JEFF STAPLE Always One Step Ahead

The streetwear market is definitely going through a phase of growth in the last couple of years. We see more brands every day, more shops open all over the world. With this trend in streetwear it is becoming more and more interesting to talk to the people that were in this industry and marketplace before it was the «cool» thing to do – stability is the keyword. This also brings us to Jeff Staple, whom we interviewed for the second time. One could stay busy just by watching what Jeff and his team at Staple Design put out every year. With strong partners such as Supreme, New Era, Nike and many others, Jeff has always been a person standing for hard work and especially in the last few years one can see that this attitude is paying off. He started his own brand, Staple, and his design agency, Staple Design, almost ten years ago. This time we got together with him to talk about the 10th Anniversary Collection dropping for Spring 2007 and a piece of art by itself. We wanted to see what he had to say about it, how it came about and what else we can expect from him in Staple’s 10th year.

Jeff, it’s great catching up with you especially in such an exciting time with the ten year anniversary of Staple coming up. How is it going these days?
As usual, very busy, but also having a lot of fun and meeting a lot of great people along the way.

Most of our readers probably know you, especially because we already had a feature on you a while ago, but please, just to make sure, introduce yourself.
I founded and am the Creative Director of Staple Design. We have a clothing collection called STAPLE which turns ten as you said in 2007. Our design and consulting studio is also busy as ever. We’re working with the best brands and companies in the world and got some really exciting new things popping off in 2007. And finally, Reed Space, our store and gallery concept, just opened a new location in Aoyama, Japan to go along with the LES, the New York City location. I am now looking into Europe to add the third arm.

What we always enjoyed with the Staple collections is the fact that you never went too far into any niche. The collections are up-to-date but never follow the trends too much. It seems like you never wanted the brand to be labeled in a way. Has that always been your intention?
I am glad that the general public can feel that. I think that’s the secret to longevity, staying with a single direct vision. I’m not sure I can say its a deliberate attempt to be different, but I think it just boils down to what makes Staple Staple. Sometimes people ask me why I named the company Staple. When I started it in 1997, the term we now know as BLING BLING was basically born. Jay-Z, Puff Daddy, Cristal, Diamonds on yer neck, that was all from that era. And from a fashion standpoint, we were seeing the likes of Fubu, Pelle Pelle, Sean John and Rocawear really blowing up. I just thought to myself, why would someone want to represent themselves with a huge FB on their chest? What you wear tells so much about your character, even if what you’re wearing is blank. So when I started my line, I called it Staple: a basic neccesity. Something you can’t live without. A raw element.

How much are you still involved in the design process? Over the years, you must have built up a strong team around you.
I have a fucking incredible team. My team, and the people who have come thru Staple’s doors in the past are the reason why we made it ten years. I just drive this bus. But the people sitting behind me are the reason why we move. I still do a couple of things here and there, you know, take out the trash, scrub the toilets etc.

Let’s talk about the Spring 07 collection, the 10th Anniversary collection; the amount of exciting products and collaborations is simply stunning. What is the theme behind it?
This collection is so deep. There are many many layers to it and most people who experience it will only understand one or two angles. The first aspect is of course «collaboration». Over the past ten years, with all the success of the brand, the thing I value most is the people I have met. All the different personalities, characters, talented hard working heads. That’s the best part for sure. So I thought why not go thru my Rolodex and ask the people I respect the most to help me celebrate the collection? It’s like if this were a birthday party, all these people would be invited, but since everyone is so busy and lives all over the world, it’s fun to do it in a collection like this. However, I didn’t just want to give them a blank slate. I wanted to give them a concept and see how they run with it. Last year, I was really obsessed with ANAGRAMS. Especially ones that had correlative meanings with each other (like «HATED/DEATH». It started to bug me out. And then I noticed how some of these special anagrams even had relations to the creatives I was thinking of using for the collaborations. It was some ill « Da Vinci Code » type experience. So each artist received their own Anagram to work on as a concept. Every shirt has the artist’s signature and the anagram they used as the inspiration printed on the inside. In fact, the catalogue that was shot for us by Yonehara Yasumasa is an anagram in itself. Check it out and you’ll see what I mean. Even our blank tees were done by Hiroshi Fujiwara’s Base Station company, so it’s crazy, even the BLANKS are a collaboration!

What was the process behind these collaborations ? And how did you choose the people to work with?
It was a very very long process. It took over a year to put it together. You can imagine with the prowess of these people, their schedules, their commitments, and then asking them to do this, it’s amazing we got this done. I mean we are talking about over 25 different collaborations in this collection! Each one individually art directed and worked on. Like I said, I just reached out to people I was feeling and had some experience with in the past. So it’s very personal. I mean each of these people mean something to me, whether they know it or not. I respect them and have had the honor of working with them all either in a professional or personal aspect. It was like a great big reunion. Some people assume this was a really easy collection for me because other people did all the work. But trust me, it would have been 100 times easier for me to just bang out all the tees. This was much harder, but SO MUCH more worth it.

In 2006, Reed Space Tokyo opened. It must have been very exciting for you to see your brand and the store evolve especially in such a fashion savy country as Japan. How did the new store come about and what has been your experience with it so far?
We opened Reed Space in NY in 2002. I always knew Japan would be second. And my vision for Reed is that we become the Starbucks of this culture. A little Reed Space in every neck of the woods on this planet. Japan has been a firm supporter of everything I do literally since Day One. So it’s sort of my gift back to them. I sacrificed a lot to make Reed Japan happen. I went to Japan twelve times in twelve months in 2006!
It was hard as hell but so worth it in the end.

You have also been a lot to Berlin lately, one of the fastest changing cities in Europe at the moment. What is your view on the European market, especially concerning streetwear?
Berlin is currently my favorite city in the world. Who knows! That might change by the time this prints, haha. But I really love the energy there. It feels like NYC fifteen years ago. I’m not sure about the streetwear scene. As you mentioned before accurately, I don‘t really follow the streetwear market. But the art scene in Berlin is amazing. The kids there are thinking so outside the box, it’s so refreshing. Makes New Yorkers and Japanese look like cavemen amateurs.

Jeff, thanks a lot for taking the time to talk to us. Please keep up the great work and keep us posted!

site: www.stapledesign.com | blog: www.stapledesign.com/jeffstaple
honeyee: www.honeyee.com

a positive social contagion

Text & Interview: David Fischer