Imposter syndrome can happen to the best of us, even fashion designers that have been in the job for decades.
“The only big stigma I have is that I don't have a formal design education. I don't think it's [a problem] for people around me, but it is for me,” says Christopher Bastin, who’s been working at Gant on and off since 2005 and became the brand's creative director in 2019. “I still have a hard time calling myself a designer, which my wife is really annoyed about because she's like, 'That's the only thing you do all day!'”
Bastin is video-calling me from the brand’s Stockholm headquarters, where Gant's preppy-influenced collections pop in the background like Kusama's polka dots. Born in Sweden, Bastin’s introduction to the fashion world wasn’t a calculated one, hardly relatable to the die-hard fans of today who bolt towards any opportunities they can get. During high school he undertook a part-time gig at an edgy clothing store in the capital city, which he returned to after a year of mandatory military service. Working there in the early nineties made him a connoisseur of vintage denim at a time when the material was being spotlighted by growing brands like Diesel. That’s when H&M came calling.
“I got a call one day, completely out of the blue, from a guy at H&M who said, 'I was in the store the other day and you sold me a pair of jeans, and you knew so much about them. We need someone like you to come and work at H&M',” he explains. “I worked as a product developer assistant and buying assistant and started cutting my teeth there, saw behind the scenes and how everything works.”
Next came a role at Acne Studios – back before it was the well-known Scandi fashion house it is today – and some jobs at other Swedish brands. It was an old colleague that heard Gant was looking for a shirt designer and suggested that he go for the job.
“[In the interview] I said straight away, 'I don't have any formal training. I don't really know why I'm here. But I would love to get a get a chance to work with you'. It's funny because the guys who brought over Gant from the US in the beginning of the eighties, they were all still in the company back then, and I had the interview with one of them who later became my mentor. He’d also had no formal training and said that as long as I understand the zeitgeist around me, then I’ll be just fine.”
'Just fine' is a bit of an understatement, as Bastin later mentions that 2021 and 2022 were “record breaking” years in Gant’s 75-year history. WWD reported that Gant’s revenue rose 20 per cent in 2022 from 2021 to hit $1.3 billion, with expected growth of 14 to 15 per cent this year. Even when it wasn't as financially successful, the brand was still considered a one-stop destination for American, collegiate sportswear. A surprisingly far cry from the Scandi, design-led aesthetic of his home city.
“We always say that we were born in the US but raised in Europe,” he explains of whether his surroundings ever influence his work. “I've always been so obsessed about American sportswear, that's where I nerd out. So I probably have a much more American aesthetic, because I'm so tuned into it.”
There is a segment of this dress code that’s been pushed to the forefront of men's fashion over the last few years: prep. Revived nearly as often as the Harry Potter franchise, the preppy aesthetic has been dominating the streetwear sphere for some time. And Gant is by no means an innocent bystander; many of its customers have gravitated to the brand for that offering – a look that naturally exists within the brand’s universe.
“There's a danger of becoming too successful with one article or one specific trend, which is something that we also try to avoid,” Bastin says. “The good thing about us is that we started out as a shirt brand and that's always going to be, and it's always been, our icon. We were one of the first [fashion] companies to make rugby shirts. We have our varsity jackets. We have our blazers. We have our chinos. We have our polo shirts. We have a plethora of icons that we also can dial up and dial down. I think for us, it's also about being careful about how preppy we go.”
Gant 240 Mulberry Street Red Letterman Sweater
Gant 240 Mulberry Street Navy Oversized Peacoat
Gant 240 Mulberry Street Brown Four-Pocket Trousers
Gant 240 Mulberry Street Beige Oversized Trench Coat
Offering another antidote to the tyranny of garments going in and out of fashion, Gant launches the 240 Mulberry capsule: a collection of trend-transcending pieces that showcases the brand’s heritage through classic silhouettes and high-end materials.
“To me it was important that it didn't become fashion for the sake of fashion, because some people would see this as an opportunity to make weird stuff and try to get attention by making weird stuff. I wanted to take the icons and pare them down to the bare essentials, then build them up again.”
With all the aforementioned sartorial heros within this capsule, as well as shearling jackets, trench coats and knitted vests, it's packed with American influence – the same can be said of its name.
“A friend of mine in New York called and asked if I wanted a really nice little store on 240 Mulberry Street, which coincidentally sits on top of the bar that he just opened. Gant used to have offices in New York back in the 50s and 60s, so it made sense. And it also happens to be a retail hot-spot when it comes to American fashion. We have Aimé Leon Dore three doors down, Rowing Blazers two blocks away and Noah three blocks away. It's a little epicentre of American sportswear. It's all very serendipitous that it kind of came together that way.”
By the end of our conversation, it’s clear that Bastin is more than capable at the helm, and any notion of self-doubt should be squashed. But in Bastin’s eyes, that’s hardly a hinderance.
“I was never a fashion guy, I was never the one experimenting with style when I was younger. I think a lot of people refer to ‘fashion girls’ or ‘fashion guys’ as people who express themselves through what they're wearing. I think for the better part of the last 10 years, I've tried to express myself as little as possible with what I'm wearing because I've only been wearing black. I spend exactly two minutes every day getting dressed, which is really nice. It means that I find myself thinking about what other people should be wearing or how they could put things together, I don't need to bother myself with how I should do that. It might be a little bit boring, but it works for me.”
If that's what it takes to keep the clothes coming, we hold no objection.
Gant 240 Mulberry Street collection is available in their Regent Street store, and online at ssense.com.
