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  • Geoffrey B. Small
    Senior Member
    • Nov 2007
    • 618

    (continued from above)











    .

    Comment

    • Lohikaarme
      Senior Member
      • Jul 2013
      • 624

      Hi Geoffrey,

      A lot of/most of the designs you've shown here all have a sort of old-time look, somewhat similar to Paul Harnden for lack of better phrasing.

      However, looking at your past stuff, both on your website and elsewhere, your style has very greatly changed, for instance,




      What prompted this sort of huge change? (unless of course there's another Geoffrey B small floating around somewhere )

      Comment

      • Geoffrey B. Small
        Senior Member
        • Nov 2007
        • 618

        "apples and oranges"

        .
        Thanks Lohikaarme for your question, but with all due respect, I think you need to learn a lot more about our work. There is no other Geoffrey B. Small floating around. You also need to change your phrasing. So to clear some things up, I am going to be frank at a time 3 days before our next Paris show, when honestly, I feel have a lot better and more important things to do, nevertheless I cannot have your statement as it is written sitting here for all to see without some direct reply to it from me...

        So first, let's get a few things straight.

        We don't "look like them." They look like us.

        A person that can't sew cannot be equated with what we are and what we do. For the record, we were doing our kind of clothes years before the brand you refer to. If you really know the 2 products (which you clearly do not at the moment), you will know there is a huge difference between them- what is behind them, and certainly, what goes into them. They are nothing like each other in any way. The fact that certain interests have managed to promo a certain "story," or perhaps better worded, lack of story--is not our problem. We don't care about reaching people who are too lazy or too dumb to do their homework. We don't have to. We are too busy selling to smarter, more-informed customers who do, and creating new ideas, new techniques, and new work… to even look at one-hit wonders content to keep banging out the same old models and concept in the same old fabrics year after year in the guise of being something important. That's a lame excuse these days for not having real creation capability and it just won't cut it…

        If I wanted to become the Brooks Brothers or J.Crew of the 21st century, I might consider going that route, especially when my real creative capacity lay in people who worked for me at one time, but are now long gone. But understand that by the time "Racer-X" even started a label, we had already been making clothes at the Paris level for a decade (that's around 40 collections) and making (and I mean really making) clothes by hand for people for almost 2 and a half decades. Please don't equate a real tailoring house, (one of the best in the world right now), with merchants who subcontract production out to factories and manage to convince people that an industrial product is an artisanal one when it isn't. Our clothes have always had an 'old-time look' as you phrase it, because they have always been made in an old-time way. It's the process. The fact that others, have manufactured their products to look like they were made with that type of process, is what you are now seeing in the marketplace today-- and frankly it's a fake--and anyone who really knows their stuff can see it from a mile away.

        We are not interested in fakes, we are the real thing, and have been so for almost four decades. You write about our "past stuff" so lightly. You have no idea how much of it there is, and how much of it has been bought, studied and turned over inside-out and upside-down by so many designers in this game it would make your head spin. But you don't hear that from them, or the magazines or the blogs or the interests who are more interested in selling something else for their own selfish and commercial reasons. So I understand that what you know and have access to may be limited. But please, try to have a little more respect for who we are, and what we do, and yes, what we have already done for so many, many years. And try to get off your screen and out into the real world. Visit one of our dealers and experience in your hands and on your body some of our real clothes and real work along with all of the others you seem to feel are so 'similar' to us--and maybe then you will wake up and begin to get the reality.

        Always copied and never credited, that is the heavy price that we have had to always pay as a result of making the bold decision to commit ourselves to really designing and creating things, instead of going after hype, public relations and pushing product. While we are totally tied up dealing with the extreme and risky difficulties of the successful realization of new ideas, there are always others who avoid these risks and are free to spend their time and efforts schmoozing, getting their names more out there and better known, and getting both the credit and the sales in far larger circles than we have been able to, so that people in your position can get duped. So be it.

        Our aim has always been to be a designer's designer, and we've been ahead of the game and ahead of the pack since we started almost 40 years ago in an attic outside of Boston with nothing but an old Singer sewing machine and a dream to put the human being back into the clothes in every aspect possible. And we have never looked back. You can't be a survivor let alone a leader for over 90 collections at the Paris avant-garde level without changing and renewing yourself and your work continuously. And that is a lesson that is being, or going to be, learned now by some names here on SZ, who haven't put out something new, and I mean anything new, in almost, and in some cases...over, a decade now.

        Change you see, is a fundamental part of our work and our metier- always has been.. and always will be. In the words of David Geller the great master agent of New York, "you must always be 6 months ahead of your customer." So that's what we do, we stay ahead of everyone by at least six months.

