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| Kurt Cobain wearing a Daniel Johnston shirt to the '92 VMAs Source: Vogue |
You may be wondering, who is Daniel Johnston? Well if you are well acquainted with the streetwear and fashion scenes, you would know that his artwork has been used in multiple designer collections. But where did it all begin and how did the late underground artist become so revered?
Kurt Cobain at the 1992 MTV VMAs
Daniel Johnston was most well-known as a singer-songwriter who developed the early stages of bedroom pop. His music was fueled with emotion and sincerity, all while being recorded on cassette tapes that he would hand out at his local McDonald's. Johnston was also a renowned visual artist, but his artwork didn't start getting recognition until the 90s.
In 1992, Kurt Cobain (lead singer of the band Nirvana) was seen wearing a Daniel Johnston shirt that promoted the 1983 album: Hi, How Are You. The shirt featured a frog character called "Jeremiah The Innocent". This simple yet endearing character would be used in various fashion labels over the next few decades.
Cobain was a notable fan of Johnston, along with other artists who praised the enigmatic singer-songwriter. Kurt Cobain was vocal in interviews about Johnston's songwriting skills. The 1992 VMAs just solidified Cobain's backing of the artist and showed the whole world Johnston's art.
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| Kurt Cobain on the right wearing a Daniel Johnston shirt Source: NPR |
Supreme x Daniel Johnston Collaborations
As a brand known for their myriad of collaborations, it was surprising news when Supreme revealed that they would be collaborating with Daniel Johnson. Not many Supreme fanboys knew of the artist, aside from the Kurt Cobain cosign. However, what started out as a weird and out of place collection grew into a multi-seasonal collaboration.
Pictured below are only some of the pieces from each of Supreme's collaborations with the artist throughout the years.
Spring/Summer 2012
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| T-shirts from the Supreme x Daniel Johnston SS12 Collaboration Source: Pitchfork |
Spring/Summer 2015
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| Button-ups from the Supreme x Daniel Johnston SS15 Collaboration Source: Modern Notoriety |
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| Jackets from the Supreme x Daniel Johnston SS15 Collaboration Source: Modern Notoriety |
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| Shirts from the Supreme x Daniel Johnston SS15 Collaboration Source: Modern Notoriety |
Spring/Summer 2020
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| Shirts from the Supreme x Daniel Johnston SS20 Collaboration Source: GQ |
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| Jackets from the Supreme x Daniel Johnston SS20 Collaboration Source: GQ |
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| Button-ups from the Supreme x Daniel Johnston SS20 Collaboration Source: GQ |
Sacai x Daniel Johnston Spring 2017
For Sacai's Spring 2017 collection, Chitose Abe (Creative Director at Sacai) created multiple references to various zeitgeist-shakers throughout the decades. One of those zeitgeist-shakers being Kurt Cobain. Abe even played an a capella rendition of "Drain You" by Nirvana while modesl walked down the runway in October of 2016.
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| Model Wearing a Daniel Johnston Shirt during the Sacai SS2017 Show Source: Vogue |
During the show, three models were seen wearing t-shirts that bared Daniel Johnston's now infamous "Jermemiah the Innocent" frog. This was the same frog seen on Kurt Cobain's shirt at the '92 VMAs. Sacai's version of the t-shirt was later sold online in the spring of 2017 for roughly $321, featuring zippers on the sides of the shirt.
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| Sacai's Rendition of the Daniel Johnston "Hi, How Are You" Shirt Source: Hypebeast |
In conclusion, this is just a short road map of how Daniel Johnston's "Hi, How Are You" album artwork grew into a cult classic. If you'd like to learn more about Nirvana's influences in the fashion world, check out my other blog post: Why are Nirvana Shirts so Popular?
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