It’s no secret that everyone and their dog is starting up a t-shirt company these days; trying to be the next Hundreds, get Odd Future snapped in their wares or be on the front page of Hypebeast (or ACCLAIM!). Every week we get press releases from upstart brands who are aiming for the stars with designs that leave a lot to be desired. So when I spoke to William, the founder and designer of Melbourne label Montgomery, it was refreshing to see that he had no intention of high volume distribution networks or celebrity co-signs, but solid graphics different to anything else we’ve seen before. His simple designs appeal to everyone, and his short run tees are starting to become hot property with fashionistas and skaters alike, so I thought I’d throw him a few quick questions.
What was your motivation to start Montgomery?
I have been painting for around ten years now, signing all my paintings with a small crest similar to a Japanese signet as ‘Montgomery’, my last name. I decided to recently start making shirts as for years I struggled finding decent shirts or shirts that weren’t over the top expensive. Hence for years I hand painted designs onto my own shirts. I kept being asked by total strangers where I got the shirts from and decided to get some other local guys from Melbourne involved in the printing process.
Mostly our generation doesn’t have big bucks to throw on original artworks, it’s a luxury. Instead it’s a necessity to be clothed (I always had that awful dream of going to school/work naked). I usually don’t like wearing a casual uniform looking the same as every other cat on the street, in this way people are buying what they need but still wearing something so unique and unseen it looks like it’s from another planet. I like my art on the street being used and functional over sitting on a wall gathering dust being passive.
How would you describe the aesthetic of your artwork?
Mostly figurative and naive and depending on the day either black and white or full blown colour.
How would you describe the style of the brand, what type of people would you want to see wearing the designs?
Style is very simple and classic with character. I like fun, quirky, weird and kooky. I value modesty, understated elegance, looking good but not looking like a pretentious peacock. I want the shirts to be like Willy Wonka’s golden tickets. A prized item that the poor yet rad sheep shearer from a small country town can afford and be wearing just as much as the fat-cat-filthy-living city banker boy. No judgement or exclusivity. I have been seeing other artists wearing them to shows and have already been stopped quite a number of times by pretty girls in cafe’s asking where to go to get one.
You’re only exclusively stocked at Lo Life Skateboards in Melbourne, why do you decide to keep your tees short run and unavailable online?
Having spent some time in Tokyo you can live a whole day buying everything from machines, online and robots. I like humans more than machines and value the relationships and community around us that we are blessed with. How much better is it going to a local store, meeting some friendly local guys and having a memory behind the experience? You may even meet a new cool friend. Going into the city and having a coffee or going for a skate with your mates and picking up a shirt or a new record for me far outweighs siting at home in your cold dark room alone in your jocks buying something online.
Short run is important so it still feels like you are buying a limited artwork that every second person on the street is not wearing.
What are your plans for the brand in the future?
It’s a long road, it’s going to be hard work but i’m going to do my best each and every single day having fun creating designs as if they were from another planet.