It’s rare to see a design that’s as iconic as the Fendi Peekaboo bag being altered.
Yet LA-based artist and black pen-wielding extraordinaire Joshua Vides has scribbled all over three of them – and created a matching customisation bar and café to boot.
The Peekaboo bar and café in Harrods is emblazoned with Vides’ signature scrawl, with his hand-drawn Fendi logos plastered on every wall, plate and layer of flat-white foam.
When I meet him at the bar in Harrods, Joshua Vides is sitting in front of a Fendi layer cake, with a plate of Fendi biscuits on the table in front of him. His hands are covered with black paint, and he tells me that he left the space the night before at 4am – and is already back there, for the 10am opening. ‘A little tired’, in his own words, is perhaps an understatement.
The space for the café and bar was not an overnight project, however – after starting the conversation for the collaboration back in February, Vides has been working on the space for 45 days before it launched on July 1..
Not shying away from the pressures of working with a brand as famous as the Italian power-house, he describes the process of working on the bags as ‘walking on glass’, being constantly aware of ‘what Fendi is and how large and globally known they are.’
"Those bags stressed me out so much because I literally handed them a piece of paper and they were like ‘cool, good to see you, bye’ and I worried so much about everything," Vides explains, before saying that seeing the bags for the first time was "like a dream come true."
Yet Joshua Vides has been sketching his way into prominence for some time now: in the spring of 2017, he painted an Air Force 1 in his signature graphic style, which went viral on Instagram. Since then, he has collaborated with Mercedes Benz, Google and designed the interior of a Vegas chapel – and he’s not stopping there. After his collaboration with Fendi, Vides is moving on to his first release of Converse high tops, as well as launching his first solo show this year.
It’s clear that Vides is a very busy man – yet he still juggles his family and work expertly. "My kids are sleeping right now," Vides says – they’ve travelled with him all the way to London. "My wife is basically like my manager," he explains. "We talk about everything; I’m like ‘should I be doing this?’, and she’s the angel on my shoulder every day, giving me advice and her two cents."
Vides is frank in acknowledging the difficulties of leading such a hectic lifestyle. "She’s super supportive with my travelling which is amazing, as I’m away a lot. I’m really fortunate to be in the situation I’m in - I know a lot of artists and it’s not the same story with them."
When asked about the future of his artistry and whether he will ever change his style, Vides is honest in his approach to the viral-esque nature of his work. "I’m still really enjoying this [style], and it’s obviously very store impactful. I’m still having fun at the end of the day. The second I get over this I’m gonna stop."
As for his next steps, Vides adopts a surprisingly carefree attitude, considering his jam-packed schedule so far in his career. "I don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow, I don’t know what I’m doing next year," he explains. ‘If this is gonna keep going, that’s fantastic, and if not… I’ll try and figure it out."
The Fendi Caffe is open until August 31 in Harrods. The Peekaboo Bar is open until July 28.
