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“We make quality, high-end garments for you to throw up and bleed on.”

This statement by Danny Agnew, lead designer of Los Angeles based line Kid Dangerous, exemplifies the sort of bold, irreverent aesthetic for which the brand is quickly gaining recognition. Having coined the term “grime couture,” the boys at Kid D see themselves as the bridge between high and low fashion - garments that have the quality and labor-intensive feel of couture (each fit-specific garment undergoes an extensive wash process and is individually finished by hand) coupled with strong graphics that embrace the defiance of youth. Kid Dangerous seeks to maintain a degree of streetwear influence while at the same time providing garments that embrace the quality standards of high-end lines. Says Agnew, “We try to present ourselves as a unique middleground for those consumers who appreciate the world of high fashion but still look to dress outside the mainstream. In today’s market we see the lines between dressy and casual, between high and low fashion, grow blurrier every day, and our line is positioned to take advantage of that shift.”

While working for Von Dutch during the height of the craze, Agnew and friend Pete Giokas conceived Kid Dangerous as a response to a perceived staleness within the world of clothing, a backlash against the brainwashed, lemming mentality exemplified by companies like Von Dutch. Agnew and Giokas found kindred spirits in childhood friends Steve Nanino and Brett Hagan, who shared their views regarding popular trends and immediately signed on to round out a proper foursome. According to Giokas, “We all saw so many companies relying really heavily on logocentric design work and brand recognition to sell clothes. So we immediately pledged to put the garment first - providing quality products with stark, in-your-face graphics that connect to people on a deeper level than the typical knee-jerk response to a company logo. While others have tried to use the name to sell the design, we are committed to using the design to sell the name.”

This shouldn’t prove to be too difficult, as Kid Dangerous tapped longtime friend and widely respected stencil artist n10z to provide a wide range of graphics that are anything but subtle (their vintage-washed heather grey tee sporting the phrase “fuck your style” in giant pink letters being a prime example). “A lot of our garments and graphics aren’t for everyone and we like it that way,” says Agnew. “We’ve never been interested in being PC. We want to shake things up and fuck with the status quo.” Adds Hagan, “We don’t want every single person in America to wear our clothes – our goal has never been to be the biggest or most popular brand in the world, just a cool, edgy one that people like ourselves can connect with.”

As for the throwing up and bleeding? Nanino laughs. “We’re a lifestyle brand, you know? And our garments are a reflection of that. Is it necessarily a healthy or advisable lifestyle? Probably not. But we’re embracing it nonetheless, cuz it’s what we know. God knows we’re not alone.”