It is not enough for Brett and Eddy of TwoSet Violin to spread the love and joy of classical music, and their five million followers on their socials would agree. In today’s world of hype and thrills, they have identified a niche portion of the fashion market that oddly, nobody seems to have discovered — the sweet spot between classical music and clothing. That has led to the birth of TwoSet Apparel — a streetwear line directly inspired by classical music itself. Or if you want us to be more exacting — “The Planets” by Gustav Holst, a seven movement suite dedicated to each of the planets.
Here, the duo takes us through the exact piece that has inspired them starting with the Holst collection — pieces inspired by the fiery nature of Mars and the soft romanticism of Venus.
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From documenting classical music to designing streetwear at TwoSet Apparel, that’s quite a feat!
Brett: Yeah, people don’t usually think of the two in the same context, but the way we see it, fashion and music have always had an intrinsic relationship — creativity and self-expression. There’s a lot of that going on in pop music & fashion collaborations, but why not in classical music?
Eddy: There’s a lot of musical complexity, nuance and storytelling in classical music, and we wanted to express that visually, through everyday clothing that musicians & creatives alike can enjoy. We want our clothes to embody what we believe in — making classical music relevant and accessible to the modern generation.
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What sparked the interest in doing TwoSet Apparel? How different do you think you’re making it out to be?
Brett: Growing up as a kid, we never felt like there was a brand that really speaks to us as “musicians”. We were always shopping at big brands like Nike and Adidas. A small part of us were always trying to be accepted as the “cool” kids, but it felt a little bit incongruent… it never really felt like home. We are the very first apparel brand that represents musicians — especially classical musicians at its core.
Eddy: Yeah, the artistic integrity, understanding of music history, practicing on our instruments and honing our craft — these are such integral parts of a musician’s identity. A lot of our designs feature subtle music references, where those who are musicians will get it. We’re trying to foster that sense of belonging to a community, through the brand label. As musicians ourselves, we feel we can bring that passion to the table, and have a clothing line that musicians and creatives can proudly wear.
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For those unfamiliar, what is the most beautiful thing about “The Planets” by Gustav Holst? Are you guys able to play it yourselves?
Brett: I think the most beautiful thing about “The Planets” is how evocative the music is — each movement is so different from the next, and it transports you to another world. Yeah, we can play the violin parts individually, but the full magic happens when we’re playing with a full orchestra.
Eddy: Holst is one of the forefathers of film music. He’s the OG. Many of the greatest film music today have been heavily inspired by “The Planets” suite — the most notable being the famous Star Wars music, which has a lot of familiarity with Mars. I feel like he’s bridged the gap from classical music to the film music that we all love today. The way he paints sound in his compositions transports you to a different dimension of fantasy and reality. It’s epic, really.
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Perhaps, are you guys interested in Astrology?
Brett & Eddy: [Laughs] I guess as kids it’s always been on our minds. Now being adults, it’s more us really appreciating the thought behind the different types of gods and goddesses that Holst used for his composition.
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How was each print designed? What were some of the considerations?
Brett & Eddy: We definitely wanted the designs to be inspired by the mood of the music. Sometimes there are small musical elements that we deliberately design into the prints, sort of like leaving little musical easter egg surprises in our clothing.
Musically, Mars, the Bringer of War, is based on a rhythmic and percussive war-like entrance. The three dots on the design is a representation of the musical triplets. But also more visually, the colour red represents Mars as the red planet, and the Roman god embodying a lot of passion and dominant energy,
Venus, the Bringer of Peace is very soft, romantic — we translated that into soft neutral beiges, with the flower petal signifying love for the earth, kind of like Venus the goddess.
Mercury, the Winged Messenger — [laughs] we decided to take a punny approach to this, we created a literal messenger bag with a wing print on it.
Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity is a fun one. In terms of the planet, it’s the hugest one and the music for that is also the most well-known one in Holst’s “The Planets”. I’m pretty sure everyone has heard the famous melody before! We knew we wanted a statement piece for Jupiter — we designed a beautiful denim jacket, with gold embroidery stitched on the back. The design has a subtle smiley face print, in reference to joy and jollity — but also musically, the famous opening in C major (natural sign) is weaved into the jacket. Super cool, we love this one.
Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age — it’s about the duality of the music, of time and transcendence — hence we produced a monochrome bucket hat that is reversible, with an hourglass clock print representing the sands of time.
Uranus, the Magician is a colourful, printed bowling shirt style drawing reference from the music — in the sense that it’s humorous, eccentric and daring.
Neptune the Mystic — musically, this one is the most impressionistic and mysterious-sounding. The design features a deep-blue fluid water drop as a nod to Neptune, god of the sea, but also of the icy-blue planet.
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Why just a hoodie and t-shirt for TwoSet Apparel then? Are you guys planning to expand in the future?
Eddy: We have much more planned for sure! For the Holst collection, it’s only Mars and Venus that are out but there’s much more variety coming out with the rest of the collection. We opened with the Mars hoodie on 18 April, and all the different items in the series will be launched individually in intervals of a few days, culminating in Neptune in early May.
Brett: For the brand in general, so far we’ve produced a range of everyday staples like hoodies, t-shirts and bottoms, but also accessories like hats, bags and even a watch. Super excited, we have tons more ideas in the pipeline, and definitely planning to expand our product categories in the future!
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Could you pick a favourite Roman god?
Brett: Jupiter. I kind of wish I modelled for it, it has a very wholesome and nostalgic energy to it.
Eddy: Not so much a favourite god, but my favourite music is Saturn and Venus. From a musical perspective, those were the most captivating to me.
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Lastly, what’s next after the whole collection for TwoSet Apparel drops?
Brett & Eddy: We have a lot of designs coming out! The most immediate would be our very first official collaboration with the Menuhin Competition, a world-class competition where the most talented young musicians come to perform at the highest level. It’s huge in the classical community, and we’re grateful to have the chance to collaborate with them.
After that, the next big collection we’re working towards will be a full winter one. We can’t say too much at this point! But it’ll be super cool. [Laughs] Ultimately, all our designs aim to speak the language of classical music, presented in modern and contemporary wear.
Shop TwoSet Apparel here today or, click here to catch up with our April 2021 issue.
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