        That is why the Paris runway, not the just the showroom, is the acid test for the real creative designer in this game, especially now. The hidden secret anonymous showroom-only-presentation-thing is done and over for the time being. And unlike so-and-so ad infinitum, who have never done a single defile show in their entire career, we have been in that vicious and grueling arena for decades.

        Please don't mix us up with all of them.

        We don't farm out our production to factories, we don't need outside firms or streams of unpaid interns to create prototypes for us like 99 percent of the firms in the game including a vast number of so-called "artisan designers." And we never stand still and rest on our laurels and try to milk the market by continuously reselling the same old thing we once got famous for... ad nauseum. We don't have to do that. We like creating new things. And unlike so many of the fakers and posers out there, we are good at it. We own our production 100% and we have the world's greatest prototype creation team, all in-house to do just that. We put a ton of money from our sales and deliveries into our people and their training and development for the long haul, because we know that that is where the real gold is. In the people who work with you. The firm is owned and run by a real designer (not a finance person or a holding company) who knows how to perform every single aspect of the creation process from front to back, from making a pattern to sales and distribution--and is dedicated to raising the bar of creation to levels never seen before.

        We change our work, because we like to create. In fact, we love it. That is our passion, that is what we do this thing for. Unlike others who do it for money, or power, or ego, we do it for Art- and the never ending quest to reach higher… and compete with ourselves and the best people doing the best work out there season after season, year after year, in the toughest design arena in the world- the Paris avant garde.

        So anybody who thinks that what we do looks like someone else, does not know what we do and what this metier is all about.

        They are fundamentally clueless when it comes to the real game, and what goes on behind it- a brutally tough game that we have been successfully a part of now for over 3 decades. And that is all I have time to say, as I am racing with my team today to finish our new women's collection which is really going to show some change next week, not sitting around and bitching about the world around me and raising my prices without raising my quality or yes, my creativity, correspondingly. We have no time or patience for that kind of thing.

        To make that point even more clear, I will also quickly inform you that the 2 pieces in your photos are recycle production pieces of designs from the 1990's which are almost 2 decades old- years before anonymous had even ventured to put a shingle out on the lampost to make shoes (not clothes). You need to note that each of those two designs were first-in-the-world concepts from our phenomenal recycled design collections period in Boston that presaged dozens of our esteemed and respected colleagues and competitor's copies or interpretations that came out later (like the use of all those metal zippers for example). While they may appear old and common place to you today, their look and their techniques were absolutely unique, and cutting-edge at the time they were created and shown in Paris. And they each have their own special stories, which, if you know the true history of our work and our firm, hold a totally logical and correct place in a vast body of extensive (and still growing) art and design work...




        January 1998 Paris coverage of the R126 zip trousers from our landmark "Revolution" collection which established a
        new benchmark in recycle and deconstruction technical mastery for the industry and led to our licensing deal in Italy
        a few years later (MFF, Book Moda,Gap Collections).


        So much so in fact, that IF in New York has just recently asked us to recreate a selection of these types of pieces exclusively for their store next year in yes, 2016. 20 years after their first introduction. And if you think that is a big change, you should see what we were doing in the 1980's. Change is what we do. That's what designers in Paris are...

        Comment

        • Geoffrey B. Small
          Senior Member
          • Nov 2007
          • 618

          (continued from above)

          ...called upon and expected to deliver. Consistently. And we stand by our record of our works. Every single one of them. 36 years worth of them. For almost 4 decades we have been a world leader raising the art and science of making clothes by hand and are now finally getting known among both retailers and collector's of serious designer clothing the world over. In 1992 we became the first American designer to go to Paris and show an independent avant-garde collection to the world press and buyers at the highest levels of design. Before Jeremy Scott, before Marc Jacobs, before Tom Ford, before Rick Owens, before Thom Browne, before In Aisce, before them all. Before us, American designers did not show in Paris. It was unheard of. If you were a designer in the United States, you showed your work in New York. Period. Not anymore.




          This article in early 1994 in Women's Wear Daily written by Mary Ellen Gordon
          on our first Paris runway show created a shock wave in the U.S. designer
          industry, proving that for the first time in history, a relatively unknown American
          independent designer with little money could actually present original avant-garde
          work successfully in Paris instead of New York, and went on to inspire and pave the
          way for a whole new movement of American designers to cross the Atlantic and
          present their work to a global audience in the world capital of fashion.



