Upper Playground
Upper Playground is an urban clothing company based in San Francisco, California. The company's trademark is its use of contemporary art on its apparel; its founders aim to make art more accessible by placing fine art onto inexpensive t-shirts. Upper Playground clothing is sold by the company's six own stores (in Berkeley, California, Sacramento, California, Portland, Oregon, London, England, and Taichung, Taiwan) and by 300 other retailers worldwide.
The brand was founded by Matt Revelli, Matt Yep and Denis Kennedy, who were college friends. While Revelli and Yep have no formal background in art, Kennedy is a graphic designer and painter.
The company's clothing is varied, with influences from skater clothing and Japanese anime; common motifs are flowers, abstract art, and ominous sketches. Upper Playground works with a large and constantly changing group of artists rather than a small core of designers. Their designers have included Sam Flores and Ricky Powell. Upper Playground is the parent brand of Twelve Grain (produced by Sam Flores), superFishal (produced by Jeremy Fisha), and the eponymous Estevan Oriol.
Upper Playground also operates FIFTY24SF, an art gallery adjacent to their headquarters that showcases contemporary art by artists with whom they have collaborated.