Wavey Garms and Sergio Tacchini have joined forces for a bold unisex collection that channels the raw energy of late 1980s and early 1990s rave culture. Rooted in the era’s pulsating nightlife and cultural crossover, it fuses Sergio Tacchini’s vintage sportswear heritage with Wavey Garms’ deep knowledge of street style, offering a fresh reinterpretation of one of the UK’s most pivotal cultural moments.
Inspired by Ibiza ’89 and the Acid House Movement
Drawing from David Swindles’ iconic Ibiza ’89 photography, the collection pays tribute to the explosive rise of UK acid house, the effortless cool of classic Italian sportswear, and the sun-soaked ease of the Balearic Islands. It captures rave culture’s golden age through a contemporary lens, merging Sergio Tacchini’s sleek sportswear DNA with Wavey Garms’ gritty London edge.
Visual Storytelling Through Film and Archival Imagery
Archival rave flyers, grainy dancefloor snapshots, and references to Nick Love’s cult British rave film “The Business” inform the designs. This visual language extends to a short film starring Jaime Winstone, exploring themes of youth, freedom, and self-expression, the very ethos that defined rave culture and still resonates with today’s generation.
Launching Area Records: Expanding the Rave Legacy
The collaboration coincides with the launch of Area Records, a new house music label from Wavey Garms founder Andres Branco. Since starting Wavey Garms in 2013 as a Facebook group for trading vintage and designer pieces, Branco has built it into a cultural powerhouse, celebrated by The Guardian as one of the UK’s most influential fashion platforms, expanding into curated events, art installations, and short films.
Terrace to Dancefloor: A Shared Spirit
In the late ’80s, as acid house and the UK’s first rave wave took hold, Sergio Tacchini’s tracksuits found a second home on the dancefloor. The same lads once competing for terrace dominance at football matches were now shoulder-to-shoulder in the Hacienda, swapping rivalries for euphoria. Both terrace and rave culture were bound by rebellion, unity, and self-expression, qualities Tacchini’s designs embodied.
Peaks, Declines, and Revivals
As rave culture slowed in the early ’90s, Sergio Tacchini roared back alongside Britpop. Bands like Oasis, The Charlatans, and Blur brought terrace style to the mainstream with a sharper designer edge, while labels like Stone Island, C.P. Company, and Paul & Shark became new status symbols.
The 2000s saw another revival, fuelled by Nick Love’s films The Football Factory and The Firm, which immortalised casual culture for a new audience. Sergio Tacchini, with roots in both sport and subculture, remained a key influence, paving the way for modern brands like Weekend Offender and Marshall Artist.
Wavey Garms: Cultural Custodians of Streetwear
From an online trading group to a physical store in Peckham, Wavey Garms has become a living archive and innovator of Britain’s streetwear scene. Founder Andres Branco has an instinct for capturing cultural intersections, something this collaboration with Sergio Tacchini embodies perfectly.
A Collaboration Rooted in Heritage and Modern Energy
This partnership is more than nostalgia, it’s a cultural bridge. By weaving together terrace fashion, acid house imagery, and cinematic references, the collection creates a vivid homage to youth culture’s golden eras while injecting that same energy into today’s scene. For the new generation, it’s an open invitation: step into a world where the terrace, the tennis court, and the dancefloor are all part of the same story.
