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| CLAW* | |||||||||
| "Graffiti fame is for the most part ambiguous. Peter Sutherland had the foresight to match the face to the ‘tag,’ to bring you a different, very human perspective to this artform in his book Autograf. An element that is often not associated with graffiti, as it usually remains anonymous and shrouded in mystery. It is interesting to see who the individual is and glimpse inside this secret society of graffiti all stars." —CLAW Born in Flushing, Queens, in 1968, CLAW became infatuated with graffiti as a child, while looking out the car window and watching the highway throw ups go by. She began writing graffiti in the late 1980s, when she moved to New York City after she enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Technology. It was during this time that her admiration for graffiti evolved into an obsession. Getting up with the infamous MQ, and going all city with her iconic “Claws,” CLAW is among a rare breed—the female writer. “Some women writers think the rules are different for them but they really aren’t,” CLAW told ZEPHYR for While You Were Sleeping magazine. “Women get a little more slack (I used to go bombing in a dress and high heels, and the cops would drop right by), but as a woman, you should do twice as much as a man and be twice as dope. I don’t think writing graffiti is a feminist statement. Being a woman and writing graffiti is more an equality issue—trying to fit into a man’s world. It’s great that women feel they can be a part of this culture. That’s the way it should be.” After reigning supreme as the Queen of the New York City graffiti scene in the early and mid-1990s, CLAW took off for Los Angeles in 1995 to pursue a career in styling and costume design. “I love graffiti with all my heart,” CLAW told QUIK RTW for Backspin magazine, “but being a vandal is not putting money in my pocket. I do it for love. I do it for my friends and crew. And I do it for the ladies. Fashion is just another way of expressing myself. Describing myself without words, communicating on a visual level. That is why I am so excited about making clothes; I can incorporate my fashion sensibilities and my graff sizzle together to make the ultimate ‘CLAW’ statement.” In Los Angeles, CLAW quickly found success styling music videos for artists including KORN and Brian McKnight, and returned to New York two years later to apply her talents to television and print ad styling. Her clients have included Nike, Sector Watches, Guiness, and Footlocker, among others. In addition to her styling career, CLAW has developed an exclusive clothing line, CLAW MONEY, in collaboration with WEST FC from PNB + AND SUNS, which pays homage to her fashion and graffiti sensibilities. Available at Prohibit, New York and Tokyo; alife, New York; Love Shine, Brooklyn; Big Drop, New York; and Union, Los Angeles, CLAW MONEY specializes in women’s wear, and offers a small selection of garments for the man who must get his paws on CLAW’s designs. A vintage couture aficionado, well known for obscure and sought after garments ranging from 1960s British couture to 1980s hip hop gear, CLAW is also doing a line of limited edition sunglasses and jewelry. This modern-day Renaissance woman is Fashion Director for Swindle, the new art and lifestyle magazine coming this fall from famed publisher Roger Gastman and legendary art director and founder of OBEY GIANT, Shepard Fairey (in which, coincidentally, CLAW styled a shoot photographed by Peter Sutherland titled, “To the Maxx!” inspired by the bargain barn, T.J. Maxx). This fall, CLAW will be exhibiting a solo show of her paintings on canvas in New York City. A fashion and art powerhouse, leaving her make on walls, fine fabrics, and your consciousness, CLAW is now online at http://www.clawmoney.com. *indicated images available as prints. Click here for details. |
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