Soon to follow, a line inspired by FUEL's acclaimed Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia:
This range of clothes uses drawings taken from the Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia. During his lifetime as a prison guard in St. Petersburg's notorious Kresty Prison, Danzig Baldaev made drawings of over three thousand criminal tatoos and documented their meanings.
The tattoos embody a thief's complete 'service record,' his entire biography. They detail all of his achievements and failures, his promotions and demotions, his jail sentences and his different types of 'work'. A thief's tattoos are his 'passport,' 'case file,' 'awards record,' 'diplomas' and 'epitaphs'. In the world of thieves a man with no tattoos has no social status whatsoever.
Richard Wheeler was inspired by the art of these tattoos; the depth of their meaning and the compexity of their code. In a nod of respect their history, this line was born.