The collection further features tees that read “freedom always has a price” and contains multiple pieces referencing Eugene Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People. To help celebrate this new beginning, office solutions caught up with Awuye and created its own take on the F/W ‘20 collection’s nonconformist attitude.
Tell us a bit about how New Regime started.
The project started in 2009 as an outlet for self-expression. It was a passion project with a hustler’s spirit at its core. Back then, we were designing in bedrooms, stocking t-shirts in basements, and selling them out of car trunks. It was all fuelled by a love for art, design, photography, and street culture.
Where did you draw inspiration for this collection?
At the end of 2019, I was in a really dark place mentally after experiencing a multitude of negative events as well as the biggest challenges in my life to that point. Starting in 2020, none of the original Atelier New Regime crew members were still around. I let my most experienced staff go, and had to take on a new set of responsibilities. I saw this as a fresh start as I gathered a whole new team coming into the new year. I convinced them to be the new engine to this Ferrari.
Although I had a plan, I was fearful I wouldn't make it through the first quarter. Some of our partners felt the brand was not going to survive all these changes and became reluctant. There was a lot of negativity directed towards me, but my drive never let me give up on the people that still believed in the brand. I was hungry as ever and had to channel all this energy into my craft. This collection was a proclamation; coming out of all these situations triumphant. It’s a step out of my comfort zone and one towards creating things with purpose and meaning. I like to think of this as my debut collection.
This collection incorporates phrases like “guilty of innocence” and “freedom always has a price”. How did you go about choosing these and what significance is behind their opposition?
What we go through makes us better understand who we are, our aspirations, and what we value in life. It was a time where I would pull myself over to avoid police harassment. My experience has allowed me to value the importance of using our platform to share these messages. The "Guilty of Innocence'' slogan really came from being persecuted or judged one too many times based on characteristics that were irrelevant to the accusation. I want to be able to move freely, no matter if it costs me a potential opportunity. My hoodie and durag stay on before, during, and after meetings.
Favorite piece from the collection?
The "Liberty Bubble Jacket” — the symbolism behind the raised flag alone makes it the most powerful piece of the collection for me. Plus, I have a thing for bombers!
What’s the significance of releasing this collection at such a culturally monumental point in time?
This is not new to us. With slogans like "Peace in the Middle East”, "Usual Suspect”, "We learn all our gang shit from the government”, every message we try to relay comes from personal experiences we feel others can relate to. The last couple of months have been quite challenging in every aspect imaginable for all of us. This collection was intended for self-motivation, while we were at war behind the scenes. It just so happens to come out at a time where these topics made the news.
Atelier New Regime encompasses a self-proclaimed “hustler’s spirit”. How has that ethos been brought into these pieces?
50 Cent once said, "one thing you can always count on is change.” Being able to adapt to many and any situation is the true characteristic of a hustler. A true hustler is going to make it happen, by any means, because his life depends on it. This is how we treat our brand. This is it and we'll always find a way to make sh*t work. It's the same mentally when tackling any project. We faced a lot of challenges in the development of this collection, COVID was the cherry on top.
There's a new brand that pops up every other day. To last in this industry, you must have something special. I've come to realize that we're in the business of changing lives, not fashion. For as long as we can inspire others to believe in their ideas, change their world, and inspire others, the New Regime saga will continue.
In this shoot, captured by Anna Bloda, Gryphyn is seen in their natural state. With a bold black leather jacket and black briefs to match, this shoot gives us a peek into the person as well as the artist.
When asked if they want to be remembered for their contributions to the costuming world, Hall is moved yet not driven by the idea. “When people appreciate my work my heart sings, but at the same time I’ve never been one to box myself in,” Hall says. "There is no one thing I want to be remembered for. Life is so much more than what you do or what you make, it’s the people around you and the things we all build together.”
Interpreting their world and having people appreciate their talent is more important to them than leaving a “mark” per se. “I also love creating worlds and characters, the art of transformation is extremely inspiring to me,” Hall said. “I just want people to get a glimpse of how I see the world, the beauty and the ugly.”
We sat down with Gillette to discuss the brand's background, inspirations, and future.
Tell us a bit about the idea behind Former and why you started it.
The founders are Dane Reynolds, Craig Anderson, Dylan Rieder (RIP) and myself. About seven years ago, The Australian magazine Monster Children hit us all up to do a trip together to see how skaters and surfers would get along. Something that had yet to be explored at the time. After the trip, it clearly showed that we were going to remain friends and that the two worlds could be merged in a tasteful way. This was something that our friend Campbell noticed and acted on. He later emailed us all and said that we needed to start a clothing company together. Four years later, here we are! The idea behind Former is to create and produce what we like to wear and be a part of. Whether it be the films we make or the clothes we design, we all have our own unique interests and it's been exciting for us to have a place to focus our creative energy to hopefully inspire the next generation of kids that skate or surf.
What’s this collection about? What inspired it?
The materials used in this collection are the real story. I was in Bali last year working on our fall 20 design and while shopping off the back of a moped for materials, we came across this lady who was the last vendor in town that sold wool. She invited us into her backyard and took us to her pool house that was filled with a hundred or so rolls of rare wools. Looking back, we really should have bought everything in there, but we ended up buying a modest amount of wool that we thought would work for a small capsule collection. ‘Elusive’ ended up being the name for the collection and I think it works well with the story behind the search for fabrics in Bali.
Do you have a favorite piece from the collection?
That’s always a difficult question when we make stuff that we actually like to wear. I’ve worn all of it, skated in some of it and have become attached to the collection. If I were given one choice, it would be the 'Swire Trench Coat'. This could be because of the limited supply and knowing that this particular wool doesn’t exist anywhere else. The windowpane pattern was flipped inside out to make the blue pop a bit more. I'm glad we made that decision right before final production.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned along the way navigating your own clothing brand?
There have been many mistakes along the way for us and I think those were necessary. We went into this thinking that we could change our industry overnight and quickly learned that wasn’t possible. None of us had studied business, let alone run one that has a scalable and sustainable future. Luckily we now have two general managers that handle the business side of the company and leave us to the creative. Biggest lesson is knowing that every person from sales, design, etc., is integral to the company and there has to be clear communication to maintain the health and integrity of the brand. Without that communication, the message of the brand can be miscommunicated and confuse people.
What does 2021 have in store for Former?
We are very excited to finally have distribution in Australia and Japan—two markets that have shown interest in us over the years, but had yet to happen. I think working with them to build Former in their territory will be a fun project for the year. We have a couple films coming out, a couple collaborations with friends and other brands... Plenty of stuff to tune in to and look out for!
