GQ 專訪 Over All Master Cloth 創意總監 Chris Gibbs

由 Carhartt 歐洲分部 Carhartt WIP （Work In Progress）所推出的全新支線 Over All Master cloth（O.A.M.C.） 之所以能夠嫺熟地將傳統工裝與現代時裝相融合，自然與其幕後諸位行業資深人士的努力密不可分。 Over All Master Cloth 由洛杉磯知名店鋪 Union 創立者 Chris Gibbs 擔任創意總監，原 Supreme 的 Luke Meier 操刀設計，並吸納了原 visvim 資深銷售負責人 Matthew Boule 和 WIP 的 Arnaud Faeh 等精英加入團隊。近日 GQ 雜誌美國版就對這位常見諸於街拍照片中的 Stylist 和時尚幕後人士進行了專訪，邀其就當下的男裝設計、零售網路化以及新品牌創立等話題發表自己的看法。完整的專訪內容可在 GQ 查看。

How involved were you in the initial stages of Over All Master Cloth?
I’ve pretty much been involved since day one. Coincidentally, the designer of the brand, Luke Meier, is one of my best friends. We met 20 years ago in NY. When I first started working at Union, we started a T-shirt line together, and it took off. At the time people were into it, and it was easy to get Japanese distribution. He had just graduated from Georgetown with a business degree, and then he decided to go to FIT and got a degree in fashion design.

What happened after that?
One of his first gigs out of FIT was the head designer of Supreme. Brendan, who’s designing Supreme now, left to start his line, Noah. Long story short, the owner James Jebbia asked me if I knew any good people, and I told him my best friend had just graduated. Luke was there for about 8 years.

When did he start working with Carhartt?
Luke started freelancing for Carhartt Work In Progress, and he came up with this idea of taking the design sensibilities of workwear and updating them. He wanted to start using modern technology, fabrics, and materials to kind of re-invent it. And that’s basically what you have with Over All Master Cloth.

How did you get involved with this project?
We have a mutual respect for each other, and he invited me to come on as a consultant. I’ve kind of been a jack-of-all-trades. I’ve helped with the design, the marketing, factories, pretty much, anything I have access to. I put in my two cents, and I’m definitely a big part of it, but it’s hard to say: “this is my job.” I guess I’m creative director.

It’s been fun. It’s really cool and great to work with a good friend. And I sell clothing that other people make for a living, so this is my first real foray into the other side of it, and it’s been quite tough, but I’m pretty proud of the product.

After being on the other side for so long at Union, what has that taught you about what makes a good menswear brand?
I’ve always felt that one of my biggest assets—and the thing that has helped me be successful—is that I come at it from the other way. I try to run the store thinking about what the consumer wants, so I took that same kind of mindset into O.A.M.C. I know what the consumer wants, and I know what the retailer wants, and if you can make a line that works for both, then you’ll be successful. The bigger fashion houses have merchandisers do that, but I don’t think a lot of brands get that.