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    • People: Formatmag interviews Malcolm and Zak from GRBG

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    The good folks over at Format Mag interviewed my homies Malcolm and Zak from Garbege.

    It’s a great read so check it out if you want to know more about their Thought Provoking Brand.

    “Just as Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner titled a chapter in their 21st century classic, Freakonomics, ‘A Roshanda by Any Other Name. How do babies with super-black names fare?’ The authors tell the story of a father named Robert Lane who decided to call his son Winner, thinking it would give the kid a boost in life. Three years later, he had another son and out of freakish amusement decided to call him Loser. Punch line of the story is: Winner Lane ended up as a loser in life and became a petty criminal living homeless on the streets. Loser Lane, on the other hand, graduated from college and became a sergeant with the New York police force. Long story short, you either overcome your name or you fail to live up to it.

    Established in 2003, Garbege holds 19 retailers including Karmaloop, Michael K in NYC and more. They release approximately 18 pieces per season including tees, cut & sew, denim and outerwear. What’s in a name?

    “Garbege is a thought-provoking clothing brand. It’s about style and substance — although admittedly sometimes we’re over people’s heads.”

    Format: Please state who you are and your role at Garbege.
    Zak: Peace, my name is W. ‘Zak’ Hoke. I am the Creative Director and Co-Founder of the Garbege clothing company.

    Malcolm: Malcolm Phipps Co-Founder and Marketing Director.

    Format: Garbege was established in 2003, how has the brand evolved since its inception?
    Zack: What began in London as an idea grew into graphics being printed on American Apparel tees and Brooks Brothers button-up shirts to fulfill orders for Union in NY, Fred Segal, Fun in L.A., and Harvey Nichols in Dubai. Although our humble beginnings were very exciting at times, we lacked the foresight back then to see the true potential of our talent and our business.

    The seasonal twist in our artistic direction put Garbege ahead of the game leaving some people in the streetwear scene feeling our brand was growing too fast, too soon. But we’ve always been forward thinkers and our goal was never to be ‘cool & broke’. Don’t get me wrong, we believe in passion over profit. But as the brands name grew, so did its distribution and what’s wrong with making a living doing what you love? The ‘cool guys’ see it as taboo; we see it as paying rent. Money has always been the yardstick used to measure success.

    Malcolm: In the past five years, the brand has gotten stronger in its graphic content and we’ve grown the business from only a tee shirt brand to a full cut and sew collection”

    Read the rest here.

    Further reading