Keegan Simon, up & coming designer of the much-buzzed-about line 1ndividual, has been a purveyor of guerrilla fashions for four years. His elaborate designs show just how committed he is to bringing across his messages, likes and dislikes, beliefs and ideas – for him, designing is a cerebral process. This is no wonder: Simon’s answers were long – as he talks, you can just hear the gears whizzing in his brain. His air is one of a person who is completely unassuming and intimidatingly eager, but that’s just to distract you from what’s really going on. He simply can’t talk as fast as he thinks, and it seemed like he was constantly thinking … or plotting.
So, when Simon decided to visit Toronto for a couple of weeks looking for downtime, we knew that we had to interview him while we had the chance, and so The Dog commissioned Z to spend a day with Simon on the streets of downtown Toronto, check out some cool stores, and ask him 20 Questions. They stared down some teflon Supras, picked out a pair of red zebra striped Wayfarers for Simon’s, ahem, “wifey,” (ooooooh!) and checked out some graffiti artists tagging a wall on Queen Street with The Watchmen graphics. But it wasn’t all play and no work: we got those 20 Questions in, but nicked the last one, which was actually The Dog begging him for some free Dog-tailored 1ndividual jeans. We’re not sure what arrangement they came to, but the last we checked, we saw The Dog sulking in a corner. Pants-less.
THE ANGRY POTHOUND: So you just landed in T.O. for a couple weeks, on the heels of Red Runway where you showed off your latest work. We also know you participated in the show last year. Tell us about Red Runway 2009: how was it? Especially compared to Red Runway 2008?
KEEGAN SIMON: How was it this year? It was … shit. (laughs) No no, arrite ok, ok. Both were, in the most respectful way of saying, shit, but this one was real shit. But, I LOVE the promoter cuz the promoter’s my boy, Keron Ward, so I can’t really say the word “shit.”
T.A.P.: Oh God, that sounds awful. And juicy. The Dog wants more details.
K.S.: First off, for last year, it was a really nice venue, but they had no runway. There was none. So, what they did was partition people, so the negative space in the crowd actually made the runway. This year, they had a runway (dramatic pause) … but it was planks of wood.
T.A.P.: You’re joking. We think you may be kidding, for real.
K.S.: I’m not talking about fat planks of wood, I mean planks like “Walk The Plank”, pirates, arrrrrr, planks of wood. I’m dead serious.
T.A.P.: We worry that this is gonna be bad PR for them, so we’re doing a nice, little topic switch. But, nice pirate impression. You are currently doing your thing in Jamaica, how are people receiving you over there?
K.S.: Oh yeah, they receive me quite well, man. But, it’s a lot more difficult to do it because they don’t have as much in terms of those types of resources as they do in Trinidad. So, I just developed two different styles. If I’m in Trinidad, I will do vinyl cutting and printing, which is a more advanced look; but in Jamaica, I do silkscreens, which is basically typical t-shirt printing material. It sucks, cuz I have to go searching for like a little shop that will do it. But that’s how it is, I like that though, and it’s really nice cuz I actually prefer silkscreens. It’s cheaper anyway and I can mash shit out faster.
T.A.P.: But how do you feel people receive 1ndividual in Jamaica, as opposed to Trinidad? Are there similarities, are they feeling your stuff more in Jamaica?
K.S.: I actually thought of that kinda stuff before I even made my stuff. If I’m in Jamaica, I try to make more Jamaica-oriented clothes, same goes for Trinidad. They receive it quite well either way. They receive it better than I ever thought people would receive it, which is crazy.
Simon pretending to beg on Queen Street, Toronto. Needless to say, he was dressed way too fly to make much money.
T.A.P.: No no, it’s not crazy. We here at The Angry Pothound have been 1ndividual supporters for a hot minute now. The Dog is just gonna go ahead and say it for us all: WE HEART YOUR CLOTHES! What first inspired you to start 1ndividual?
K.S.: I woke up one morning and I said to myself that I was tired of wearing ticks on my chest, or three stripes on my shoulder. So I decided, you know, that I should try doing something different, start making clothes for me, start making clothes for myself, just, ya know, things that I like.
T.A.P.: Any particular boy/girl/animal/place/thing/tv show/(total, heh heh) that really inspired you to start 1ndividual, besides having that flash moment that one day?
K.S.: In terms of where, I guess it’s just the fact that I’ve been all over the world, and I’ve seen all these things, and I’d like a style but realized that I couldn’t get it in Trinidad. The “who” (pauses, looks pensive for a moment) … I dunno, could be me, I guess I inspired myself, heyyyy.
T.A.P.: Admirable, truly admirable. We see you’ve been following our Commandments. So, that means that you must know The Angry Pothound’s 2nd Commandment. You also do elaborate designs for t-shirts, which is a pretty huge trend. This leads to the big question, and The Dog will be judging your response: Sooo, Ed Hardy?
