Craft On The Net | Garbstore
March 3, 2010 | Jason Dike
The heritage boom has led to a mini-backlash of sorts; it’s become harder for brands to hop onto the bandwagon without intense scrutiny. While newcomers may undergo a harder ride because of this, it’ll only help brands like Garbstore.
Helmed by Ian Paley, Garbstore is a store/clothing line which, in Paley’s own words during a Style Salvage interview, means ”clothing shop’. ‘I like the use of the word garb because like so many other things these days , it’s use is dying out’.
Prior to Garbstore Paley worked at Paul Smith, where he was the designer of their casual wear. He then launched Paul Smith sub-brand R.Newbold, a Japan-only offshoot that can now can be found in London. He stated in an interview with Hypebeast that this experience was ‘my real introduction to the craft of making good jeans and weaving great denim’. Stints at Burberry, advertising and launching his own line One True Saxon followed before he eventually launched Garbstore.
The clothing line and store were launched in conjunction, focusing on heritage based products and Japanese made US-influenced clothing. In an interview with Hypebeast, Paley said that ‘the best American stuff is re-made and improved by the Japanese because of the superior construction techniques and buoyant domestic textile industry’.

An oft-overlooked topic in the blogosphere’s love of all things Japanese is the sizing issue. Japanese frames are typically slimmer and their clothes are remade for that frame. Paley recognised this, saying that ‘it’s something we addressed right from the start with all of our Japanese brands. As long as you know how to change things then it’s really not too hard’.
While local manufacture has turned into a buzz topic amongst a niche crowd, Garbstore have bucked the trend by proudly stating their clothes are made in China, producing features on their site stating why they do so. ‘it’s a real trend to try and in-still ‘heritage’ into your product,’ He states. ‘It’s really appearing to be fake now. So boring. We just love our manufacturers, and are happy to share in their own successes’.



It was only then that the company started introducing footwear into the collection, eventually morphing into a fully fledged footwear label. Gourmet are a company who wear their influences on their sleeves - sometimes to their own detriment. “Obviously Gourmet is influenced by Nike, they were doing all this first.” Jon stated in an interview with BNTL.co.uk that “When we did that Jordan flip shoe they dropped a federal lawsuit on us.”

