The Session: Branding advice from Ouigi Theodore of The Brooklyn Circus
Photography & Words by Swabreen Bakr
During The Brooklyn Circus pop-up shop at Art in the Age I got the chance to sit down with Ouigi Theodore and pick his brain about the creative direction of his brand. The session went like this…
Q: What advice would you give to young brands?
Tell a story, it’s all about storytelling.
The better the story, the better it sells, and the better people understand what you’re trying to say as opposed to trying to penetrate the market for the purpose of your own financial interest. Branding is about storytelling so if you forget that aspect of it and think it’s about making money … you’re completely off.
It’s not easy, just take it one sentence, one word, one paragraph, one chapter at a time, that’s the way we approach it. Every day is an opportunity to say something.
Q: What’s the concept behind the 100 year plan?
It’s really a process, it’s really us stamping the industry and the world with our presence and leaving something behind; something useful, something that will continue, you know it’s like passing the baton.
Q: Where do you source your materials?
90% of what we do is made in the U.S., we also do some stuff in Japan. Past seasons we did some stuff in Asia and China –some knits– because the factories here couldn’t do what we wanted them to do fast enough for the right prices; but now we’re back to the States and Japan, simply because they can meet the quality marks that we’re trying to hit.
Quality is so important, if we have 100 year plan and we’re making cheap stuff, we’re gonna come up short you know what I mean? 50 years from now we’ll show up naked, we can’t wear the clothes.
We don’t wanna leave waste, we wanna leave something that someone can pass on. We’re lovers of vintage.
Q: What staple garments define The Brooklyn Circus man’s wardrobe?
Canvas sneakers for sure, you can never go wrong with that, they’re easy to pack; good raw denims, well-made five pocket jeans. A varsity jacket is definitely a core item for us because it represents a scholastic element, and it represents American culture. A good oxford shirt because you can wear it tucked it, you can wear it out, you can wear it with a tie, you can wear it open, you can wear it with a shirt under, it’s just so versatile.
What we promote is tailored-casual.
So all these items can be tailored but worn in a casual way, and then reversed and worn in a tailored way. You can wear a blazer under a varsity jacket –you’ve seen that throughout history– and go to dinner.
Our collections are really item-based so we create items for it and then figure out how they fit in together. It’s more about how they fit into our lives and how they fit into the brand versus, “Oh this season we’re doing so-and-so prints.” It’s really about “Hey, where am I gonna wear that? How many times can I wear that during the week?” because that’s important for us as well. I wanna be able to wear a shirt or a sweater on Monday to a soccer game or to hang out, and then be able to wear it again on Friday and possibly Wednesday.
We produce products that can be interchanged and take you from one place to the next. We want people to really wear this stuff and beat it up!
We’ve experimented, we wear our own products and we do sell raw jeans. We buy back our product as well, we buy back our varsities simply because we have customers overseas that are interested in our items broken-in naturally. We have Japanese customers that buy these items, so we’re in a sense creating our own vintage. All of the repair we do in-house as well. It’s just to show that The Brooklyn Circus guy he’s seen the world, he’s traveling and these jeans are really lasting, no matter how old and deconstructed they are we’ll take them back in because we start with a great foundation.
We use Japanese selvedge denim and we also use Cone, one of the oldest denim mills in the U.S.
Q: How many of the varsity jackets do you make?
They’re expensive to produce and they take a long time to produce, seasonally we do produce a limited amount because of that and not because it’s the cool thing. The people that we’re working with to make our varsity jackets have been making jackets since the 20s and the 30s.
Q: Has the business changed from when you first started six years ago?
Still get the butterflies and that’s what keeps us going, we get excited about setting up a show or creating an item.
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A big thanks for Ouigi for letting me pick his brain about branding and visual communication. The Brooklyn Circus is definitely a brand to look up to when it comes to maintaining high standards, consistency and quality, whether that be for a t-shirt line or your own personal brand.
The Scene: The Brooklyn Circus—Philadelphia Pop-up shop at Art in the Age
Photography & Words by Swabreen Bakr
As part of The Philadelphia Collection, Art in the Age is hosting a pop-up shop this weekend with New York-based menswear brand The Brooklyn Circus. I was very excited to attend this event as this is a brand that I think could inspire a lot of the local fashion brands we have here in Philadelphia.
