The World of Outlaws – Zephyr
THE WORLD OF OUTLAWS: THE PIONEER’S PUSHING WC FASHION
In our illustrious YVR scene, the designers, and fashionistas that inhabit our streets have claim to one of my favorite niches. Each brand inhabiting a subsection of their own, from Proper Dirty’s claim to luxury wear, to New Tones Studios claim to it’s street counterparts. And our latest entry fits somewhere firmly in-between.
The creative minds behind World of Outlaws are crafting something boutique, and braving the uncertainty of an industry that swallows people whole. They’re hand cutting, and sewing each of their pieces, painstakingly perfecting each one. All in a small Metro Vancouver based studio with functionality paramount.
So sit back, and kick back with an email interview with some of Metro Vancouver’s most interesting designers.
COULD YOU ALL PLEASE START OFF THE INTERVIEW BY TELLING US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FOUR CREATORS BEHIND WORLD OF OUTLAWS?
Miguel aka. Migs: Im Miguel Estilong, 26 years old, and I am the co-creative director of Outlaws. I handle the design of and production of the brand.
Francis: Im Francis Estilong, otherwise known as Kiko. 25 years old, other co-creative director handling the graphics and marketing side of outlaws.
Mike: Im Michael Parrenas, 21 years old, production & sampling assistant and I help with technical design and production
Deion: Im Deion, 24 years old, Director of Operations, I mainly help with the backend of the brand while also doing social media with Francis.
COULD YOU PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TEAM YOU HAVE WITH YOU?
Migs: I met Deion in school at Blanche Macdonald, he’s actually the one that pushed us to do cut & sew after seeing one of my clothing projects. After that, I invited Deion and Nate (who is doing his own thing now) to join Outlaws.
Mike: I actually modeled for their first collection, being in the same circle we’ve maintained a connection. It also helps that we all worked at Aritzia, with Miguel being my direct co-worker. I’ve always been interested in general design so after helping them out with sewing, they asked me to join on as an assistant. I’m in school for Product design right now so it made sense.
Francis: I went to BCIT and Emily Carr for communication design in hopes to apply what I learn in school to the brand.
WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME YOU ALL BECAME INTERESTED IN CLOTHING AND FASHION? DID YOU ALWAYS PLAN ON BEING DESIGNERS?
Francis: I’ve been into clothes and fashion since grade 3. I only realized I wanted to pursue design after my highschool art teacher told me to do so.
Migs: I was around 10 when I started getting interested in fashion. I only started to think about design after I started hemming my pants when I was 17, I didn’t think it would lead to where I am now.
COLLABORATION IS AT ONCE ONE OF ART’S MOST FULFILLING FACETS, YET ALSO ONE OF ITS GREATEST CHALLENGES. HOW IS THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN THE FOUR CREATORS ON CURATING A FOCUSED COLLECTION?
Deion: To be honest, it’s really easy to work as a team of 4 since we’re all on the same page. We all have an understanding on where we want the brand to be and what we need to do in order to get there. I think being on the same page is vital especially working as a group, our shared goals is what pushes us forward. We also have a system to where although we all give our feedback on designs, we understand that Miguel has the final say or “executive decision” when it comes to products.
We made this system after realizing that sometimes we’ll have a 50/50 split on who likes what, so this system allows Miguel to make the final decision as to what we’re going to be moving forward with. We trust him with the vision and have no choice but to move forward.
All this plays into how we work. We all have pretty good work ethics and a lot of the time, work doesn’t even feel like work. We’re friends first, staff second which has been working for us. Our work environment is very light hearted, no one needs to boss anyone around because everyone knows what they need to do. Again, i’d say this only works because we all have so much trust in each other and share the same vision.
HAVING BEEN FOUNDED IN 2018, HOW HAS THE BRAND WORLD OF OUTLAWS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS? HOW WAS THE BRAND CONCEIVED? WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION?
Miguel: From starting with screen printing T shirts, over the years we started to understand how we wanted the brand to look like in the future. We were only able to get to where we are at now with lots of trial and error which still continues to this day. It’s always a learning process.
Francis: It’s completely different from when we first started, we had no idea that it would get to where it is now. Since our main focus was just strictly doing prints. Once we moved to Vancouver in 2019 that’s when we saw potential in cut & sew. We saw an empty space in the Vancouver market for cut & sew, so we took the opportunity to try our best to fill that gap.
WE HEAR A BEAUTIFUL JAPANESE JAZZ TRACK, ALONGSIDE BEAUTIFULLY ATTIRED MODELS IN YOUR LATEST LOOKBOOK VIDEO TITLED ‘HORIZONS.’ COULD YOU DIVE INTO A LITTLE BIT OF THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE PIECES?
Francis: Ever since highschool me and my brother were obsessed with making a brand. We had lots of ideas for names but none ever stuck. Finally we came up with “Outlaws” which roots from our experiences in Edmonton as we felt like outsiders in our own community. Usually getting teased for what we wore. Outlaws tie into embracing being an outsider. Alberta is also known for being a western, farmland based Province so it just made sense to us.
