Creating equilibrium via opposites. This, Brian Gathii explains me on a bright and warm afternoon in London, is the philosophy of his To-orist brand.
Born in Kenya in 1984, Brian moved to the UK when he was eight and studied graphics at the London College of Communication. Brian started To-orist around two years ago, while he was in his second year at college, designing a range of T-shirts, polos and sweats characterised by vivid prints that seem to combine history, nature, archaeology and exploration with brightly intoxicating ‘80s graphics.
Space cruisers, rockets, zebras and the mask of Tutankhamun appear on some of the tops; tromp l’oeil prints of binoculars, ties and zips left half open to reveal a leopard soul decorate other models. “To-orist’s aim is to make retro futuristic stuff, taking influences from the past and presenting them in a new form, with a new zest, or taking things from unparalleled universes and putting them in different contexts, creating, as I said, equilibrium via opposites,” Brian tells me.
The name of the brand evokes a world made of explorations, a very apt thing as Brian is at present exploring uncharted territories by working on a range of garments that one day will hopefully include jeans, shorts and jackets. “I started off with men’s casuals - mainly T-shirts and sweats - but now I’m moving onto conceptual tailored fitted blazers and jackets,” he reveals. “I’m trying to create a clash between the classical form and the casual, rather than going for straight casual-wear. At the moment, I’m working on my jacket collection. Once I have it done I will move onto the next product. I don’t want to cover different products at the same time and end up in not being strong in all of them. Once the products are ready, you will be able to see the brand’s direction and personality, as it’s quite difficult to see it just from the tops.”
Though he admits he’s aware of the dichotomy existing between fashion and graphics, Brian also feels there are similarities between the two disciplines. “Graphic designers are often commissioned packaging and advertising campaigns and, sometimes, the graphic designer is the art director as he’s responsible for communicating an idea to the consumer,” he explains. “I’m graphically trained but I’m fashion-minded, my trademark motto has always been ‘graphically directed and fashionably executed’.”
Of all the prints created so far, Brian’s favourite remains the zebra one, though he seems to have a soft spot for the palm hand as well. The best thing about his products stands in the fact that Brian plays a lot with mediums, fabrics and hand-made, artificial or holographic printing techniques. To-orist’s garments are indeed a bit like scientific experiments: the original model is the constant, available in a variation of finishes. All To-orist garments are made in England using a unique process known as OBM, which produces exceptionally vibrant prints and is also impervious from cracking, chipping or fading. “I like experimenting a lot with engineered fabrics,” he explains. “I work with a firm that usually produces stuff for industrial companies and they have a lot of engineered fabrics which we are using to introduce something new into fashion.”
Brian’s good business acumen ensured that he managed to place his To-orist products in independent boutiques from London to New York, from Tokyo to Singapore, Paris and Amsterdam. If you want to check out who’s your nearer stockist, just check To-orist’s site.
The complete interview with To-orist’s Brian Gathii, will appear on Zoot Magazine, Summer Issue.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.