I fell in love with the accessories that the B.Fresh guys make! Their designs are full of color, fun and style! We got a chance to catch up with one of the brains behind B.Fresh, Brian Blake!
B.Fresh will be at our summer market SPLASH this Sunday and we’re asking them 6 sizzlin’ questions!
What were your obsessions growing up?
Lite Brite, Legos, marbles, ninja turtles, Simpsons, basketball, hip hop, and Weird Al!
How did fashion become the symbol for your creative expression?
Jon and I both always dressed odd for the times. We had a dress code in high school (khakis, collared shirts, and dress shoes) so in response we both found the loudest most ridiculous items that conformed to the rules but still oozed flavor and personality. I was dubbed ‘skittles’ by some of my classmates because I would find color coordinating shirts and pants. I had matching yellow/blue/red/purple collard shirts and yellow/blue/red/purple khakis. We definitely had a lot of fun with our fashion and spent most of our money at Savers. So in that sense fashion became a part of our identity.
Do you see a stylistic connection between the things you do in your daily life that is reflected into your collections?
Absolutely! We’re both very outdoorsy and active and try to live a conscious lifestyle. In fact, many of our designs are tailored to specific ‘lifestyle’ activities. Like the Rocky Mountain High design for instance- it’s comprised of pot leaves, cabins, elk, pine trees etc.. in order to capture our love for the Colorado outdoors.
Another stylistic connection between lifestyle and design would be HipHop music. A lot of our designs are highly of influenced by 90s HipHop, which we partake in recreating in our off time, that project is known as high five HipHop.
What is your research process like before starting a collection?
Our research process is really just life experience. Every time we go to a concert, festival, or new city we just take it in and come back with new ideas.
I don’t think Jon and I really consider ourselves ‘designers’. We’re just two guys who got tired of hunting for that perfect thrift score and decided to create our own wardrobes.
How has fashion impacted you?
It has allowed us to break the societal 9-5 chains. Designing coolness and creating a business out of it has been the experience of a lifetime! I wonder if any of our teachers predicted that the two classroom oddballs would one day own and operate a fashion business.
What is your opinion on the fashion scene in Denver from a designers perspective?
Denver has a lot to offer the fashion world. We’re all operating in a unique time for creatives here in Denver. As natives, a lot of what we’re doing at b fresh wouldn’t have been possible when we were kids. In our adult life we’ve experienced a huge population growth which has led to a boisterous artistic community. My one critique of some of the fashion that comes out of Denver would be to take it easy on the Colorado flag. It’s an easy sale but as designers, we acknowledge that most of it takes little to no effort to produce. At least recreate the flag in a way no one else is doing it. My biggest celebration of Denver fashion, our community is awesome at supporting local! We started out slanging hats under a bridge (no seriously) and are still in awe at some of our hardcore followers. It’s awesome! What’s even more awesome is seeing Denver brands represented in other states.