A Heritage Icon is Reborn with Brooks Brothers California by Brain Dead
March 5, 2025
Charlie Tyas
Coming at just the right time during the great heritage fashion revival, Brain Dead has unveiled a new collaboration with Brooks Brothers for the Spring 2025 season.
Up there with the likes of J.Crew and early Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers is a perennial contender in America’s deep-rooted ivy and prep weight divisions - going strong since the early 19th century thanks to its stellar off-the-rack suiting and perfectly cut oxford cloth shirts.
Brooks Brothers also has genuine experience dressing some of the world’s most prominent figures, including various U.S. presidents and creative icons like Andy Warhol, who serves as a central source of inspiration for the brand’s forthcoming partnership with Brain Dead.
Brain Dead, on the other hand, continues to push boundaries in streetwear by taking an all-encompassing approach to modern dressing that incorporates the best aspects of gorp, skate, and Americana subcultures.
The brands’ joint project, dubbed “Brooks Brothers California”, seemingly follows the blueprint laid out with the Oakley Factory Team - where Brain Dead essentially created a whole new subdivision on the coattails of Oakley’s storied ties to the outdoor world.
An official press release directly cites figures like Andy Warhol as a source of inspiration for the upcoming collections, paying respects to someone who was a huge proponent of the firm during the style shift of the 1970s and commonly regarded as one of Brooks Brothers’ “greatest clients.”
In a similar vein to how Andy Warhol was regularly spotted sporting a broken-in oxford shirt or scuffed-up dress shoes, Brain Dead explores the calculatedly shabby applications of Brooks Brothers apparel, resulting in subverted classics that blend timeless sartorial codes with Brain Dead’s contemporary perspective on branding and fit.
