Geek Lord is one of the newer brands in this community that have been appearing more recently at anime conventions. For the past events, I’ve been to, their booth would always pop up and I’ve always noticed their dope clothing. I was surprised that I haven’t seem them before, but I was glad to see their brand. It was a nice touch that this community needed.
I was given the opportunity to meet them and get an interview from them to talk about their brand and their clothing. Check out how our interview went.
INTERVIEW WITH GL
Why did you guys decide to name your brand, Geek Lord? Is there any reason behind it?
We came up with so many names! I think it is so hard to come up with a name for a brand. We were going with something else at first, WTHT, but at the last minute we unanimously decided that GEEK LÔRD カリフォルニアwas it. The reason we picked our name is because we want to encompass all things Geek. Although we will always have Japanese and street vibes, we want the core to be straight geek genres like fantasy and sci-fi.
I noticed that your brand is a combination of anime and streetwear. What inspired the designs behind the brand? Do you have any main anime that you like to feature?
The designs were inspired by vintage 90s anime. Especially mecha anime, sci-fi, a little bit dark like Evangelion. I would love to feature so much stuff its crazy. One day I would love to feature Urusei Yatsura. I wish I could get permission to use Ghost in the Shell manga art, huge fan of Masamune Shirow’s art, Shadow Lady, Patlabor, Macross, I love all that vintage sci-fi/mecha stuff.
Of all of the anime clothing brands out right now (which there is a lot), what do you think makes you stand out from the rest?
OMG that is such a hard question. There’s so many awesome brands out there. I think our designs are very low key, easy to wear, casual day to day wear. I think when we come out with our new stuff you guys are going to see a big difference. It will be all original concepts and really focuses on the sci-fi genre and of course a lot of anime inspiration – but we will be tying in our brand concept a lot more.
Of all of your designs currently out, what are some of your favorites?
My favorite is Second Impact, I love the Leliel design which is really like trippy modern art from like the 60s. And the use of the famous quote from Pippa Passes by Robert Browning. NGE is so deep.
I just have to ask this being a part of this anime community. What are your favorite anime series?
I have too many. Some that really stand out to me are Claymore, GITS SAC, Noein, Parasyte, Escaflowne the Movie, and anything Miyazaki.
If you were able to do any collaborations with any great artists or brands, who would you like to collaborate with?
OMG SO MANY!! lol. I would love to collaborate with the artists Cristopher Cayco – I’m a really big fan of his work. And of course the man the legend KJG in my dreams lol. And then there’s a million other amazingly talented artists and brands.
What do you think is the reason why anime clothing is currently BOOMING right now?
Growing up in the 90s anime was so hard to get. I remember going to Blockbuster and just getting whatever VHS Japanese animation I could find. It was so hard to get as a kid, was hungry for anything I could get my hands on.
Now, I think that the US market is WAY more exposed thanks, primarily, to Netflix. I think Netflix has exposed a HUGE population to anime. It’s kind of the gateway drug for a lot of people and now you can just stream anime on a million different platforms. So I know that a lot of people have been streaming Crunchyroll, KissAnime, and Funimation for a while, but I think Netflix is what is making anime BOOM right now.
So we have older people being drawn to anime as well as a new generation of younger people that have been exposed for a while and are now becoming a greater portion of the consumer market. But I definitely think Netflix is a big reason why it’s finally so big now! I also think just nerd culture becoming mainstream is also making anime more acceptable as the overall genre is the same. I would get some heat back in the day for watching anime from some of my friends lol.
Do you have any future plans with your designs or where you plan on taking the brand to?
YES!!! Lol. I am so excited but I really want to focus on all original concepts all original designs and really tie in the brand into the merch. So we will be focusing a lot on sci-fi, sort of cyber punk, cyborg stuff. There will be more milder references to classic anime that hardcore fans will get lol.
Since you brand is fairly new, what are some of your best experiences and worst experiences you ran into with the brand?
We started in October 2018, we are noobs. I think that my best experience was going to my first convention at ALA in January. It went very well for us and it was really a confirmation that we are doing something right and that we are not just a bunch of crazy persons throwing money away lol. Also, I got to meet so many amazing people, cosplayers, customers, and networked with other people in the industry. It was fun and I think, overall, the anime community is amazing and kind. I hope we always keep that heart as the anime community continues to grow.
Personally, some of the worst experiences I would say is just that it can be overwhelming starting a new business both financially and also trying to take on so much. I do have a little boy, so I am constantly juggling being a mom and trying to run a business. It means a lot of late nights and freaking out especially around convention season.
Make sure to follow down their social media down below to stay up-to-date with all of their clothing drops and what’s going on with their brand.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Online Shop: geek-lord.com
Instagram: @_geeklord
Facebook: facebook.com/thegeeklord
Twitter: @_geeklord
