Sidian, Ersatz & Vanes is comprised of three friends with distinct tastes, that set out to create a collection of shirts based on each founder’s respective shirting preferences. Born out of a love of basic principles and shared obsessions, signature colors, block patterns and geometric shapes make these shirts unique from anything else. We were lucky enough to get an exclusive interview with Mr. Sidian, so click through to learn more about the line, and what makes it so unique.
Can you tell us a little bit about your design process?
SEV: There’s no great mystery to designing shirts really. We’re not starting from scratch each season, so the process is much more about the evolution and refinement of the designs, and how each collection fits into the greater scheme of what we’re creating.
Where do you find inspiration for color and pattern in your collection?
SEV: This is actually more to the core of the first question in the sense that the inspiration is the really important part of creating the designs, as we’re much more interesting in the interpretation of primary sources which can just be a very abstract concept, rather than referencing a traditional fashion or clothing image.
What really interests us is finding elegant visual representations of what are often rather complex ideas. Then it’s case of creating a palette to tie those ideas together in a collection.
Who is the Sidian, Ersatz & Vanes “guy”- what type of guy is the collection geared towards?
SEV: SEV obviously isn’t an every man type of collection; it takes a certain amount of confidence to wear bold designs. Otherwise we’d like to think that the people interested in our shirts have an appreciation of dressing well, but more importantly that they’re interested in modern thinking, whether that be art and culture or science and technology (and ideally both).
There is an element of fun or whimsy in some of the colors & patterns- can you elaborate on that?
SEV: We are generally quite happy to cultivate our eccentricities. Often it’s the idiosyncrasies that make the collection interesting. Considering we often start a collection with quite serious ideas, I think it’s always good to add a little sense of humour to almost anything one does.
What makes Sidian, Ersatz & Vanes stand out from other men’s shirting companies?
SEV: If we were to talk purely about the product, I could tell you about the quality of the single needle stitching, and the mother of pearl buttons. Also, all the fabrics are designs by us and used exclusively for SEV shirts, but that’s just one element of what we’re trying to achieve. We believe in the symbolic quality of clothing, in the sense that the way you dress says something to the people around you. What makes our shirts unique has more to do with what we would like to represent and how they act as symbols to that end.
Studio Visit: Emerald Grippa
Meet the Maker: Samantha Pleet
