Fake Diamonds Relaunches with Pop Up Shop at Love Gallery tonight

The start of Dillon Morton's clothing company, Fake Diamonds, came in 2009, "when I first learned to convert an art piece of mine in photoshop to have screen-printed on a shirt," he recalls. "After I was able to sell those initial twelve shirts, I went for it and designed about...

By Mauricio Rocha

November 14, 2014

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

The start of Dillon Morton's clothing company, Fake Diamonds, came in 2009, "when I first learned to convert an art piece of mine in photoshop to have screen-printed on a shirt," he recalls. "After I was able to sell those initial twelve shirts, I went for it and designed about five other shirts and worked with a close friend of mine, Mike Pack, to create a website and Lookbook.

"From there, the goal was to continue learning and pushing what we could do with each collection we released," Morton explains. And tonight he'll relaunch Fake Diamonds with a pop-up shop at Love Gallery.

"At the root of it, it was band shirts and album art," Morton remembers. "No question. I used to live in the shirts and sweatshirts I would pick up at shows. I still wish I had that Blood Brothers hoodie. I began looking into the people who were creating these designs and couldn't wait to learn how to utilize a wearable medium."

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Morton went to Boulder for college, then moved to Denver and brought his ideas for Fake Diamonds with him.

"Since moving here to Denver, most of my creative output has been from my music project, True Lust, or various album covers and branding," explains Morton. "After spending time under a rock working on re-releasing Fake Diamonds, I'm ecstatic to become more involved. Now that we are launching our new online store and four shirt designs, we are looking to become more aggressive with our shirt releases by keeping them more frequent and spontaneous. While this is our first event here in Denver, it certainly won't be the last."

Morton collaborated with local artist Mario Zoots on a new line of limited graphic tees. "Mario has a very similar aesthetic and great visual style," Morton says. "We are looking to collaborate more with artists and musicians on limited runs, especially here in Denver, so it was an obvious choice to reach out. I'm really excited for the opportunity and would love to work with him again on another shirt."

For tonight's event at Love Gallery, Morton says, "In addition to our pop-up shop and display of shirts for sale, we are having American Culture play a set. On tap will be a fresh-hop IPA we brewed and a cocktail to keep everyone warm. Artworks from the current show at Love, We Are Fever, by Tina Lugo, Rebecca Green and Tom Bond will also be showing."

The new Fake Diamonds online store will launch today at www.fakediamondsclothing.com, but the new shirts, $28 each, will also be for sale at the event tonight that starts at 7 p.m. Go to Love Gallery's website for more information.

Follow @WestwordCulture

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Mauricio Octavio Rocha graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in English writing and a minor in cinema studies; He has been writing about fashion and style for Westword since 2012. Rocha also writes songs for his music and art project, VULGAR FEVER.

Contact: Mauricio Rocha

Follow:

Facebook: mauricio.rocha.399

Twitter: @mauriciooctavio