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In all the research I’ve done on people in the fashion world–designers, stylists, writers–I’ve found that we all usually have one thing in common; one thread that unites us all in our love for style and fashion:  fabulous and stylish mothers. Maybe it is something that develops while in the womb; maybe it’s just impossible not to love clothes and fashion when you are surrounded by it on a daily basis; maybe we all need to thank our mothers for the seed that was planted and passed on. This definitely rings true for Jamie Rockaway, one-third of the Love Brigade team, who is returning to Saint Louis Fashion week this fall. I recently caught up with Jamie, who was feverishly finishing up the Love Brigade SS10 collection, to discuss the latest on him and his posse, as well as get his opinion on men’s style and trends.

Q: Tell me about the Love Brigade collective. The brand, the concept and how you got started.

A: Love Brigade began in the spring of 2005 in London, UK. It was founded by myself and Alyssa Key, with Tinypants joining us a short while after.
It consists of three fashion labels: Love Brigade (high-end), ex.oh (a diffusion line) and As We Are (experimental collections, including a retail store and a music merchandising service that offers services such as styling and merchandise design). We’re currently available in the USA, Canada and Japan, and on three major online retailers.

Q: What is your education background? Are you self-taught, or did you go to design school?


A: [I’m] completely self-taught. I like to think of the world as my school. The locations to which I’ve traveled and lived in have definitely given me a broad sense of cultural awareness that can easily be transformed into creative knowledge.

Q:  When did you fall in love with fashion?  Why and when did you decide to become a designer?

A:  I believe it’s something that has always been around me. I can look back now and see old photographs of my parents, my mom especially, and I sort of get how it was instilled in me. She seemed to be slightly ahead of the curve in everything she rocked back in the day. She had this gypsy-ish, eclectic style about her that I found very interesting, even at a young age.  I think that really pushes what I tend to gravitate toward, both in design and personal style. Being involved in the actual industry wasn’t something I ever really thought of until I was approached by Alyssa to be one of the founding partners. We come from two completely different backgrounds, which lends itself well to creativity. With the addition of Tinypants a short time later, the broad scope of our creative makeup reaches even further.

Q: What do you like about being a designer?

A:  The evolution of process–from an idea, to a sketch on paper, to it being tangible object. There’s a great sense of reward in the actual creation of and eventual feedback that’s received from design. I think that applies to all facets of design; the evolution of an idea.

Q: Where do you start when designing a collection? What is the process?

A: It starts as general collaborative process that blankets both women’s and men’s.
Discussing ideas, inspiration and direction.  The direction is always up for refinement throughout the design stages, but it’s good to have at least a vague base to build upon.
Music also plays a huge role in the birth of ideas at Love Brigade. Since our first collection, we’ve always designed based upon a formula–one part trend, and one part music inspiration.

Q: How does music translate into a collection?

A: I can’t speak for my partners, but–personally–I just use it to create a mood or a sense of place. It allows you to travel to some pretty incredible places within the human emotion. Once there, it’s easy to get inspired and have at least a general direction to pursue.

Q: What are you listening to now?

A: I go through phases. I tend to latch onto artists or albums and just play the hell out of them. I’m the type of person who, if I find a song that I really dig, I can listen to it on loop all day for a week. The new Deer Tick album, Born on Flag Day, has been on constant loop for the whole month of July. That, along with their Daytrotter sessions.
Those were huge inspirations in the later stages of design for the men’s SS10 collection and were definitely the go-to albums as Tinypants and myself cranked through the late nights. And you always gotta pepper in some Gucci Mane once in awhile.

Q: What’s your take on men’s style? What should every man have in his closet?

A: I see a bunch of ridiculous choices out there and I hate the idea of fads. I’m all about comfort. Every guy needs to have at least one pair of 2- to 3-year-old good-fitting jeans; something road-worn and can’t be too skinny or too baggy–just an all-around classic fit. Added points if they’re Love Brigade denim. A super-soft/thin long-sleeve button-up goes a long way, too–whether it’s in the summertime or lounging around the house. And a good old (but not smelly) pair of Chuck Taylor’s is a must.

Q: What do you think about men and accessories?

A: I think they’re an essential part of an outfit, from necklaces to bracelets to whatever else your imagination might come up with. The key is to be unique. Don’t jump on something because you see a bunch of people doing it; by that point, it’s obviously too late. Also, only certain people can overdo something and get away with it, so try and keep it conservative. But, seeing as my wrist and neck are loaded with little trinkets I’ve collected over the years, that may be a little hypocritical.

Q: Who is your customer?

A: When we design, we are storytellers. Each season starts with a character and a theme. Our girl is seductive, adventurous, confident, edgy and sometimes tomboy-ish. Our boy is rugged, utilitarian, confident, aware and a lover.

Q: What are you most excited about for SS10? What can we expect?

A: All we can say is: Revival. After all that has happened this year, the world needs Love Brigade! I can’t give away any secrets, but there’s a bunch of stuff that we can’t wait to show. On the women’s side, Alyssa continues to impress.

Q: How was your experience at Saint Louis Fashion Week? Any plans on returning?

A: The production as a whole was so on point. The professionalism of everyone involved definitely made for a super smooth show. Plus, the fact that it was sponsored by Budweiser was an obvious perk. Throughout the week, we met a bunch of awesome people and created a bunch of great friendships. Rumor has it, St. Louis may see Love Brigade sooner than later.

Q: What’s next for Love Brigade?

A: For us, this question always has a busy answer! It’s hard to say exactly what’s next, since a lot of what we do is an ongoing evolution. Each season, we mature as a design collective and we expand in four core areas–sales, marketing, music merchandising and branding. We are strengthening both our brick-and-mortar and e-commerce presence. On the music-merchandising front, we have been very fortunate to be a part of some amazing upcoming Michael Jackson projects. We can also hint a little about a Jay-Z thing, but I don’t want to jinx it. As a collective, the three of us will be going on some inspiration trips and may even be doing a short film about it.

Q: And for Jamie Rockaway?

A: Personally, I’m gonna continue the hustle. Along with being one of the founders and designers of Love Brigade, I’m also the Senior Art Director at Transistor Studios in New York, creating motion graphics and live-action for commercial, broadcast and interactive. There’s a bunch of award-winning pieces we’ve pumped out over the past couple of years, so I hope to continue pushing it in that aspect. I’ve also got a couple of passion projects I hope to accomplish in the near future–music videos for bands I respect and would love to work with.

Q: Anything you’d like to add?

A: [Saint Louis Fashion Week Producer] Attilio, here’s a formal request for a larger bucket of beer in the morning! That, or supply me and Tinypants with official STLFW Beer Helmets!

Image via Jamie Rockaway

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