I know you’re a Lana Del Rey fan—
I'm a huge fan! You can say that I'm a super fan. I literally have her tattooed.
Gabe proceeds to show me his tattoo of Lana.
Love that! Which Lana song is playing on the aux as you work in your studio?
Definitely Radio. I'm obsessed with her new stuff, but the old Born to Die era will always be it.
For sure. Is there a Lana song that you’d say inspired this collection?
Probably still Radio, but I also was listening to a lot of artists from the sixties, like Roy Orbison, the Lewis Sisters… I’m really inspired by Lana’s romanticization of the American aesthetic and her obsession with mod culture – the fifties, the sixties. So I started there, looking at the clothes she's worn and what inspires her work. Then, I started looking at clothes from the sixties – workwear, and Mad Men costuming, which led me toward sportswear and, specifically, ice skating.
Maybe it's not my first fall/winter collection, but I wanted to create this winter wonderland scene. So, I stopped at ice skating and figure skaters and that type of work wear – the starchy and glittery fabrics they wear.
How do you want people to feel when they wear the clothes?
I’m not sure. I don't really go into designing thinking about that or even what I want to wear. I'm more so referencing different motifs and images I'm seeing. I thought a lot about teens, around the age when I got into Lana Del Rey, and my town. The romanticization of that, the teen drama, and the angst.
Would you say your clothes feed into the nihilism and general angst that’s resurfaced over the last couple of years?
I think it's more optimistic. This past year has been really difficult, especially now that I’ve graduated from school and am figuring it out. I want to continue making work, but I’m also balancing the creative side with what’s in demand – what buyers will want. I'm like, "What is the point of doing this?" My entire process is optimistic in that it's about me creating my own history, trying to deal with my grief, and accepting it. I want to remain true to that.