K.S.: (sighs) Lemme start. Ed Hardy, basically, are tattoos that he designed, and Christian Audigier put them on shirts. There’s pros and cons to Ed Hardy. The pros of it are the aesthetics, very similar to what I want to do: the thin materials, that kinda beaten-up, worn style, the kinda “Oh my God, I got bleach on certain parts, who gives a fuck” – that style. I like that whole attitude. But, there’s a difference between simplicity and not trying hard enough. Like Ice Cream and Billionaire Boys’ Club – they don’t try hard enough, they don’t try at all, they just put down a design and sell it for, like, a million dollars because it comes from Japan and people suck it up like the “sheeple” that they are. I mean, I can’t knock the hustle, and I respect everything that everybody does, it’s just that sometimes I choose to do things differently because there’s a difference between making money and making clothes.
T.A.P.: “Sheeple?” The Dog loves it, going to steal that one. Will give you credit for it though (crosses paws behind back). Anyway, you seem to know your market and your game, so name your three favourite designers, and no you’re not allowed to name yourself.
K.S.: That’s unfair.
T.A.P.: Uhh, why is it unfair?
K.S.: Cuz it’s me! I mean, if you’re an artist, and you have to make reference to other artists, why can’t you use yourself as an artist?
T.A.P.: True. But there has to be someone else that you like. Like REALLY like.
K.S.: Ok, gonna rack my brain for this one. Ummm (pauses, thinks for a while). Well, I like Alien Workshop. And LRG, for sure. LRG is the father of how I started off my designs. If you look carefully at my logo, it has the same arrow design as the LRG circle. But the one I designed has a different meaning to it. I was heavily influenced by LRG until they got all gay (laughs). And my third favourite designer is every other designer I hate.
Graffiti artists doing a Watchmen wall on Queen Street.
T.A.P.: Wow 1ndi, strong words there. You hafta give The Dog more background than that. And be succinct 1ndi, you’re rambling.
K.S.: Ok, wow (laughs sheepishly). I see designers that I don’t like, and I see designs that I don’t like, and I use that as reference to say “that’s what I shouldn’t do.” I’m a heavy observer, I observe things that shouldn’t be observed, sift them through my brain, and I break things down in a complex way, quicker than most people do it, when it comes to designing. Point blank. And with that said, if I do my thing similar to what other people have done, it’s because I chose to do it, not because I fucked up.
T.A.P.: Well, you seem to really know where you wanna be and where you’re going. Speaking of where you’re going … we know some ladies have been begging for you to start doing more designs and pieces for women. The Dog even wants to know more. Is that a direction you’re going to explore in the future?
K.S.: Well, the men’s stuff, for me, is really easy, because as a man I just pick up myself and make jeans and t-shirts. But for the females, it really puts me back, ‘cause I actually spend more time thinking about women’s style and their allure. The thing is, my designs are unisex, so it doesn’t really matter if males or females wear them. But, I wanna make things more women-oriented, dresses and stuff like that. But I’m trying to get myself away from what I’m doing now, like I did the graphic look and I like this right now, but now I’m trying to push myself, and deconstruct most of my ideas and concepts to make new things for women.
Simon at "Bang-On" near Dundas Square, checking out some tees.
T.A.P.: Random Question Of The Day: chicken or fish?
K.S.: Chicken (looks at us as if to say “Duh!”)
T.A.P.: Don’t get rude 1ndi, The Dog just likes to keep his interviewees on their toes. Quick, what’s in your closet?
K.S.: Other than my clothes in my closet, the other clothes in my closet are blank clothes for my designs to go on.
T.A.P.: Hmmm, good answer. Deep. Eh, we know this is random, but do you follow Karl Lagerfeld on Twitter?
K.S.:Yeah I do now, ‘cause a friend told me I should.
T.A.P.: The Dog will take credit for that one, you can thank him later. We hear Karl has the best tweets. Any tweets of his that you really like?
K.S.: Oh my Lawd, I can’t remember all of them, but I do know that Karl Lagerfeld’s tweets have a kind of Chuck Norris-esque thing to them. Umm, one of my favourites is “I only wear the latest thing, it’s my job.” That’s pretty much a benchmark I should live by.
T.A.P.: Good one. The Dog personally likes this one: “Florals are for middle-aged women with weight problems.” Anyhow, to sum it up in one sentence, where do you see 1ndividual in five years, or ten years for that matter?
K.S.: Influential, very on-the-tip-of-people’s-tongues, even if it ends up being like a Caribbean Billabong-type thing, I at least still just want it to be influential.
T.A.P.: Ok, soooo clearly you just ran with it when I asked you to sum it up in one sentence. So, The Dog is gonna run with it too, and ask: Can he have a free 1ndividual t-shirt? The Dog looks best in white, but don’t give him one cuz he always gets it dirty – too many bitches bothering him at the dog park. Now that we’ve got your sympathy, can he please have an 1ndividual t-shirt?
K.S.: Sure. I’ll give him one for the free publicity. Let’s make this happen.
For more information about Keegan Simon's designs, photos and to look at the 1ndividual 2009 series, check out The 1ndividual Aesthetic on Facebook.
