Blondey McCoy

Thomas Eblen (born 1997)[1][2], better known as Blondey McCoy, is an English professional skateboarder, fashion designer, artist and model. He is signed to Kate Moss's model agency, and has started his own clothing and skateboard line, 'Thames'.

Early life

McCoy was born to a British mother and Lebanese father, and was educated at Westminster School in central London[1]. He eventually dropped out at age 15 due to poor attendance, preferring to spend his time skateboarding on London's South Bank. Eventually, he was signed to Adidas and Palace as a skateboarder and a model.

Professional Skateboarding

McCoy skates professionally for Supreme, Adidas and also has skated professionally for Palace, his most notable endeavour. In December 2019 he debuted his design for an Adidas Superstar that is vegan and distinctive, made with a clear plastic.[3] While there he created with Palace Skateboards the 7 year project "Palasonic".[4][5] In 2014, McCoy, along with others like Thom Yorke and Russell Brand, participated in saving London's Southbank Centre skatepark from redevelopment.[6] In April of 2019, Blondey announced on his instagram that after a fruitful 7 year relationship he was leaving Palace to pursue other projects. [7]

Art

McCoy works in several genres and mediums, including collage, installation art and murals.[8]

Sculpture

In May of 2019 Blondey debuted 'The Loved One', a hyperrealistic sculpture depicting Plato from Rebel Without A Cause floating against a T that is reminiscent of the Hollywood Sign. McCoy said "it is inspired by the notion that heroes of pop culture, real or fictional, can live on in the minds of future generations, transcending the limited realm of mortality'.[9] He showed this in a pop up in Los Angeles and then it travelled in June of 2019 to Ronchini Gallery in London for his exhibition 'STELLA POPULIS'.[10]

Collage

McCoy repeats the theme of home and London throughout many of his works, referencing emotional and physical relationships he has with the city. McCoy uses the medium to effectively mirror his lifestyle; bridging his fashion brand, his skate boarding and his art into one. In 2017 for his fifth exhibition Us and Chem, McCoy collaborated with OBE Damien Hirst on Beautiful, Chemically Imbalanced Painting, in which Hirst created a new spin painting for the occasion to be the background of one of McCoy's collages. [8]

Murals

The fashion house Burberry commissioned McCoy to produce a 12-foot mural in London. Commissioned in conjunction with the 2017 exhibition 'Here We Are', the artist created a partly 3D piece with oversized objects, including a 2.5 by 3.5 meter Burberry scarf.[11]The project continued to New York with 3 murals installed for the Christmas season and inspired by The Pogue's 'A Fairy Tale in New York'. [12]

Books

McCoy's first book 'Us and Chem', from British publishing house Heni, came out in 2018.[13] His second book 'Stella Populis: Pop Will Eat Itself' was published in June of 2019 by IDEA Books.[14]

Clothing Line

Since 2015, McCoy has been the creative director of Thames, a fashion brand that takes influence from skate boarding and British culture.[15] In 2017 with British jewelry designer Stephen Webster collaborated with Thames on a line of jewelry[16]. Thames has also collaborated with the British fashion brand Fred Perry.[17] In fall of 2018, it was announced that Selfridge's would be launching a capsule collection designed by McCoy.

Modelling

McCoy has modelled for Burberry, Valentino, Palace and Adidas.[18] McCoy has been on the covers of i-D and Arena Homme+. [5] He recently was featured in a music video for The xx shot by Alasdair McLellan, a frequent collaborator. [8]He is represented by Kate Moss Agency. [19] In 2018, McCoy walked in Virgil Abloh's debut Louis Vuitton show in Paris. [20] McCoy has a long relationship with photographer Alasdair McLellan that has culminated in a book of their model/photographer relationship titled 'Blondey 15-21' published June 2019. [21]

References
  1. "Blondey McCoy Gets Real About Sex, Drugs, and Clout in Interview". Highsnobiety. 2019-09-27. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  2. "Blondey McCoy". Blondey. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  3. Watamanuk, Tyler. "Adidas's Skate Division Just Won't Stop". GQ.Com. GQ. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  4. Kane, Ashleigh (2015-10-08). "The London Skate Collective that Changed the Game". DazedDigital.com. Dazed Digital. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  5. Rearden, Ben (2017-10-12). "Meet Blondey McCoy: Burberry model, Damien Hirst collaborator and streetwear star". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  6. "Wheels of fortune: how the Southbank underestimated London's skateboard community". Standard UK. 2014-04-14.
  7. Hore-Thornburn, Isabelle. "Blondey McCoy Leaves Palace Skateboards After 7 Years". High Snobiety. highsnobiety.com.
  8. Reardon, Ben (2017-07-24). "Blondey McCoy: The Boy With The Thorn In His Side". i-D. i-D. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  9. Hutton, Belle. "See Blondey McCoy's New Work". Another Man. anotherman.com.
  10. Estiler, Keith. "Blondey McCoy "Stella Populis" Ronchini Gallery". HYPEBEAST. hypebeast.com.
  11. Elwick-Bates, Emma. "Skater Boy Blondey McCoy is London Fashion Week's Breakout Star". Vogue.com. Vogue. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  12. Nodell, Andrew (2017-11-16). "Burberry Taps Artist Blondey McCoy for NYC Holiday Murals". WWD.
  13. "The skateboarder and model tackling mental health in his art". BBC Arts. BBC. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  14. McCoy, Blondey (2019). STELLA POPULIS. UK: IDEA BOOKS.
  15. Estiler, Keith. "An Exclusive First Look at Blondey McCoy's Independent Apparel Collection". Hypebeast.
  16. Abrams, Melanie (2017-11-21). "His, Hers and Theirs: Jewelry Crosses the Gender Barrier". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  17. Williamson, Hollie (March 2018). "Blondey McCoy heads to Swansea to shoot new Thames x Fred Perry campaign". Dazed Digital.
  18. Tudela, Alex (2017-05-04). "Refresh Your Wardrobe with Thames London, Custom Suiting and Stylish Activewear". The New York Times. The New York Times.
  19. Fox, T.S. "Blondey McCoy is now Represented by Kate Moss Agency". Hypebeast. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  20. "Kid Cudi, Playboi Carti, Blondey McCoy, & More Walk in Virgil Abloh's Louis Vuitton Debut". Hush Mag. Hush Mag. 2018-06-21.
  21. Adler, Dan. "Alasdair McLellan's Book of Blondey McCoy's Life". VanityFair.com. Vanity Fair. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
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