Tell us more about OAMC conception. How did everything start off?

Arnaud and I met in New York a long time ago through mutual friends. When I left Supreme, I was doing a bit of freelance, but I started traveling and I was in Europe a lot more, so we connected again, which is when we started talking about this project.

I’d always been fascinated by the level that you can make things at over here in Europe. Being in New York, you often look to Italy, to France, or to Japan, where very high-level products are made, and there’s a deep industry. The more I learned about product the more curious I became about making in these places, particularly from my perspective. Brands that are important to me have the perspective I share; brands like Supreme and early Stüssy, for instance. Most of the big luxury brands in Europe didn’t have the same feeling; they made beautiful products but there was no essence. So, Arnaud and I started thinking, what would happen if we made something on that same luxury level but with a real soul behind it? That was sort of the catalyst that got things started. It’s not just about making high-quality products, those were already out there. The idea was to produce high-quality apparel from our own personal perspectives, with references to what we grew up with that made it relatable to people like us.

At the beginning, it took us a while to get going because we didn’t really have access to any of the right places. We didn’t know where to go to make anything. This can be a very secretive industry as far as where you get things done, but once you’re in, you realize it’s a word-of-mouth business… Which is cool as it’s like a natural barrier for people to come in and start making something. It’s interesting because it’s very relationship based. People at the very highest level don’t want any other business and don’t need you in there. We’ve been fortunate to gain access to some of those people and places through the relationships we’ve built over the last couple of years.

Streetwear and fashion seem to be the most abused words these days. What’s going on?

People get obsessive about labelling things, putting them into boxes. What’s funny to me is that this streetwear/fashion thing isn’t anything new – it’s been happening forever. The industry is now trying to confine everything to specific boxes or genres, and a lot of people just want to use these buzzwords to show they’re trendy. I think it’s the wrong way to approach it.

To me fashion, and design in general, is a sort of reflection of what’s in the air, what people think is relevant or interesting. The idea, the music, the culture come first and fashion follows, as it’s a way to express ideas or your own personal perspective.

The word streetwear is very loaded right now. With OAMC the goal wasn’t to try to get labeled. It was to try to make cool shit from cultured and eclectic ideas; it was that simple. Take a guy like Shawn Stüssy. He liked Chanel, London club culture, and music, but he loved surfing too. What he created was very natural as it reflected who he was. There were no rules then; it was all new so it was organic the way that people approached design and product. It was more about developing a great brand that represented some ideas you had that you felt strongly about. It’s weird now that somehow certain rules have been established and now everybody is trying to break them down.

What has changed since then?

The industry asks for rules to deal with products, organize stores and so on. Before it was all about what was around, cool, and interesting. It was much more open.

It’s funny how people freak out when they go to Japan for their first time and say “Oh wow, I would never imagine people wearing certain brands or styles together”. To me, that’s normal, it’s just good shit. And what we’re trying to do with OAMC is to fight a bit against the pre-conceived notions about what brands are supposed to do or make. Why can’t you make legit tailoring with really progressive graphic t-shirts? In Europe, you have a very heavy historical context of what you’re supposed to wear, and when and where you should wear it. You can’t wear a suit along with a t-shirt that looks like it’s from a hip-hop brand. But why not?