Streetwear aiming to reduce crime
HEDONE is a streetwear brand that aims to raise awareness about the negative societal impact of recreational drug consumption. It aims to reduce crime by offering at risk youth an opportunity through an alternative way of earning income and gaining status.
Setting up the brand as Creative Director involved being there from initial concept, setting up brand message, sketching first drop, prepping tech packs of the designs and working directly with the clothing producer, being there from brand birth to Z.
Collaboration: Friends for Brands
Year: 2021-2025
Social, Fashion, Product, Art & Creative Direction
Project status: Complete
The prints represent several famous Sri Lankan buildings like the Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, The Stupa, The Colombo Lotus Tower and natural sites, like the famous mountain Adam’s Peak.
Being there at the start of the brand together with Marco den Dunnen, (inspector at Rotterdam Police, and co-founder of Heilige Boontjes) was a valuable learning opportunity and the inspiration to study Advertising at the Willem de Kooning Academy.
After creating concepts and designing garments a collaboration started with Friends for Brands and their Friends Foundation, Niem Tewarie (co-founder of creative agency FFONO) and the Municipality of Rotterdam. The initiative got kickstarted through these collaborations.
With a soft launch at the Dutch Design Week 2019 the brand is still going strong to this day, pushing local collaboration in Rotterdam and creating awareness involving the use of drugs and it’s invisible expenses under the tag ''a thin line''.
Why do young people resort to crime?
With Hedone, we sought the answerin Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Not until the first layer is fulfilled, will you move on to the second. The kids we seek out to help are at the bottom layer. Most people are brought up in the second layer. They don’t concern themselves with finding food or shelter. They have those and always have. These kids are in a constant mode of survival and believe their solution lies in money. When you’re in that mode, things need to happen fast.
Professional criminals that remain in the shadows offer them a fantasy. They’re made to believe that quick money and riches are within their grasp, but there’s limited room at the top. The professionals who are sitting there aren’t willing to part with their seat which leaves you with two options: jail or death. In short, they carry all of the risks with no prospect of the reward.
This is where HEDONE comes in. A label where struggling talent has an honest chance at income and success. We offer at risk youngsters an alternative product to focus on and the perspective of becoming a production manager, designer and eventually entrepreneur.
Hedone Apparel has been featured by leading Dutch business, fashion, and cultural media for its pioneering approach to combining streetwear with social impact.
Through campaigns, partnerships, and community-driven initiatives, the brand has sparked conversations around youth opportunity, crime prevention, and responsible entrepreneurship. Coverage across national and regional outlets has positioned Hedone as a distinctive voice within the Dutch fashion landscape and a powerful example of purpose-driven branding.
In collaboration with Cult North, HEDONE has developed a series of workshops to inspire and involve youngsters and to acquaint them with the basic principles of the design and production process, styling and fashion photography.
Our network of professionals will coach them to work towards their own HEDONE item. The goal is to really put these items into production so that these workshops can lead to real products.
IFFR collaboration is an official merchandise partnership featuring a line of apparel celebrating the iconic film festival.
Credits & Details:
Brand launch in collaboration with: Marco den Dunnen, Niem Tewarie
Supported by: Friends for Brands
Tools: Procreate, Photoshop, Illustrator