Basix New York Interview w/ @missingsince1995

I got into fashion around the Kanye West Graduation era. I noticed there was a shift happening in hip hop not only in terms of music but also the style of clothes and I was fascinated by all the different styles and looks that came with/from that era. That's where my interest in fashion began.

For a lot of brands there’s a process when coming up with a name, how did you go about choosing to use your own name over something you made up?

The name for my brand just came to me while I was listening to some music doing some graphic design work. Ironically it was from one of Drake's verses on his “Say whats real freestyle” followed by Pusha T’s verse on “Runaway” they both used the word “basic” in their verses and when they said it for whatever reason the word just stuck out to me and I added the first initial in my name and replaced the c at the end with an x to add my touch to it. I originally used the name for my graphic design studio. At the time I had no intentions of starting a clothing brand until years later.

Creativity this day and age is often hard to come by, especially in this particular industry. Where does BSXNY originate from?

BSXNY is just short for Basix New York, it was done this way for trademarking purposes. I also think BSXNY is fly, so you guys will definitely be seeing it used a lot more in the coming future.

If you could describe your brand in one sentence what would you say?

Clean, minimal, quality, basic, core, essential, contemporary.

What makes you stand out from the other brands?

It's still super early for us. But from my perspective and the response we’re getting from customers, it's the quality of the clothes and the brand aesthetic, it's really connecting with people.

Do you plan ahead before you design or does it come in the moment?

It's a mixture of both to be honest. I could be in the middle of researching something and come across something really dope and get inspired by that and just create something from that moment.

Since starting your brand/label has it revealed anything about yourself you didn’t previously know?

Most definitely! I've gone through so much self growth while building the brand up. I’ve gone through lessons that I may have missed out on if it wasn’t for the brand. I'm definitely enjoying the journey!

What is the ultimate goal you have with your brand?

Longevity.

Do you have any major influences?

Jay Z, Nipsey Hussle, Curren$y, the Old Kanye haha and Ronnie Fieg just to name a few.

If you could give advice to any up and coming designer what would it be?

Your time is your time, there's no need to rush things. Take your time and enjoy the process. Think long term and always remember it's a marathon not a sprint.

It’s often a journey in itself when a brand has to decide either to have outside manufacturers produce their product, or to do it from home. How did you come up with this decision?

I think it all depends on where you're at with your brand. If you’re in the beginning or early days of your business you may not have the capital to have your product produced from home, so you may have to go overseas for it which I don’t think is a problem as long as you're able to find a good manufacturer. They do exist overseas. I just think you have to mine for them.

 

— Shoutout to @missingsince1995 for the interview!