Brad Gibbs

Excerpts from an Interview with the Designer

Recorded on: Feb 22 2023

Tell me about your collection!

The concept is Japanese motorcycle wear. I wanted to do it because a lot of motorcycle wear today is mainly American motorcycle wear, coming from a background of people who rode motorcycles, leather can be very hot, and it's really restricting.The people who started it were mainly like Japanese motorcycle gangs, and mainly it was because it was easy to obtain, but they could also customize it to their liking, on top of the fact that denim is lighter than leather, it gets more air and it still has the same protection of leather. 

So that's why I wanted to do it. I was inspired by multiple things. I saw a lot of different media based off of the Japanese motorcycle gangs: books, TV shows, movies, stuff like that.

The way that they kind of dress and signify who they are is that, everybody who isn't the leader has a full denim outfit, it's almost like a uniform. And then the leader has this long canvas trench coat, that has all the embroidery on the back, ornate designs, so that when they ride and they’re in front, it just flaps in the wind and shows everybody who they are.

How are you incorporating this “leader” look into the collection?

Every group has a first generation and the other generations after, and the uniform changes completely, because with each generation they have different styles. So the first generation is that long canvas trench. And I wanted that look to walk out first, because my model's 6’5. And so to see him in that really long trench coat, already just intros what it's supposed to be. So the first trench, because the first two of my models are gonna be the first generation, it's gonna be more of a loose prototype. And then you see the change when you get to the second generation, how it becomes more fitted and it has a more of a style element to it.

How do you reflect the aspects of a motorcycle through the elements that you are including in your pieces?

All of the pieces have some degree of customizability to them. So there's cinches in the hems or in the backs of the jackets, and I want to do some things with embroidery on them. There’s going to be a sash that ties into the shirt that also can operate to tighten or loosen the shirt, to kind of hang down as an accessory. If I were to release it, you could even use it as a belt. It has a lot of customizability to it that allows each of my models to put their own little spin on it. It also comes into the styling cause I want it to look very uniform and almost intimidating. Because you have like these really tall models in these almost angry looking uniforms, and the music's gonna be fast and loud.

What challenges have you run into so far?

The main challenges are sourcing certain things because some things cost more than others. When you're trying to source something, you might go to the fabric store and they don't have exactly what you need, so then you have to search far and wide for the exact thing. 

Some of these silhouettes that I'm doing are pretty similar to things that I've done before with a little bit more design flare, a little bit more knowledge, since I'm more advanced in the course now. These are things I've wanted to do before, but I didn't have the knowledge to actually make it the way I wanted to, and now I can. That's probably the main thing about it, just sourcing. And the time crunch, but I think I can work with that. I've done it before.