Tell us something about you & your background?

Liam: Rather than in fashion my background is actually in visual arts and graphic design, I have always loved fashion but until Wes and I partnered up I had never taken an honest stab at making clothes myself.

Wesley: My mother is Somalian and lived there until she was 18, and my dad is English and grew up in and lived around Canada his whole life. I’m so thankful for the experiences they gave me early in life. I think often about trips we would take as a family and spend immersed in nature. I think those trips are what planted the seed for the passion I feel as an adult toward the protection of our planet.

Describe something that excites you about the fashion industry

Liam: For me the most exciting thing about the fashion industry is all of the places that different individuals with different backgrounds can take it, and the different mediums of expression that people are exploring day in and day out. For Wes and I the biggest excitement I find day to day is how we can continue to do our part to push the industry in a direction that makes it more sustainable and better for the planet, as well as the people involved in the production of the garments.

Wesley: I don’t know really. Recently I’ve been feeling a little bit like I’ve accidentally peeked behind the curtain, some of the shininess is gone. Don’t get me wrong I still love ‘fashion’, and almost every day I find myself getting excited about clothes I’m making, or seeing, but it’s no secret that there is a dream sold to fans of fashion, and I think everyone who is determined to venture into the industry quickly learns that. Regardless, I’ve always been excited by the potential fashion holds to embolden individuals though, because it can give them the courage and means to express themselves openly. At its best it I think fashion can facilitate some of the most pure and raw representations of human experience.

What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? 

Liam: I’d say my biggest strength is my ability to combine and synthesize the things that make me who I am and the things that excite me, and reconstitute them into a different medium. My biggest weakness is similar to the strength, but sometimes I can focus too much on the things that I like and don’t go searching for new sources of inspiration or ideas.

Wesley: I think my greatest strength is my ability to relentlessly, ponder an idea until I progress the initial nugget to its end; the moral, the result. It sounds like an almost pathetically simple strength, but this dedication to ‘working things out’ in my mind is what enables me to help the people around me, and beyond, and that’s what I really care about. The only problem is this very quickly tips over into the realm of overthinking, and that’s why it is also my greatest weakness.

How do you stay updated with the trends in the fashion industry?

Liam: To be honest I really don’t. For the longest time I’ve just tried to wear stuff that makes me happy. 90% of the time that manifests as black pants and a wrestling shirt.

Wesley: For the most part I actively try to stay to stay unaware of trends, although it’s impossible to not be at least subtly aware. I do love Business of Fashion.

Who is your favourite designer?

Liam: David Carson, who is a famous graphic designer responsible for creating Ray Gun magazine and subsequently igniting my passion for typography.

Wesley: At the moment it’s Walter Van Bierendonck.

What advice would you give the new designers?

Liam: If I’m being honest I feel like I should be asking for advice, not giving it. But if I had too, it would be to just make what you like, ignore the noise, and stop comparing yourself to others.

Wesley: It’s incredibly cliché, but maybe there is a reason for why; BE YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF. Spend zero time with comparisons, rumination or hypothesizing, and just learn who you are, what interests you, and what inspires you. Almost everyone deals with self-doubt, especially with information being sent at you so rapidly, it’s easy to begin to compare yourself. I think itsimportant for young designers to develop a voice of their ownfree from the, at times, imposing influence of others.

What do you do to stay inspired?

Liam: Consume as much art from as many different mediums as I can.

Wesley: My friends play a huge roll in my creative stamina. They are all such talented and giving people, I really feed off their energy when mine is running low.

Where do you find inspiration, and what’s your creative process?

Liam: I find inspiration the most In places that exist outside of the realm I’m creating in, whether it be from music or movies or sports - really it can be anything - I focus on capturing an emotion from whatever outside source I’m drawing from and then try and communicate that visually.

Wesley: I ask myself these questions all the time, haha. My sources of inspiration and process are fluid and it feels like they constantlyshift. More often than not, I’m awakened by something, a conversation with a friend about how they are doing, a historical event, contemporary culture shifts, it could be anything. Whatever it may be; something comes along and ignites pure engagement in me, and often a certain amount of introspection. I revisit this initial spark, I become obsessed with this catalyst, and a concept forms surrounding it, for me to base a design off of. What the design is meant to communicate about the concept is entirely dependent upon the idea, but one common theme is that the resulting creations feel like part of a tapestry, to me. Feelings or moments made into physical, lasting objects.

What was the moment you realized you turn this into more than just a passion?

Liam: When Wes and I received our first shipment of stuff for CARBON.

Wesley: Two years ago roughly. I had to take some time away from school to deal with mental health issues, and was really just extremely distraught with the fact I didn’t believe I would ever be able to make a living doing something that makes me truly happy. It took a lot of unlearning, and reformatting my thinkingfor me to come to what now feels like an obvious conclusion.