The Brooklyn Circus is a great case study in how to tell a story and portray a lifestyle. Even though their product is seeped in Americana, it’s sold and worn across the world. They portray a lifestyle that men from Brooklyn to Tokyo to Copenhagen want to be a part of; that is really powerful and something to really take into account when developing a brand. The storytelling and visuals have to be aspirational and compelling enough to transcend borders and cultures. We’ll elaborate on this branding message with our upcoming interview with The Bearded Man himself, Ouigi Theodore.
The goal of The Brooklyn Circus brand is to create garments that will last a lifetime, this plays into their 100 Year Plan. They don’t want to create waste like most fast casual fashion does, these garments are meant to be passed on to future generations and stand the test of time. As a brand they don’t follow trends, but since fashion is cyclical sometimes the trends come back around to catch up with them. Last fall for example we saw a revived interest in varsity apparel.
With so much of American culture being about the here and the now, it’s nice to have a brand whose point of view is about investment pieces and longevity, and the quality of their garments can be definitely be felt.
Head over to Art in the Age on 116 North 3rd Street in Old City to grab some gear! The pop-up expires tomorrow, Sunday September 16th at 6 p.m.
Check out more photos from the pop-up after the jump.
Style Shots—Beau & Co. Chambray Pt III
Photography & Words by: Swabreen Bakr
That crisp fall air has arrived! We’re continuing our chambray series with bespoke menswear brand Beau & Co. Now you gentlemen get to layer up and transition summer staples into fall.
Michael Beaumont says,
The chambray shirt is again a great choice for this time of year as when worn underneath a knitted garment or a blazer, the cloth is very good at retaining warmth. We’ve paired the shirt with a pair of trim dusky blue chinos, a navy Beau & Co. merino wool v-neck sweater, and a pair of tan British lace up shoes.
Paring multiple shades of complimentary blues is something we’re particularly fond of this season, it’s great for all skin tones, and works well with most colors of shoes and belts you’ll have in the closet at this time of year. Wear this outfit to the store, a date, or even work on a Friday.
Style Shots—Black & Gold
Photography by Rashid Zakat
Words by Swabreen Bakr
Summer 2012’s fashion consisted of a lot of intense color blocking and neon colors, Fall 2012 is way more subdued with trends like leather, gold and burgundy dominating. This statement peplum top from Zara nicely channels Fall’s opulent noir trend.
This look is styled with a lot of gold accessories; some vintage, some real and some costume, the more the better! Fall’s big plum color trend is channeled in the nail color. Your nail color is an accessory too, play it up!
The Scene: Fashion’s Night Out Philadelphia
Photography & Words by Swabreen Bakr
Philadelphia participated in its first ever Fashion’s Night Out. When this event was first announced a few weeks ago Mayor Michael Nutter spouted some rather lofty goals,
“Philadelphia is now able to show the world we are a city that’s ready to assume its rightful place among the fashion capitals of the world. Whether it’s New York or Paris or London or Milan, we are a city of creative ingenuity and entrepreneurship.” - Source
Although I agree with the last part of his statement, Philadelphia still has a long way to go before we can try and compete in the league of fashion capitals around the world because although we have access to fashion, we don’t necessarily have style. Like it or not we live in a city where you’ll see guys go on a date to 3-bell rated restaurant or a high-end and much lauded cocktail bar in cargo shorts and flip-flops. In the winter most women stick to boot cut dark denim jeans, knee high black boots and black North Face jackets. I guess the old adage you can buy fashion but not style definitely applies to us.
Joan Shepp boutique
In order to help propel Philadelphia into worldwide fashion scene, The Philadelphia Collection is taking place over this coming week. There will be 75 events from pop-up shops, to fashion panels and runway presentations. We’ll be posting a guide to some of the events we’re most looking forward to.