          Since then, we have led the research end of our industry and shown 93 collections in Paris- more than any other American designer in the history of metier. While we are not for everybody, our collections have pioneered and spearheaded a long list of industry trends and movements that I cannot even begin to spell out for you in full detail from reviving bespoke clothing (1984), recycle design (1993), designer streetwear (1995), Napoleonic style (2004), medieval style (2006), global warming (2007), to sustainability & hyper-quality (2008), nuclear issues (2010), civil liberties & activism (2012), and yes, even some decent tailored clothes for people in a depressed perpetual war global economy (2004--present) that have and continue to influence and inspire other designers and brands across the industry and around the world. Just look around at all the tailored designer collections out there right now and consider that before we launched our collection in that direction over 8 years ago, nobody was doing tailored classic clothing in avant-garde. All those jackets, suits, waistcoats, tailored trousers, shirts and neckties all came after we started doing it in Paris first and it stuck out like a sore thumb. Same with all that Napoleonic looking stuff. Same with the medieval stuff. Same with the recycle stuff. Same with the sustainability stuff. And on and on. Over 6,700 original and different prototype design pieces created and presented at the highest levels. Over 26,000 handmade individual pieces created to order for store clients and individuals across the globe. All from a collection and a name that has focused itself on being first in the field at whatever risk and price necessary- to research, propose, and lead, advanced clothing design in directions that the rest of the industry can follow. You may not know about us in this regard, but key people at every major design label in the business do, and they watch everything we do. I am not going to name any names, but believe me, they are all on the list.

          So as always, we have to stay ahead of them too. And we do, especially now as our creative capacity, technologies, and human resources are reaching extraordinary new heights. It brings to mind a bit of the 13th century in Italy, when centuries of stiff, unchanging, emotionless Byzantine painting were suddenly being challenged by the new art of Giotto, Simone Martini and Ambrogio Lorenzetti which brought emotion, volume and 3-dimensional form and shapes using perspective to the viewer and began to change the world as it was seen and portrayed from the centuries old monotony of an old regime. Huge change? You bet. We believe in change, and we embrace it and promote it every day.

          Comparing us to a you know who, is like comparing the house of Ferrari at Marinello and all of its accomplishments to a single Triumph Spitfire. The Spitfire is a nice machine, and has its merits and its fans. But we are worlds apart. In thinking, approach, technical capacity, quality of product, track-records of design accomplishment and commitment, and, perhaps most importantly, human spirit and how we view and treat our fellow human co-workers, associates and customers. And believe me, if we are going to have a little go at it on the same piece of roadway, it's not even going to be close.

          Apples and oranges. It's not correct, or smart, to mix them up. Please do your homework more thoroughly. And change your phrasing. Next time you post on this thread, try to show a little more respect and preparation for who you are talking to, along with an apology to all the people I work with, and the other designers you think you can just lump together into some "look" you feel you can just make up to categorize us with. Then maybe, we will be more open to discuss our design work with you in more detail and openness. But as you saw fit to write what you wrote for all the world to see, some things have to be straightened out first before we can get anywhere. I hope you understand where we are coming from.

          Thank you very much.

          With respect, and best wishes,

          Geoffrey
          for all of the people with whom I have the honor
          to work, and collaborate with, on our collections.










          P.S. delivery ad for the new WSJ10special super suit in Biella pure hand dyed virgin wool Prince of Wales glen plaid cloth just created for Hostem in London with fully hand-padstitched canvas front and collar construction, our exclusive double-breasted hidden stitch handsewn fly-front closure and the spectacular 5-button working handsewn buttonhole sleeve cuff with Fontana's 3844 pure horn button which takes us over 2 hours just to create the buttonholes and button story for the sleeve cuffs alone. All elements that 'whoever-they-are' cannot even touch or get close to pulling off. To give you an idea, that sleeve design alone is unique in the world--just the sleeve cuff--and is not to be confused with any machine-made, plastic look-alike version banged out in about one seventh of the time in some factory. Apples and oranges. If you are going to be serious about this field and where it is going, you need to learn to know the difference.



          .

          Comment

          • byhand
            Senior Member
            • Dec 2011
            • 273

            Mr. Small, do you still make the "4 shirts in one" with detachable collars? I know you debuted that particular piece years ago, but it seems to be a design that can be a staple item year after year in your line. I suspect you make it in a variety of fabrics? Can it be special ordered through your retailers or from you directly?
            Last edited by byhand; 09-29-2015, 10:55 PM.

            Comment

            • surver
              Senior Member
              • Oct 2007
              • 638

              Geoffrey

              it's amazing, pathetic, and actually very sad re the amount of naivete, or rather, ignorance, floating out there nowadays... a real failure of education in every aspect as the world 'progresses' technologically... sigh...