Brothers: We heavily use personal experiences for all of our collections. The theme for Horizons is sort of treated like a new beginning for the brand and a future to look forward to.
Migs: Horizons marks the beginning as to what design language we want to use for the future, a step further into developing our vision. Mixing traditional designs and silhouettes while modernizing it, which is part of the Outlaws ethos.
Deion: Regarding the jazz track, we are all fans of Japanese jazz and thought that it set the mood for how we wanted to present it to our audience.
YOUR BRAND IS AT THE CROSS-SECTION OF STREETWEAR AND ‘LUXURY,’ FASHION, BUT WE ALSO SEE MORE RADICAL DESIGNS SUCH AS THE REVERSIBLE CANYON VEST. WHAT IS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THESE WILDER PIECES? HOW DO THESE PIECES ALLOW YOU TO FLEX YOUR CREATIVITY, ESPECIALLY WITH IT ALL BEING MANUFACTURED IN-HOUSE RIGHT HERE?
Miguel: There’s no real inspiration behind the wilder pieces, I mainly let my mind flow while I design anything, be it more straight forward or loud. I just work with a base template of what I try to make and go from there. Like I’m an artist painting on a blank canvas. If it’s a jacket I just move with what I think would look sick or, what kind of vibe we are trying to go for. I went through 3 samples that were completely different from one another. It’s a free flow process, but at the same time I have the team to give me feedback on what everyone likes.
Brothers: We have the structure of outlaws however, everything is still very free flowing, we have a lot of freedom in designing with how we feel in that moment. It also allows us to make as many samples as we want at no cost.
Canyon Vest
THERE ARE MANY YOUNG DESIGNERS COMING OUT OF CANADA RIGHT NOW, CREATING AN INCREDIBLY EXCITING SCENE. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY FOR SO LONG, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CURRENT FASHION UNIVERSE?
Miguel: I think menswear is definitely having its moment right now, a lot more guys are starting to care about how they look which leads to more menswear brands coming into the light.
Francis: It’s exciting that a lot more designers are coming up but I think a lot are uninspired at the moment. I think the market in general is getting too saturated with so many brands making the same things. It’s definitely important to try and find your own identity.
Mike: I think people just need to wear whatever they want and what makes them feel good.
WE SEE HOW THIS MISHMASH OF ‘LUXURY,’ FASHION, AND STREETWEAR ARE THE LATEST FASHION TREND, BUT WORLD OF OUTLAWS SEEMS TO TAKE IT ONE STEP FURTHER AND SHOWS US THE NEXT STAGE OF THIS MOVEMENT. WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO EVOLVE OVER THE YEARS? AND HOW DO YOU SEE THIS TREND DEVELOPING? WHERE DO YOU SEE IT HEADING NEXT?
Mike: It’s important to evolve since fashion is always changing, chances are you’re not going to like what you did a few years ago.
Migs: Evolving to me means you’re always improving, I would rather not stay stagnant. With that being said, we always try to speak to what Outlaws should look like.
Deion: I think it’s just going to keep going, the whole reason those 2 worlds are being mixed is because it’s more accessible to the general audience. Personally, I would like to see brands go further back into their roots and go less streetwear but that’s just me.
Migs: Regarding us, we are trying to take a high-street approach. Delivering consumers an opportunity to indulge in a luxury experience at a more accessible, casual level.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BRANDS THAT INSPIRE YOU?
Francis: I really like Our Legacy, a lot of their pieces are very original. Basketcase Gallery, they have a really strong brand identity which is very cohesive. I mainly get inspired by fashion eras, I don’t follow too many brands.
Migs: I don’t really look to brands for inspiration, I mainly look to designers. Helmut Lang when Helmut was designing is a big inspiration for me.
Deion: Same, I can’t think of any brands from the top of my head but I love Rhuigi, he’s the pinoy king. First Filipino to make it out the hood in the fashion game…
CAN YOU DIVE INTO YOUR MUSICAL BACKGROUND AND HOW AND IN WHAT WAYS IT MAY HAVE INSPIRED YOUR BRAND’S DIRECTION?
Team: Music hasn’t really inspired the pieces themselves, it’s more of a tool to set the vibe for after the collection is done. That being said, we all love a wide variety of music. Mike, Deion and Fran all DJ on the side as well so music definitely plays a big part in our lives as individuals.
FINALLY, WHAT’S NEXT FOR WORLD OF OUTLAWS? ARE THERE ANY FUTURE PROJECTS OR COLLECTIONS THAT WE SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON?
Team: We can’t say too much right now, but I can say that we are focusing on building a core collection. We haven’t announced this officially but we do have a runway show coming up that all of our brain power has gone into. We can’t say too much but definitely follow us on instagram to stay updated, we have a lot of crazy things coming.
THANK YOU FOR READING: AND A FINAL GODSPEED TO OUTLAW&CREW
THE WORLD OF OUTLAWS SOCIALS:
MIGUEL ESTILONG:
DEION RAMOS:
FRANCIS ESTILONG:
MICHAEL PARRENAS:
PHOTOS COURTESY OF:
Repost - Original article written by hashnain