Dan Wilson - Collage, Culture, and Cosmic Connection
When we first saw Dan Wilson’s collage piece inspired by John Lennon, something clicked. There was an immediate sense of simpatico - the same reverence for craft, for subculture, for the kind of cultural crossfire that makes something timeless. Through mutual friends and our shared connection with TSPTR, we realised we were on the same wavelength.
So when we began developing the latest Dawson Denim lookbook, Dan felt like the natural collaborator. His hand-drawn typography and era-soaked visual language brought the mood alive, while photographer James Kemmenoe shot Leon Cerrone in pieces that carried that same spirit forward through cloth. Together, the imagery and graphics found their rhythm; culture translated through denim, art, and film.
Origins in Noise and Colour
Growing up in the north east of England, Dan was surrounded by the energy of youth culture before he even knew what it was.
“My parents were young, and their brothers and sisters were teenagers. So I grew up with records, clothes, and, weirdly, New York graffiti books around me.”
MTV opened the world up wider, and graphic tees took over from there. Those 90s collages of Michael Jordan mid-air, halftones and bold typography felt like "a coded language" that spoke directly to his WWF- and Simpsons-obsessed brain.
He sketched constantly, filling pages with rappers, logos and DIY iconography, dreaming of designing flyers for gigs and clubs.
“Even if no one else notices the references, I know they’re there; that’s what makes the work feel alive.”
London’s vintage stores became his classroom; a place to hunt Beastie Boys tees and 60s military jackets while soaking up subcultural history from the people around him.
West Coast hip-hop hit first ("not the obvious fit for a ten-year-old in the north east, but it resonated"), then indie, then The Jam — Paul Weller gave him permission to take clothes, culture and creativity seriously.
Mod, for Dan, wasn't cosplay, it was context. A way to see the world.
“The references are just the starting point, the real magic happens when they collide and become something else.”
Before art became his full-time path, Dan played in bands.
“Every performance felt like my last, and collaborating with friends was everything.”
But the noise and chaos came with cracks. Moving to a city, drinking too much, drifting far from home, drawing became a lifeline. That emotional intensity still pulses through his artwork today: nostalgic, yes, but always alive, never static.
Dan still designs record sleeves for Mark, the friend he bonded with over mixtapes at twelve. Loyalty drives him as much as aesthetics.
His dream projects range from Nike and Paul Weller to Middlesbrough Council. Prestige isn’t the goal, resonance is. He draws inspiration from unexpected corners: regional detective shows, his daughter Gigi’s handwriting, Turnstile, Alan Moore, Barbour jackets, Benefits, Kim Gordon. Culture as lived texture.
Dan Wilson’s world is stitched from culture, community and lived experience, nostalgic, but urgent; rooted in history, but pushing forward. Much like the clothes we make.
This collaboration became less about a lookbook and more about a shared language: a collage of influences, friends, music, and memory, it came together instinctively. Dan had handled our garments before we met and recognised the same detail-driven obsession that fuels his own work.
The lookbook visuals emerged from a three-way creative conversation:
Dan Wilson - hand-rendered typography, collage, visual direction
James Kemmenoe - photography rooted in character and texture
Leon Cerrone - wearing the pieces and grounding the narrative through silhouette and attitude
“It felt like that tipsy-in-the-sun feeling when you and your mates are unlocking the secrets of the universe.”
Dan’s process moves like a mixtape: if he’s illustrating Leon in a Type 2, he might put on Sympathy for the Devil, think of Lennon in a similar jacket, then drift to Kenneth Anger and LOVE — letting the references seep into the visuals.
We’re proud to have made it together — with Dan’s hand, James’ lens, and Leon’s presence bringing the pieces to life.
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