The worlds of London’s burgeoning designer talent and the plays of Shakespeare are probably not two things that immediately seem related. Likewise, you don’t necessarily think of Prince Hamlet’s soliloquies of suicidal woe when you hear the distinctly urban sounds of underground artists like Novelist and Rejjie Snow. Still, thanks to a series of upcoming Selfridges’ events entitled Shakespeare reCITED (part of the store’s ongoing campaign, the similarly punned out Shakespeare reFASHIONed), The Bard’s influence will be felt through a slew of performances by some of the Capital’s rising grime and spoken word stars – each of whom have teamed up with some of our favourite streetwear-inflected designers for capsules of killer merchandise.

The series begins with a performance by spoken word sultan James Messiah, who will intersperse three Shakespeare inspired compostions with guest spots by Better Know’s Shorty and grime trio YGG – paying homage to the ribald atmosphere of Elizabethan theatre by acting as additional hosts for the evening. As for the fashion? We’ll, it’s none other than Liam Hodges who’ll be providing the first extremely limited capsule collection that’ll be sold online and in-store.

In the weeks following, Rejjie Snow x Life’s A Beach, Novelist x New Future London, Little Simz x Caitlin Price, and Krept & Konan x Astrid Andersen, will be bringing a potent combination of lyricism and design to Selfridges’ Shakespeare reFASHIONed’s theatre (in partnership with LG). If you can’t make it in person, don’t fret: all the performances will also be live streamed so you can catch them from the comfort of your own sofa.

Head to the Shakespeare reCITED site for more info, and stick with us over the coming weeks as we talk to some of the faces involved in this unique series.