Either the world just keeps getting more hopeful, or stranger. Shepard Fairey, whose work, informed by constructivist, propaganda posters, frequently criticized the capitalistic notion of an unfettered free market, is designing the 2009 Saks Fifth Avenue Want It! campaign.
To Fairey's credit, the process began last September, before HOPE made everyone hopeful, and $15 of the $20 cost of one of his Want It! totes goes to the not-for-profit company HOPE (Helping Other People Everywhere). But don't you find it a little unsettling that someone who has made a reputation working around the edges of capitalism ends up making bags for a company whose idea of recreating itself revolves around trying to convince folks that rampant, wanton greed is a good thing. I'm pretty sure we can expect Mr. Fairey to be making guest appearances on Gossip Girl in the near future.
a previous want it! campaign