The BoF Podcast | Robert Geller on the Energy of Saying Sure

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Background

Rising up in Hamburg with a photographer father and a stepmother who ran a classic boutique, Robert Geller was immersed on this planet of style, artwork and creativity from a younger age. His journey from Marc Jacobs intern to co-founder of cult New York style label Cloak to inventive director at Rag & Bone is the results of his private philosophy of claiming sure to new alternatives.

“The important thing factor is saying sure. Simply do it and check out it. It’s all the time higher to do one thing than to not do it,” shared Geller. “Even when it doesn’t go proper, you study a ton from it. You’re all the time higher off going out and attempting one thing.”

This week on the BoF Podcast, founder and CEO Imran Amed sits down with Geller to discover his journey, study concerning the ups and downs of constructing an impartial style label, and why he’s taken on his new position as inventive director at Rag & Bone.

Key Insights

Rising up, Geller was deeply influenced by his inventive environment and his stepmother performed a pivotal position in shaping his style sensibilities. “She owned a second-hand retailer in Hamburg, however she solely offered Japanese style labels,” he recollects, pointing to manufacturers like Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto. Journeys along with her to Paris, the place she would take him to “lovely boutiques,” ignited his ardour for style. “At a really younger age, I actually loved it. I kind of discovered the magic of style in these locations and in these garments.”Geller’s first main enterprise in style, Cloak, turned a cult label in New York within the early 2000s. Geller left Cloak after the A/W 2004 assortment, with the model lastly closing down in 2007. As Geller candidly explains, “We have been not likely specializing in creating wealth. We didn’t know the best way to do it, however we knew the best way to make nice garments and the best way to placed on enjoyable exhibits.” The purity of imaginative and prescient behind Cloak was simple, but it surely in the end lacked the enterprise basis wanted for sustainability.Whereas Geller has all the time embraced creativity, he additionally understands the significance of balancing it with the practicalities of operating a enterprise. “I respect the necessity for the gross sales and want for the enterprise, that’s the gas,” he says. “One can’t exist with out the opposite. You’ll be able to’t have a set with out getting the enterprise proper and having gross sales,” Geller provides.After years of operating his personal label, Geller made the leap to change into inventive director at Rag & Bone in 2023. Reflecting on his strategy, he says, “It simply wanted one other layer of pleasure … I felt prefer it was missing conversations, the thrilling items, the layer on high that basically exemplified the height of the model.” Geller’s imaginative and prescient entails integrating the model’s core strengths, like denim, with trendy parts to create a cohesive, elevated assortment. “It’s not a revolution … we’re simply attempting to layer one thing on high that’s thrilling.”

Extra Sources

Groundhog Day at Rag & Bone. The garments aren’t spectacular, however they really feel related sufficient. Right here’s to hoping Marcus Wainwright pushes himself and his workforce additional subsequent season.Marcus Wainwright on Rag & Bone and Going It Alone. Now Rag & Bone’s sole chief govt, Marcus Wainwright speaks to BoF about main the model by way of a time of nice change and why it’s not unimaginable to construct one other billion-dollar model.A Completely different Type of Dream at Rag & Bone. Particular person items popped however total the gathering didn’t sizzle the best way nice product should on this unforgiving market.