Unfinished Legacy’s “Beautiful Disaster” Debuts a DIY Experience, Nov. 23
For Brema Brema, art was about the process. Whether he was spending hours in his parent’s basement screen printing street wear, or scaling rooftops capturing Milwaukee through a lens, the art and artist were far from separable. From the colorful Milwaukee-centric lettering to the flittering butterflies across his clothing, the artistic quality was an extension of himself.
Brema putting in hours on the screen printer in preparation for the pop-up event. (Picture courtesy Unfinished Legacy)
His clothing line, Unfinished Legacy, has always been at the core of his creative career. What began as a clothing brand, eventually cultivated a full-fledged artistic movement. Over the past several years, he has focused on photography, film and social media marketing alongside his MKE Misfits creative collective. Throughout that time, he has grown as an artist, entrepreneur and adult.
“Even though life happens, Unfinished Legacy is like my baby, and I never stopped thinking about it,” he said. “There was a lot of learning and growth that had to happen before I could drop again.”
After a slight hiatus, Unfinished Legacy recreated it’s traditional “UL” logo with an energized flare for its re-release in May 2019. A month later, the butterfly inspired line exploded online and sold out for the first time in Unfinished Legacy’s history during their drop at Trusted Kicks. The design also intrigued Platinum selling rapper, Lil Skies, for a personalized piece.
While there was no explicit creative direction other than “Making cool shit,” Brema wanted to incorporate his love for the process in Unfinished Legacy’s “Beautiful Disaster” pop up shop at Sneex footwear boutique on Nov. 23.
The collection features recolored flannels that are one-of-a-kind and never to be re-released again. (Picture courtesy Unfinished Legacy)
Along with a line of one-of-a-kind flannels, long-sleeves and tees, UL will be offering a DIY opportunity for those that want to get their hands dirty.
“People can come in the store, buy a t-shirt, and they can choose a design. Then we will guide them through the screen printing process,” Brema said. “I want people to be a part of making it because that’s what I enjoy so much, the process, so that’s what I’m trying to give people this time around.”
The “MKE Butterfly,” “A Genius from the Hood,” and multi-colored “Milwaukee” designs will be making a resurgence for the third drop. The collection will be sold at a first-come first-serve basis and will not be restocked.
A last minute impromptu design, that was originally meant as a single piece for a friend, was also added to the roster.
“DON’T CLAIM MILWAUKEE IF YOU’RE NORTHSIDE PHOBIC”
It really only takes seven words to make a statement. (Picture courtesy Unfinished Legacy)
The bold yellow lettering centered across the black sweatshirt was Brema’s artistic statement for brands that only represented certain parts of Milwaukee.
“I’m not trying to claim Milwaukee or say I have a big brand, but as an artist, when I get up there, it’s my job to push boundaries and give other upcoming artists opportunities,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that claim Milwaukee, but it’s mainly downtown and East Side. The Southside and Northside are barely in the conversation.”
He said the picture was one of his most engaged social media posts he’s ever had, and was excited to see the conversation it created online.
“I saw somebody say something along the lines that if you’re going to love me, love all of me, not just parts,” he said. “It was a no-brainer to add it to the collection.”
Brema collaborates with friend and local videographer TeeGlazedIt to promote “A Beautiful Disaster.” (Picture courtesy Unfinished Legacy)
Brema said that local collaboration has been his key to progressing in art and life.
“Any chance I get to collaborate with a local artist or creative, I take it because I enjoy collaborating with people and just sharing ideas,” Brema said. “There’s always some new idea that sparks when two people are passionate about a certain thing.”
“Something that I value a lot is growth. What I did today, tomorrow should be different. It’s just improvement, and testing what did work and what didn’t work and what we can do better. It’s about implementing it and on to the next thing,” he added.
For more information about the event, click here.