              BEST OF LUCK w Paris

              Comment

              • justin_bridou
                Member
                • Feb 2015
                • 40

                Originally posted by surver View Post
                it's amazing, pathetic, and actually very sad re the amount of naivete, or rather, ignorance, floating out there nowadays... a real failure of education in every aspect as the world 'progresses' technologically... sigh...
                Would you elaborate a bit more about this surver ? I 'm not sure to understand

                Comment

                • Faust
                  kitsch killer
                  • Sep 2006
                  • 37849

                  Originally posted by justin_bridou View Post
                  Would you elaborate a bit more about this surver ? I 'm not sure to understand
                  I think what he's trying to say is that these days the internet is dominated by people who have learned their "facts" via second hand information on the internet and not first hand. They don't know history, have not experienced the things in person - they simply regurgitate misinformation. I agree.
                  Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                  StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                  Comment

                  • surver
                    Senior Member
                    • Oct 2007
                    • 638

                    Originally posted by Faust View Post
                    I think what he's trying to say is that these days the internet is dominated by people who have learned their "facts" via second hand information on the internet and not first hand. They don't know history, have not experienced the things in person - they simply regurgitate misinformation. I agree.
                    thank you eugene

                    i couldn't be bothered to even reply :P

                    Comment

                    • Faust
                      kitsch killer
                      • Sep 2006
                      • 37849

                      You are not the first to voice this complaint. There is definitely a lot of misinformation on the Internet. That's why it's doubly important to have people like Geoffrey comment first-hand. I wish other designers followed suit (or at least allowed StyleZeitgeist magazine to tell the story )
                      Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                      StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                      Comment

                      • surver
                        Senior Member
                        • Oct 2007
                        • 638

                        Originally posted by Faust View Post
                        You are not the first to voice this complaint. There is definitely a lot of misinformation on the Internet. That's why it's doubly important to have people like Geoffrey comment first-hand. I wish other designers followed suit (or at least allowed StyleZeitgeist magazine to tell the story )
                        it's a hard battle to fight as 'information' is sooo prevalent with no 'check' out there... but nevertheless we all should try...

                        Comment

                        • justin_bridou
                          Member
                          • Feb 2015
                          • 40

                          Originally posted by Faust View Post
                          I think what he's trying to say is that these days the internet is dominated by people who have learned their "facts" via second hand information on the internet and not first hand. They don't know history, have not experienced the things in person - they simply regurgitate misinformation. I agree.
                          thank you, I did not understand that way... there would be a lot to say about this, the first being that there is certainly no true "history". There may be as many versions of the story as individuals, and the truth may be something in between.
                          i know, I 'll suffer from the wrath of god, as G. is a true hero on the forum, but aS I truly ADMIRE the man, his work, and his personal struggles (I even personally wrote to him to get some help in finding pieces...), and as I understand his will to be a public person and explain his position, I have to say that I generally feel a bit discomforted with this tendency to auto-glorification.

                          Comment

                          • byhand
                            Senior Member
                            • Dec 2011
                            • 273

                            Originally posted by justin_bridou View Post
                            I generally feel a bit discomforted with this tendency to auto-glorification.
                            This characteristic is required in any entrepreneurial pursuit. If a person doesn't have an unbridled belief in himself, he has no hope of ever succeeding in a lasting way in our unforgiving and competitive world. I'm happy that Mr. Small is so passionate about what he does. Otherwise, he and his team wouldn't be making such glorious clothing. Have you ever known of a person so fixated on buttonholes? We've all heard about the buttonholes. This ability to fixate combined with technical ability and artistry is what allows a person to create something extraordinary.

                            He essentially acts as his own publicist here in this forum and elsewhere. It's usual for folks to hire somebody else to beat the drum, so we are used to hearing someone other than the designer sing the praises of the work sent out into the world. Mr. Small likes to keep it all in house: the financing, the publicity... and the buttonholes. Good for him, AND good for us.

                            A tip for those of you who want more GBS photos to salivate over, eth0s creates a sort of lookbook online whenever they get new work from GBS. It's worth your time to take a look.
                            Last edited by byhand; 09-30-2015, 12:53 PM.

                            Comment

                            • Eleven
                              Junior Member
                              • Sep 2014
                              • 10

                              Thank you so much Mr.Small for always giving such detailed explanation to everyone's queries. Good luck in your upcoming Paris show

                              Comment

                              • ADreamofBlue
                                Senior Member
                                • Sep 2015
                                • 194

                                Originally posted by justin_bridou View Post
                                I have to say that I generally feel a bit discomforted with this tendency to auto-glorification.
                                You should feel the opposite. Have you read what he writes? His passion is something we could all learn from. He clearly believes in himself and his team. His belief isn't baseless, either. You should feel comfortable buying something from him. One aspect to consider: what designer, on an international scale, hand-signs EVERY piece of clothing they produce? That's unheard of. When he signs that piece of clothing, it's his form of a blood seal showing it will stand the test of time in a fashion, and physical, sense. Small's a diamond in the rough, and I don't say that to stroke his ego.
                                who slips in to my body and whispers to my ghost?

                                Comment

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