Name: Joshua Katcher

Occupation: Founder, Brave GentleMan

Based in: New York City

Hi Joshua! Welcome to A Sustainable Closet! Can you please tell us more about yourself and your relationship with clothes?

Thanks for including me! There was a time when I viewed fashion as something shallow that embodied surface and vanity. And there is an element of that frivolity in fashion culture. But it wasn’t until I started writing about fashion in 2008 that I realized how powerful a tool clothing is for articulating ideas and identity while also being part of a global fashion industrial complex impacting millions of workers, billions of animals and ecosystems everywhere. This realization shifted my relationship to clothes. Clothing began to take on much more meaning beyond aesthetics. The way something was made, who made it, in what conditions and contexts and of whom it was made (in the case of animals’ body parts) began to inform my perception of what could be considered “good design”. This made me want to support more sustainable and ethical systems and add seriousness and depth to an industry whose impacts too often are cloaked in fantasy. Tolstoy’s quote "What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness" is especially poignant for fashion, where beautiful objects often conceal the very awful reality of how they’ve been made.

What is your background as a fashion designer? Did you study fashion design or where did you learn and how did you get into the industry?

I started Brave Gentleman in 2010. It was the first fully vegan menswear brand, and the focus was on footwear. But I didn’t go to school for fashion. I went vegan in the 1990s when many people didn't even know what the word "vegan” meant, so I had a background in animal advocacy. I started writing about fashion in my pursuit of finding well-made menswear that was vegan, and when I couldn’t find the shoes I was looking for, I decided to try to have them made. From there, it was lots of learning on the job and trial and error. I credit my optimistic naïveté for shielding me from anticipating just how difficult it would be to run a fashion brand. Had I seen the challenges ahead, I may have decided not to do it! After a few years of growth and research into innovative vegan materials, I was recruited to teach at Parsons and there I wrote a book on the topic of animals in fashion - something to which no one else had yet dedicated an entire book.

You are the author of Fashion Animals, what is the book about and what made you write it?

I wrote Fashion Animals to tell an untold story - a history of how and why animals have been used in fashion. It is a book that explores everything from fashion trends that have led to many animal extinctions and the use of live animals as props in fashion ads and editorials to the conditions animals endure in pursuit of their skins, hairs and feathers and the history of cruelty-free materials. I could quote data and figures, but I think you can get a better sense of the book from the dedication that appears on the first page:

The fashion mausoleum may be spectacular, still and full of soft and exquisite things—but we mustn’t mistake the stillness for peace nor the softness for goodness.

Despite the décor, there is little sympathy for fashion’s dead, nor mercy for its doomed. I dedicate this book to every animal whose body has vanished into a silent fashion object.

You did not go quietly.

You did not go prettily.

You did not go willingly.

Brave Gentleman, what's the story behind your brand and who are you designing for?

Brave GentleMan started as a proof-of-concept; a way to fast-track application of innovative materials onto high-quality designs, and has grown into a a brand with 14 years of respect and recognition. We have done collaborations with other brands like Sans Beast (on a bag collection made in Italian Appleskin), with innovators like Natural Fiber Welding to feature their plastic-free, animal-free vegan leather called MIRUM, and with textile manufacturers like EcoSimple who use waste-diverted fibers to make gorgeous, dye-free, recycled wovens. Our customer is anyone who enjoys classic menswear asthetics. We also appeal to people motivated by sustainability and animal protection.

What are some of the common myths in terms of sustainable and ethical fashion? What do we need to be more aware of?

I am on the board of Collective Fashion Justice - an organization dedicated to “total ethics fashion”. Currently, I’d say some of the biggest myths are around so-called “regenerative leather”, and the perception that vegan fashion is all just plastic. Collective Fashion Justice has released hard-hitting and expertly-researched reports tackling these and other issues and I highly recommend people visit collectivefashionjustice.org @collectivefashionjustice and explore the “materials” and "articles” sections.

Anything else you want to share?

Yes! Please watch SLAY (www.slay.film /@slay.film) - a new documentary that I'm featured in about the fashion industry. It’s inspiring, powerfully produced and filmed gorgeously. It’s available on Waterbear, iTunes and soon on Prime.

INTERVIEW #161 JOSHUA KATCHER

INTERVIEW #162 CHIARA SPRUIT

INTERVIEW #160 NYOMBI MORRIS