a funny question, a year ago i’d of killed to see someone famous repping AnyForty, I sent many a free tee out to people in the music industry, DJ’s & MC’s I respected then never heard a peep back once they’d been posted. Think i’d rather 100 people bought and loved a AnyForty tee than 10,000 people who bought one because Dizzee Rascal or Kanye West wore one. 2 Years Strong now and ain’t no one getting shit for free again!

Alan Wardle is Head crayon & chief coin counter of AnyForty – The brand that’s hitting the streetwear
scene with a tin of Dulux to the dome!

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