Banksy’s iconic “vest”: on sale

Banksy’s iconic “vest” will make its auction debut during Frieze Week when it is offered at Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Auction with an estimate of £200,000-300,000. One of a series of five unique examples, and the first Vest never before offered on the secondary market, this iconic object will be on display to the public as part of Sotheby’s preliminary exhibitions at its New Bond Street galleries from October 3 to 9.

Considering Stormzy’s iconic stature during his legendary Glastonbury performance, this reinterpretation of a classic piece of modern police armor is Banksy at his best. As only Banksy can, he manages to powerfully condense a complex social issue through a single evocative object. There is no doubt that this work of art is more relevant today than when the first Vest debuted at Glastonbury – an event which saw it become the symbol of a defining cultural moment.

Emma Baker, head of contemporary evening sales, Sotheby’s

Vest belongs to Banksy’s Gross Domestic Product range of homewares, which was first displayed in a shop window in Croydon, south London, in 2019, to comment on the impending commercialization of the Banksy brand. The custom waistcoats aim to reinterpret the ‘John Bull’ gentleman’s waistcoat – a garment that emerged in the 1700s as a symbol of traditional British society – to reflect the realities of modern urban life. Taking an old police outfit, capable of stopping bullets, Banksy adorned his protective vest with a black and white Union Jack, imbued with a rusty red hue – perhaps evoking dried blood. In doing so, he merges ideas of patriotism with the realities of violence and rising knife crime in the UK. The Union Jack’s traditional representation of British history also takes a new twist in Vest – perhaps a subtle implication that, for some citizens, being “British” does not equate to security and equal rights. Instead, here he symbolizes the tension between national belonging and the experiences of exclusion, racism and violence felt by so many.

Last night I headlined Glastonbury in a custom-made bulletproof vest by the greatest and most iconic living artist on planet Earth, the one and only Banksy.

Storm

Always protesting, Banksy chose one of the biggest musical platforms to make his message heard: the Glastonbury Festival. During Stormzy’s 2019 performance, which saw him become the first British Grime artist to headline the Pyramid Stage, he wore a different Vest of the series. Like Banksy, Stormzy uses his platform to highlight systemic inequalities and injustices, particularly the targeting of young black men by a biased criminal justice system, as well as the rampant rise in knife crime and widespread political unrest in across the UK. Stormzy’s performance was visually punctuated by the stark imagery of the words “knife crime” projected behind him, as well as an extract from a speech by MP David Lammy, focusing on the pressing issues plaguing the nation .

In 2020, Banksy Vest (worn by Stormzy), was nominated for a major design award, the Beazley Design of the Year award, and was subsequently donated to the Design Museum in London by the British musician. Another work from the series was featured in Banksy’s most recent exhibition, Fleewhich took place at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow – his first solo exhibition in 14 years.

The sale takes place almost six years to the day since Banksy himself stepped into a Sotheby’s auction when “the nation’s favorite work of art” Girl with balloon self-destructed when the hammer fell on October 5, 2018, to become the new title Love is in the trash, this is the first time that a work of art has been created during a live sale. Three years later, in 2021, the world-famous artwork returned to auction in its new form, selling for a record £18.6 million/$25.4 million.

Who knew getting into men’s tailoring could be so much fun? A vest capable of stopping bullets up to 45 caliber. And yet, it is not machine washable.

Banksy

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Marc Westall

Mark Westall is the founder and editor of FAD magazine –