stolenfriends

Total Look / StolenFriends

StolenFriends is an up & coming Australian clothing company, deeply rooted in skateboarding, self belief & expression. Brought to life by skateboarder and designer Jamie Clements in late 2013, the brand focuses on sportswear pieces suitable for young skaters and creatives. The Label itself is still in infancy, and is carefully being brought up by a heavily tattooed skater living in a small town. Schön! talks to Jamie Clements for the low-down on StolenFriends.

You’ve got a significant online following, particularly on Instagram, how integral has social media been to your growth?

I have a deep love hate relationship with social media, on one hand, it’s removed all realism from the act of being social. No one talks anymore, they just text. On the other hand, it’s helped connect me to people in countries I’ve never even been to. For example, one of the first purchases to my online store was from a couple in Canada; whom, without social media would have never even known my label exists. StolenFriends hasn’t been around long, so occurrence’s like that are surreal to me.  

You haven’t been around long, what is it about your brand that has people so interested? 

The Label itself is still in infancy, only months old, yet I’ve gotten such a large response from people. I’m just a goofy skater who needs to create something to feel alive, everyone has their own outlets; mine are skating & design. I guess people can relate to that and they like what I’m doing so far. Which I’m thankful for, without that support I wouldn’t be able to do what I do and my outlet would surely crash & burn.

You’re deeply rooted in the skate scene, how does Stolen Friends reflect this?

Skating is highly expressive & supportive, it doesn’t matter what background you come from, your age, sex or anything like that, we’re all just trying to have some fun, so if you skate, you are one of us. I try & reflect that into StolenFriends as much as possible, especially with supporting young riders; we currently sponsor a handful of local skaters/ bike riders and as the brand grows, so will the level of support I am capable of delivering.

It’s always going to be about giving back to the sport that’s never turned its back on us. 

Total Look / StolenFriends

Total Look / StolenFriends

And being based in Australia, how has this influenced your approach to design?

The expressive side comes naturally; we make clothes with cats & dog print, then also pieces with a political/spiritual agenda. Serious & fun notes all round, it is very much a living thing, a growing idea, one day it wants to be extroverted & adorned with loud prints or raise awareness on topics like our foolish government, the other, it is much more comfortable drenched in black sipping coffee. Being based in Australia, the approach to design has been  influenced mainly on the serious side in relation to current National issues, that said, most pieces just flow from what I’m feeling, so during the initial design stage I’ll sit down at my desk or computer, usually between the hours of 12 & 4 am and let the mind do its thing. 

Your second line is due to come out later this year, what can we expect?

I’ve found designing from that view has created a different release formula from the normal seasonal releases. It’s more so a piece of art, an extension of my fluctuating thoughts & feelings, and that’s how I treat it; to be released whenever I feel it’s ready to be seen by others. The current StolenFriends project I’m working on is a range of skateboard decks, merging my first love, skateboarding & design together.

Discover the designs of StolenFriends here.

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Total Look / StolenFriends

Total Look / StolenFriends