When people ask what the brand is early on there was a few things I would point to, Australian culture, the idea of locality, a juxtaposition between styles. There were these ideas floating around in my head dictating what I create but I could never summarise it. While the following is too long to be an elevator pitch, here's the story that defines the brand.
Last Sunday Dylan and I were sitting at Alasya on Brunswick on Sydney rd doing some planning for next year. A great place to work as they're one of the only places that serve coffee past the arvo. Hours in a few heavies wearing tech fleece walk in, they were loud and disruptive as they ordered donna meats.
After a while they started pickin a fight with some pretty boy guys on the table behind us. They stormed out the restaurant mad and had a dart outside. I was facing the window and I could see them pacing back and forth taunting these guys on the other table.
Now eventually after all this they came back in and ate their food and nothing happened. Me and Dyl had finished work so we went outside before leaving. One of the heavies came out and sparked conversation with us, he recognised dyl from the area back in the day. In the end they had never actually met each other but they did grow up in the same suburb. We all spoke briefly for 10 minutes and had a laugh before they left
What I found so interesting about this situation is the differences between how we presented ourselves and the guys on the other table were so minutiae. Dyl and I were both wearing shirts, he wore a chore jacket and I wore an overshirt. He had pleated pants on and I had some real cowboy esque denim. By no stretch would we really be approachable to these guys but for whatever reason, perhaps body language/the way we carry ourselves they knew.
This story allowed me to reflect on more where Milkbar started in my mind, growing up I would be in these places where I'd have to present a certain way otherwise you would get taken advantage of or disrespected. That's what the North has mostly been like. When I got into a different kind of wardrobe around the age of 15, wearing baggy cargo pants at the time, it was always around pairing those outfits with things or actions that were still presentable in these sometimes intense situations. I never wanted to dress like an extreme pretty boy with 10 rings on and nail polish because that wouldn't have slid in my environment.
Presentation serves a function, it can disarm people when things are getting intense. More importantly presentation can stop things from getting intense all together. The Milkbar Man or Woman should be able to live gracefully in the feminen but also be direct and strong when facing the masculine. It reminds me of a quote Dave Chappelle said once "sometimes you have to be a lion to be the lamb you really are".The presentation I strive for lives between those two tables in Alasya Restaurant on Sydney Rd.