SID from Retreat Clothing
We've been rocking Retreat for a few seasons now and just taken delivery of the new design and they are amazing so we thought we'd catch up with Sid and chat about Retreat, just has he was a bout to leave for a MGMT gig in Leeds.
hey Sid how's things with Retreat can you give us some insight into your background within streetwear?
Hiya Urban Shop. Retreat is going ok. We are in our 3rd year now and at times it's a struggle being a one man band but I can't complain too much.
My background from my school to college days are based on art and design and photography. I wouldn't really class Retreat as a Streetwear brand as I don't really understand this "label" which has been assigned to a specific market.
The main focus for Retreat is to produce good designs for t-shirts catered for all markets and not just a manufactured one which has been aligned to a certain scene.
What inspired you to start Retreat?
I started Retreat basically out of a bit of boredom of wearing the same types of t-shirt designs and figured I could produce something fresh and original, and my pals kept saying I should print a few up for them. I printed up a limited number (which is something we still follow to this day) and sold them to a bunch of friends and then approached a few local stores around my way.
What other streetwear brands inspire you or do you look up to?
In terms of other brands out there, I would say my opinion has changed in the last 8 or so years. I grew up skateboarding in the mid to late 80's and always loved the old graphics on clothing and boards from the likes of Santa Cruz, Powell Peralta and early Stussy. I then got into Supreme and discovered Bape in about 97 after seeing a picture of Ad-Rock from The Beastie Boys wearing a Very Ape UK tee. Back then it wasn't really heard of outside of Japan and the internet didn't hold all of the info as it does today so I found it exciting trying to find out more about this particular brand.
I remember being in Camden market back in 1998 and seeing a few old original Bape tees being sold there. This was when they were printed on standard tees without the Bape collar tag. I think I bought my first tee from Camden
I was really inspired by guys like Sk8thing and Kazuki Kuraishi from Japan and have always been a fan of Futura 2000.
I think today I'm not into too many of the international brands.
Some of the ones who seem to have blown up over the past few years seem to have lost their way a bit in my eyes. I mean the tee shirts which are being produced by alot of them are weak. It seems they get established, move onto cut and sew pieces but forget to focus on the strong t-shirt designs which is what initially got them there in the 1st place. Maybe I'm just bitter and jealous. lol
Some of the brands I do like are GRN appletree, independent brand The Award Tour from the US (Phil is a friend and I love his passion and his belief in his brand).
Other brands/artists which inspire me are Ben Drury, Will Bankhead and Emmet Keane from the early Park Walk days to Answer/Trilogy Tapes, Tonite, PAM to name a few
What direction do you see streetwear going in next and what about Retreat?
I can't really comment about where "Streetwear" is going as to be honest I'm not that bothered. For Retreat to continue plodding on - releasing some nice graphics for tees and sweaters, and to hopefully get a few more international stores (especially in the US to hopefully stock us)and to maybe do some collaborations in the near future. I would be lying if I said the thought of producing cut and sew items didn't interest me but one day at a time, I'm in no rush.
Finally anything you wanna say to SturbanClothing contingent
Yeah keep up the good and hard work and don't take it all too serious. As someone once said "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." ...
cheers
Sid
hey Sid how's things with Retreat can you give us some insight into your background within streetwear?
Hiya Urban Shop. Retreat is going ok. We are in our 3rd year now and at times it's a struggle being a one man band but I can't complain too much.
My background from my school to college days are based on art and design and photography. I wouldn't really class Retreat as a Streetwear brand as I don't really understand this "label" which has been assigned to a specific market.
The main focus for Retreat is to produce good designs for t-shirts catered for all markets and not just a manufactured one which has been aligned to a certain scene.
What inspired you to start Retreat?
I started Retreat basically out of a bit of boredom of wearing the same types of t-shirt designs and figured I could produce something fresh and original, and my pals kept saying I should print a few up for them. I printed up a limited number (which is something we still follow to this day) and sold them to a bunch of friends and then approached a few local stores around my way.
What other streetwear brands inspire you or do you look up to?
In terms of other brands out there, I would say my opinion has changed in the last 8 or so years. I grew up skateboarding in the mid to late 80's and always loved the old graphics on clothing and boards from the likes of Santa Cruz, Powell Peralta and early Stussy. I then got into Supreme and discovered Bape in about 97 after seeing a picture of Ad-Rock from The Beastie Boys wearing a Very Ape UK tee. Back then it wasn't really heard of outside of Japan and the internet didn't hold all of the info as it does today so I found it exciting trying to find out more about this particular brand.
I remember being in Camden market back in 1998 and seeing a few old original Bape tees being sold there. This was when they were printed on standard tees without the Bape collar tag. I think I bought my first tee from Camden
I was really inspired by guys like Sk8thing and Kazuki Kuraishi from Japan and have always been a fan of Futura 2000.
I think today I'm not into too many of the international brands.
Some of the ones who seem to have blown up over the past few years seem to have lost their way a bit in my eyes. I mean the tee shirts which are being produced by alot of them are weak. It seems they get established, move onto cut and sew pieces but forget to focus on the strong t-shirt designs which is what initially got them there in the 1st place. Maybe I'm just bitter and jealous. lol
Some of the brands I do like are GRN appletree, independent brand The Award Tour from the US (Phil is a friend and I love his passion and his belief in his brand).
Other brands/artists which inspire me are Ben Drury, Will Bankhead and Emmet Keane from the early Park Walk days to Answer/Trilogy Tapes, Tonite, PAM to name a few
What direction do you see streetwear going in next and what about Retreat?
I can't really comment about where "Streetwear" is going as to be honest I'm not that bothered. For Retreat to continue plodding on - releasing some nice graphics for tees and sweaters, and to hopefully get a few more international stores (especially in the US to hopefully stock us)and to maybe do some collaborations in the near future. I would be lying if I said the thought of producing cut and sew items didn't interest me but one day at a time, I'm in no rush.
Finally anything you wanna say to SturbanClothing contingent
Yeah keep up the good and hard work and don't take it all too serious. As someone once said "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." ...
cheers
Sid
Labels: Answer, GrnAppleTree, Retreat, streetwear
posted by Unknown at 9:36 am
2 Comments:
Good to see the guys at Urban Shop giving time and respect to the industry. Interesting interview, thanks!
nice one Sid, you blow these US brands out the water!
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