From Frank Ocean to army jackets: meet illustrator Daniel David Freeman

Since illustrating for Vice straight out of university in 2008, illustrator and animator Daniel David Freeman has gone on to work with Boiler Room, Adidas, i-D, V&A, Converse, Dazed and XL Recordings, among many other collaborators. He had two solo shows at “the late great” Beach Gallery and a feature in Frank Ocean’s Boys Don’t Cry magazine, “a career highlight”, and now Daniel is preparing for a residency at Wieden+Kennedy London.

The project he’s showing is Expensive Shit: a collection of painted and embroidered clothes and flags inspired by the history of personalising military apparel.

“I’ve always been interested in military customisation and the psyche behind it, especially during the Vietnam War,” he explains. “In times of such extreme misery, soldiers would customise their own uniforms or equipment with relatively light hearted imagery, like engraving their Zippo lighters with Disney characters and really naively carved sexy ladies.”

For the project, Daniel has sourced army issue clothing, some up to 60 years old, to customise in his own way using embroidery and paint. “It’s given me a very welcome excuse to become quite obsessive and nerdy on the subject,” he says. “Plus, I’ve always used found icons and logos in my design work, so this is the perfect marriage with my interest in military clothing. I like the way the embroidery gives permanence to the quick, sketchy drawings.”

Daniel will be adding to the project during his residency at Wieden+Kennedy London from 13-18 March 2017, where the existing works will also be on display alongside his collection of African and Asian folk art. It is viewable by appointment, email Daniel for more information.