This past weekend I made the three hour drive to Bridgeport, Connecticut to checkout an in-store event at Dertbag. For a bit more of a background on Dertbag checkout volume one here. As for the event, Phil was going to be hand screening tees for his summer collection, along side his Father, Frank Foster Post.
Upon arrival of the store, I was greeted by Phil himself. The store was organized in a minimalistic manner. A wall painted with artwork by his own father, some of his summer collection and prior works were hung, and then the farmost wall in the shop, covered in prints and polaroids of people wearing dertbag. Against the farmost wall was a flat-screen playing the 1995 film "Kids" next to a macbook playing everything from Kanye to Lil B. It became evident that all of this formed the creative space of Phil.
Scimto and Debo, two Bridgeport natives, showed me around the area and shared some history of the town. Giving me background on the graffiti artists who covered the streets in elaborate murals, finding entrances to abandoned buildings, and even sharing their own creative visions.
Back at dertbag, Phil kept busy hand screening his summer collection. The polos in which he was working on featured an embroidered dertbag logo, drowned out green and pink dyes, as well as a hand screened phrase written in French.
dertbag, a fait pour l'avenir, été 2014
Dertbag, made for the future, summer 2014. As other tees in the collection seem to be making a statement that dertbag can be worn until it is destroyed, or preserved as art, and after taking to Phil we both agreed it's much more than that.
I asked Phil what his plans were for the future, as he is only 19 years old and already has international retailers. He went on to state that making clothes is indeed his passion, but he is heavily immersed in the arts as a whole, not just the art of clothing. When he's at his shop he shared that he will often be making music on his MIDI keyboard as he brainstorms what he can do next in the realm of dertbag. With visions sought out for collections months prior he is always kept busy working in the creative field.
He went on to explain how his clothing has received very positive feedback in Japan and noted Japan may be his next venture, also mentioning a warehouse for larger production. He shared how this clothing is much more than that. The whole "street fashion", or whatever you may call it, has created an entire culture. And it seems that Phil is happy to contribute to this culture, a culture bound by the arts, clothing, and music.
He wants to keep doing what he is doing, something no one else is doing. Contributing to this culture, just by making clothing and bringing people together. He has his entire vision planned out and will do whatever it takes to make it happen. This is Dertbag, much more than clothing, and much more than art.
I will definitely be back soon, shoutout to all the new friends holding it down. From New Jersey to Connecticut... Keep it Gutta!