There is a lot fashion available here with our indie boutiques, outlet shops and international retail shops, but currently we are just not a fashion conscious city. However we definitely are a city filled with creatives who have a strong sense of entrepreneurship; in the last year a lot of independent streetwear brands have launched. The fashion scene is bubbling but it’s not quite mainstream yet, however you see pockets of it with the monied women at high-end events, and with young people’s street style.
Indie brand Couture Vulture
The Guide: Philadelphia Fashion’s Night Out
Zara Fifth Ave. NYC
Photo by: Swabreen Bakr
This year Philadelphia participates in Fashion’s Night Out, a worldwide event that takes in over 500 cities. This event serves as the kick off party for New York Fashion Week.
“American Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, NYC & Company and the City of New York created Fashion’s Night Out in 2009 as a collaboration intended to celebrate fashion, restore consumer confidence, boost the industry’s economy and put the fun back in shopping. Proceeds from sales of official FNO gear will benefit the New York Community Trust’s New York City AIDS Fund.”
Since it’s our first year hosting FNO we won’t have anywhere near the star power in terms of designers and celebrities as New York, but this is a great opportunity to support our local boutiques and help our local fashion economy. When it comes to style Philadelphia has a way to go, but our boutiques do offer some of the best brands in the world.
Check out the events guide after the jump!
Dear, New York
Photography & Words by Swabreen Bakr
I think it was over a year since I had last visited NYC, I never really spent a lot of time in Manhattan when I went there since most of my friends live in the other boroughs, mainly Brooklyn. But this time around I stayed with my family on the Upper East Side on 2nd Ave and got to experience a different side of the city. After spending three days there I have a better understanding of why artists flock there, inspiration is everywhere! From the architecture, to the window displays, to the crowds of people, and yellow cabs zipping by like bees, it was an amazing experience.
At the Guggenheim museum I was really inspired by the portrait photography of Rineke Dijkstra. The way how she elevated her subjects from their humble surroundings and managed to capture subtle and honest expressions in their faces and eyes was really something.
People always say NYC is one of the greatest cities on earth, when you go there and take in everything it has to offer in terms of culture, fashion, architecture, food, entertainment, and so on, it is really incredible that you can find so much excellence on one tiny island.
Fifth Avenue was ripe with inspiration, all the high end retail stores put on amazing visual displays that chipped into or were layered over the existing architecture on the buildings they lived in. The Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama window display was amazing! Her signature dots made the building a stand out from miles away. The scale of things in the city always impresses me, Saks Fifth Avenue boasted of over 10,022 additional sq. feet for their shoes showroom! Each shoe that was in their window display was a work of art of its own. Diesel showcased their edginess by having their signature graphic logo chipped into the building itself, and gave it some pizzaz with a glitter effect. Every one is vying for attention so to see things rendered on such a grand scale was really awe inspiring.
Style Shots—High Contrast Minimalism
Photo by Rashid Zakat
Words by Swabreen Bakr
Two of my favorite Fall trends are high contrast black and white ensembles and loose menswear-inspired trousers; it is after all the season of the pant! This BGBC black pair have a super comfortable almost pajama-like feel, but they’re perfect for looking effortlessly put together. While neons reigned in the height of summer here they work as accents instead of being the main event.
The Interview: Photographer Neal Santos
Photography by Swabreen Bakr
Neal Santos works as the Chief Photographer for City Paper. His style caught my eye over the summer with a series of photographs from a piece penned by Drew Lazor about the impending explosion of ramen in Philadelphia. His photos have a very clean aesthetic featuring a fantastic use of light and color, as well as strong compositions and styling.
Photo by Neal Santos
He shot another series that I was really impressed with featuring Chef Chris Kearse of the newly opened Will BYOB on East Passyunk Ave. Neal’s photos have a fine art aesthetic that I really appreciate, and it’s a style that really mixes well with the stories his work is usually attached to.
Photo by Neal Santos
As with most Philadelphia Creatives, Neal is also involved in another project that he is passionate about; Farm 51 in West Philadelphia is run by him and his partner Andrew.
I’m the lucky bastard that gets to grow food and document it professionally in a city that I love.
I went to visit this amazing project last week and spoke to Neal about working as photographer, what it’s like to run an urban farm, and how it impacts the neighborhood he lives in.
