The Fly Agaric Collection

We don't have the full set yet (turns out producing properly made organic cotton clothing takes considerably longer than printing whatever's trending on Redbubble, which is both a constraint and the point). What we do have are pieces designed to last, embroidered with the specific intention of not falling apart the third time you wash them.

Let's be honest with each other: the Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria, though you don't need us to tell you that) is the red one. Scarlet cap, white spots, white stem. It's the Mario power-up. It's what the hookah-smoking caterpillar is sitting on (Lewis Carroll was vague about this; Jefferson Airplane were considerably less vague). It's the thing a seven-year-old draws when you hand them a crayon and say 'draw a mushroom'. We know. You know. 

Why wear the fly agarica?

What's less widely known (and this is the genuinely interesting bit) is that the Fly Agaric has one of the most extraordinary cultural histories of any living organism on the planet:

  • Present in shamanic traditions across Siberia and central Asia (for potentially over 10,000 years);
  • Proposed by researchers as a likely candidate for 'Soma', the sacred drink referenced in over 150 hymns of the Rig-Veda (speculative, but a very good story);
  • Distributed by Siberian shamans as gifts in late December (yes, that’s possibly where red and white enter the Christmas tradition);
  • Associated with Viking Berserkers before battle (which, in retrospect, explains a great deal about the Berserkers);
  • And a Christmas card staple since the Victorian era - because nothing says 'festive' like a highly toxic woodland fungus.

It is, in other words, a lot of mushroom.

The classic red-and-white spotted original toadstool, on high-quality organic cotton, all made to order, available as a hoodie (at the moment), and as a tshirt or hat (eventually) to cater to people wanting to cover various portions of their body in Amanita muscaria (a personal decision, and we respect it either way).

The Fly Agaric has been growing in British woodland for millions of years. Your hoodie should last at least a few winters. That's not the best slogan, admittedly, it's just what happens when you make something properly.