Feature: Reason Clothing NYC!!!

This week we have again a special feature on HighSnobiety: Reason Clothing. Reason is a brand from downtown New York City and a conglomerate of young designers that get together to create something outstanding and special. Nostalgic images are used to portray the urban lifestyle and culture of their youth.

For now Reason Clothing rolled out a collection of tee`s. As you will hear in the Interview later, this is only one first step in a lot of more sophisticated things to come. All tee`s are hand screenprinted on the finest cotton and are produced in limited quantities. The purpose of the brand is to fill a void in mens fashion while bridging the flashy street suave with the sophistication and allure of highsociety.

HighSnobiety was already a big fan as of the beginning, already due to the logo of Reason with the cylinder hat. Read the Interview, get to know the founders Jonathan Totaro and Philip Bassis. But mainly find out what Reason Clothing is all about and what you can expect from them in the near future. I can tell you already now: it`s a lot. For now they are already carried in Union and Nom de Guerre, just to name some of the big names. But the list is getting longer as you read on.



HighSnobiety: How is it going? Had a good day so far?

PhilipBassis: To be honest with you I just took a huge crap in my school bathroom so I guess you could say i’ve had better days.

JonathanTotaro: I’m just glad I saved myself some piff for this very moment. It’s been a long day.

HS: Tell me, whats your background? Where are you from? What did you do in your life until now?

PB: Part time stickup kid- full time hustler. Native New Yorker.
JT: We’re just kids from New York with a hustler mentality. If we weren’t out here slinging tee’s, we’d be slinging something else.

HS: You are the guys behind Reason Clothing, one of the new hot brands from NYC. Tell us who else is involved?

PB: Well Jon and I are the founders of Reason, but we would be nothing without our mobb- that means everybody who plays a role in the day to day operations of this company, including our interns, our team of artists and designers, friends, family, and everybody out there who lends a helping hand when it comes to taking The Reason Brand to the next level.



HS: What is Reason all about? Whats the philosophy behind the brand?

JT: Reason is the most innovative brand out right now. Our mission is to bridge the gap between flashy street suave and the sophistication and allure of high society by creating top quality products that continue to pioneer the industry in design and function.

HS: If you had to compare yourself to other clothing brands, which ones would those be?

PB: We are just out here doing our own thing trying to get paid- we could care less what other brands are doing.

HS: Tell us something about the Reason designs? What ist the inspiration of your designs?

PB: We are inspired by everything around us. Nameley, the streets of NY, high fashion, photography, hip hop, getting bent, punk music, our friends, our enemies, whatever. We are constantly inspired, I mean obviously everything that inspires us doesn’t end up on a Tshirt but we do have a pile of crap back at the crib that we consider ’inspirational’.

HS: For now you guys have t-shirts in the collection. What else is there to come? A whole collection? What are your future plans?

PB: We plan to move away from screen printed T-shirts and towards more cut and sew pieces. We are also looking to do a line of hats, jewelery, and even flasks. We would like Reason to be looked at as more of a lifestyle brand than just a T-shirt label, but that takes time, and more importantly, funds. Also be on the lookout for Reason Skateboards which is expected to drop later this month.

HS: Reason is still a very young brand, but you are already in some of the hottest shops in NYC. Union and Nom de Guerre, just to name a few. How did that come about? What Tips can you give people who would also like to start their own brand?

PB: We have been lucky enough to get picked up in some great shops. Not just in NY, but around the world, and for that we are greatful. As far as advice, we charge $300 an hour for consultations.... just kidding. Uhhhh, be original... know that if you are starting a brand you are going to face some major skepticizim (considering how saturated the market is right now) so your designs better be crack. And watch out for the bloggers, they can be brutal!!



HS: Now some more info on you. What were your major influences over the years, in terms of music, art and other stuff?

PB:Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, Stlyes P, Dipset, Dylan, Niel Young, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Aretha Franklin, and Louis Armstrong are some of my musical influences.
It’s hard to say what type of art we have have been influenced by considering that nither of us have had any formal schooling in art. Mostly just art on the streets of New York I guess.
JT: Being raised in New York your brought up with this mentality that in order to get what you want, you need to go out and take it. So a few of my major influences are all the other self made millionaries working in this city. New York is a city full of risk takers and in order to succeed like them you got to take risks. No one ever sat on their ass and success came to them. You need to look back at all those who’ve made their mark on the world and make moves.

HS: What are your 5 most beloved musicians?

JT: I just saw Ray for the first time, and damn, it must of been hard being black, blind, and talented. Ray Charles is defiently an inspiration to me. Musically, I can connect with a wide range of styles but my favorite artists have to be Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Wu-Tang, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Dipset, Ramones, theirs so many, it’s hard to list only 5.

HS: Which are your favorite websites? The ones that you check on the most regular basis?

PB: Besides High Snobiety? Hypebeast, Superfuture, Hoodtalk (for a good laugh), I used to check niketalk occasionally, but it just has gotten so lame recently that I can’t deal with it.
JT: I enjoy all the real websites out their with substance. My favorites are Being Hunted, Freshnessmag, and the Chronicles from The Hundreds.

HS: What clothing brands do you dig the most? (Besides Reason)

PB: As far as T-shirt companies i’d have to say aNYthing, Mighty Healthy, Mishka, Peg Leg, Ojas. As far as fashion labels, polo, missoni, gucci, nom de guerre, uniqlo, apc..
JT: Defiently feeling all the brands Phil mentioned but in addition I’m really into Perks and Mini, Neighborhood, Visvim for kicks, Rockers NYC, and UNDR CRWN.

HS: That was it already. Do you have any closing thought or love you want to shout out? Any last remarks?

PB: Fuck all the haters- fuck all the teachers who failed me in highschool/college- Fuck all the bitches who decided to move to NY after watching sex in the city- Fuck fake people- Fuck nike dunks- Fuck BAPE and FUCK JOCKS
JT: Since Phil handled all the fuck you’s, I’ll handle the thank you’s. Peace to everyone at Nom de Guerre and Union for supporting us. Much love to the whole Frank151 crew.

HS: It was great talking to you. Keep up the great work. The first tee`s are amazing. I hope that you are soon also available in Europe. Keep us posted on new happenings.

Thanks for the oppurtunity to let us rant on your website
NATIVE NEW YORKERS STAND UP – ALL YOU FAKE ASS TOURISTS GO HOME





Enjoy,

David