We live in a world of Instagrammable must-haves, limited-edition runs and hotly coveted collectables. When skatewear brands compete with high fashion houses to claim the sweet spot at the top of our wish-lists, price tags become irrelevant – instead, exclusivity drives our desires. Polly Brown’s latest photo series, FASHION, explores this modern day phenomena: our insatiable hunger for logos. Creating her own versions of iconic clothing, using only marker pen and tipex, Brown’s counterfeits and fakes are at once an homage to the brands they depict, and a usurper: bypassing and questioning the system of luxury fashion. By crudely copying these high status logos onto cheap cotton clothing – or in one case, straight onto the skin – Brown undermines their value and necessity. When reduced to these base essentials, we’re left to question the power of the signifier: when we can D.I.Y. these symbols ourselves, what exactly is it that we covet?
