Frankie Collective's Sara Gourlay Compares the Frankie Girl to HYPEBAE in New Interview
The creative director chats with Heroine about vintage fashion, branding and more.
For those of you who are into women’s streetwear, you’ll probably have heard of Frankie Collective by now. With its reworked designs of vintage Champion, Kappa and adidas pieces, the Vancouver-based brand has been gaining popularity among ladies with forward-thinking styles.
In a new interview with Grailed‘s female-centric sister site, Heroine, the label’s creative director Sara Gourlay shares how she maintains the identity of the brand while sourcing old garments from established brands like Supreme and Gucci: “We maintain the Frankie brand identity by creating interesting reworks that stay true to our vision through existing brand labels. How we style these brands is important in keeping up with our aesthetic as well.” Notably, Sara has discussed what she thinks the common traits between the Frankie Girl and the HYPEBAE reader are, expressing that they’re both “strong and empowered.”
Read an excerpt of the conversation below and head over to Heroine for the full feature.
While you’re at it, check out our own interview video with Sara, as well as our exclusive editorial featuring Frankie Collective’s reworked Glossier pink pouch bikini.
Does Frankie Collective strengthen the vintage marketplace or disrupt it?
I think our brand strengthens the vintage marketplace. We bring vintage to a wide audience that would maybe not otherwise be exposed to it. Hopefully we are the stepping stone people need to get more creative with vintage in their wardrobe.
Frankie frequently receives press from media outlets like HYPEBAE. Do you keep the HYPEBAE reader in mind when releasing new collections? Who is the ideal Frankie girl?
We in a way keep the HYPEBAE reader in mind as like the Frankie girl, she too is strong and empowered. The Frankie girl has a strong attitude. She can wear fitted crops or oversized men’s pieces and rock them with the same confidence. She’s forward thinking with her style as she respects the classics and has an eye for future trends.
If any, what modern brands will still be relevant 20 years from now and ultimately define this decade of streetwear?
Most brands won’t last 20 years except the true fashion houses. Supreme will always be looked upon as the GOAT of streetwear but when we look back at this era in fashion I think we will remember it as the time when high fashion became streetwear.
For many women, shopping online is a challenge because sizing always varies. How do you combat this?
We list lay flat measurements of every garment to combat sizing issues. When we create rework designs, we make sure that all of our girls try on our samples to try and include as many body types as possible. We make lots of custom orders as well for girls with different measurement requests.
From working with Complex Con and Tommy Hilfiger, what is in store for Frankie Collective in 2018?
Look out for some more collaborations with heavy-hitting brands as well as a pop-up tour!
