Fashion

This Keith Haring Sock Collection Celebrates Queer Love & LGBTQ Art

by Kali Borovic
Courtesy Happy Socks

One of the queer community's most celebrated artists is coming to your sock drawer — and that's exactly what he would have wanted. The Happy Socks x Keith Haring collaboration takes some of Haring's most popular creations and puts them on a wearable medium. The socks are the perfect way to spread a little love and LGBTQ awareness during Valentine's Day and beyond.

Haring brought love, acceptance, and awareness to his paintings, and this collaboration carries on his legacy by letting you do the same. Happy Socks created three different socks for the collection — all of which feature his quirky stick drawings. Everything from the bright pops of color to the underlying messages make this collection just as great now as it would have been 30 years ago.

The yellow pair features a few of Haring's famous stick drawings, all reflecting the fluid and not-so-perfect relationships with love. The pink pair is similar, but with dancing figures who are — quite literally — radiating happiness and love. The final blue pair personifies the heart, which is one of his most famous drawings. Although Haring passed away in 1990, the socks look like their fit for the '90s.

Courtesy Happy Socks

The sock collection launches on Jan. 30, and you can snag them on the Happy Socks website and in the brand's NYC flagship store, which is opening later this month. The unisex designs will also be available at select retailers, and Bustle has reached out to find out exactly where they'll be out.

You can buy the socks separately or in a limited edition, collectable designer box set that houses all three pairs and is absolutely adorable. Bustle reached out to the brand to see how much each item will cost. If it's anything like their other limited edition collabs, it will be anywhere from $12 to $14 per pair.

Whether you're gifting them or buying a pair for yourself, you can't go wrong by spreading the LGBTQ and self-love message around.

Courtesy Happy Socks

Each one of Haring's works might not have taken long to make, but they have big messages behind them. Haring explored political and societal themes throughout his creations, including queerness and AIDS. While none of the proceeds go towards charity or any type of AIDS awareness, this collaboration is a great way to continue his legacy.

In fact, his artwork being on socks is something that fit his philosophy. According to the artist himself, his art was meant to be seen by the average person, and spread as far as possible to provoke reflection and conversations. The everyday medium is something he would surely believe in, given he created the popular Pop Shop to put his designs on clothing and items for people who couldn't afford his pricey originals.

Each design opens the conversation about love, which a theme that is just as important now as it was when Haring was alive. Plenty of his artwork is carried on today through prints and replications, and he's no stranger to the fashion world. This is far from the first sartorial collab that has come from Haring's artwork, and it won't be the last.

Courtesy Happy Socks

Mark your calendars for Jan. 30, because this is one collaboration that you won't want to miss. When fashion and art combine, magic happens. There are some themes that will never go out of style — and spreading a little self-love an acceptance are certainly here to stay.