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Why graffiti artist OKER has spray painted all over Coach’s flagship store in Regent St



If you were taking a walk down Regent Street in the early hours of this morning, you may have stumbled upon something quite alarming – a man graffiting the entire front of Coach’s flagship London store. 

This was not, however, an act of late night vandalism. OKER, the man behind the spray can, is one of London’s most revered graffiti artists and was there on Coach’s request. 

The accessories company, known for its luxury leather bags and wallets, has collaborated with OKER and acid rave artist Pez for a creative takeover this month, after being introduced to the underground artists by the Peckham-based vintage collective Wavey Garms. 

London based OKER has been on the graffiti scene for over thirty years. He has met BANKSY and is credited for bringing the two letter tag to Britain from New York. Although, he still wears a balaclava to conceal his face, his art is finally being recognised outside the graffiti community as just that, art.

We speak to him about his latest work, which took four hours and 30 paint cans to create…

What sparked your interest in graffiti?

My babysitter showed me graffiti, actually. He gave me a couple of graffiti books and, before I knew it, I was completely occupied with the art form.

When did you start doing it yourself?

I painted my first train in 1988.

Who were your influences?

To start with my main influences were Furi (my babysitter), Skore TRC from the UK, Ghost R.I.S and JAONE XTC, both from New York. I had two books called “Subway Art” and “Getting Up”, which I never tired of, then later on I was heavily influenced by pre-80s New York Subway Graffiti, which I consider to be the purest form of graffiti. Nowadays, I’m more influenced by experience and the people I paint with, but also the people I paint for, it’s priceless the happiness a bit of colour can bring to the community.

How has the Coach collaboration come about?

Andres and Frazer from Wavey Garms seem to have their finger on the London fashion pulse and in every fashion pie at the moment. It just so happens that we’re mates and then they introduced me to their mates, Coach, and now we’re all friends. In all seriousness, I was really quite humbled that Coach would involve me in their project, I’ve been watching them evolve as a brand sever since they sparked my interest after being gifted a wallet back in 1998.

The Coach flagship on Regent Street

Can graffiti and fashion coincide?

Graffiti culture and fashion have always had a relationship. Beyond the world of the mainstream fashion culture and the high street, graffiti writers have always had their own style code. It wouldn’t be obvious to the untrained eye, but a writer can spot a writer a mile off. In fact, graffiti writers are probably some of the biggest fashion customers considering the amount of garments that get ruined with paint or ink every year!

Talk us through the design you came up with?

I wanted it to seem as if my classic characters had gone on a trip to Regent Street, visited  the Coach store, had whale of a time getting their bits and now they’re all dancing around all happy head to toe in Coach and absolutely loving life.

Future projects?

There’s a few things going on. Art work for a graffiti book that is coming out later this year, a show in Europe is in the pipelines, some excellent new merchandise will be releasing next month on okergsd.com



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