Counterculture Chic — Alice + Olivia Unveils Its Grateful Dead Capsule Collection
Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart once said, “We’re not in the music business, we’re in the transportation business: we move minds.” Since the 1960s, the Grateful Dead have urged fans to expand their consciousness through every aspect of their work: from their unique mixture of rock ‘n roll, country, folk music, bluegrass, and psychedelic rock to their drug-heavy lyrical references; their theatrical and improvisation-heavy live shows; their insistence of making every concert singular, constantly experimenting in front of fans rather than abiding by a well-rehearsed and expertly choreographed set; and the colorful artwork on their albums, which included now iconic visuals such as a skull with a lightning bolt through its head and, of course, a series of seemingly “dancing” bears. Whether you followed the band around with a jolly crew of tie-dye loving hippies or you became acquainted with its sonic output after Jerry Garcia’s passing in 1995, if your iTunes library contains such classics as “Truckin'” and “Touch of Grey,” you’ll feel like you ventured into Terraphin Station with the new Alice + Olivia Grateful Dead capsule collection.
The five-piece collection tips its hat to the legendary band through the incorporation of the image introduced in 1973’s History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear’s Choice): a line-up of colorful bears doing a high-stepping march. Drawn and conceived by Bob Thomas, the bears were designed as a reference to Owsley “Bear” Stanley, the band’s long-time soundman and the creator of their “Wall of Sound” system.
The bears appear in every single piece in the collection, exuding the type of electric energy and joy associated with Deadheads. The Alice + Olivia Grateful Dead Cropped Top ($155 at AliceandOlivia.com), shown above at top, takes a traditional muscle tank silhouette and modernizes it through the usage of rather low arm holes. A yellow bear appears on one side of the top, mid-step as if in the process of making his way to the other side of the shirt. The Alice + Olivia Grateful Dead Cropped Sweater ($348 at AliceandOlivia.com), pictured second from top, also incorporates a yellow bear, this time zooming in on his face and studded embellishments on its black shades for a bit more texture.
One of the most unexpected and vibrant designs in the collection is the Alice + Olivia Grateful Dead Bell Ball Shaped Ball Gown Skirt ($1298 at AliceandOlivia.com), an elegant maxi skirt with a high waist and a dramatic A-line silhouette that seems befitting of a gala event but which subverts any stuffy notions of etiquette and decorum through the usage of the colorful bears associated with a band forever aligned with the counterculture movement. The addition of the grassy expanse along the hemline only augments the delightfully non-comformist vibe of the standout piece.
In addition to clothing, the collection includes the Alice + Olivia Grateful Dead Ava Canvas Sneakers ($298 at AliceandOlivia.com), a pair of off-white canvas slip-on shoes with a large yellow bear emblazoned along the front and a group of bears marching atop a grassy field depicted all along the sides and the heel counter, as well as the Alice + Olivia Large Zip Pouch ($245 at AliceandOlivia.com), which juxtaposes a joyful bear against an Op Art-inspired backdrop of black and white stripes.
