We caught up with the brilliant and insightful James Wade a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

James, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

There were a lot of reasons on why I started making clothes & started my brand. I originally just wanted to stand out in school. I was inspired a lot by Young thug, Kanye & the A$AP Mob, like A$AP Rocky, Yams, Nast, all of those people inspired me to get into clothes. I would watch their music videos and follow their tweets and outfit pics everyday in the back of my chemistry class. My first piece that I’ve ever sewn was inspired by Kanye’s YEEZY SEASON 1 show, It was a beige sweater with raw hems. I get most of my inspiration and ideas from fashion shows of my favorite brands or movies and tv shows I watch. I remember seeing an Off-White fashion show after I graduated high school. I fell in love with the colors that were used, the silhouettes, styling, tailoring, and especially the shoes. It became my favorite fashion show at the time and definitely still one of my favorites today. I was inspired by a few pieces but it was one look in particular that I wanted to recreate and make my own, which was a tie-dyed hoodie covered with rhinestones all over. It was definitely by favorite piece I had made at the time and it was a lot of other people’s favorite. I did a few photo shoots with my friends Six to promote the hoodie, and then had my first pop up shop with a few different colors and variations of the hoodie. The few hoodies that I made sold out at the event and received a lot of good reviews afterwards from people who purchased and people online as well.

James, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I run a fashion brand named XANTI, which means James in basque. I have been designing clothes for about 10 years now. I was inspired by my favorite musicians like A$AP Rocky and Kanye, and designers like Virgil Abloh, Shayne Oliver, Rick Owens, and Raf Simons. I also seen people in my city doing what I wanted to do and doing it successfully like my friends Anton & Josh. I started in 2015 with a brand called FIL, which stands for Fantasies Interrupting Life. It was originally supposed to be a collective brand with friends from high school but things didn’t work out the way I wanted. So I separated myself from the FIL brand and created a brand based on my life and my interests. I originally started with a certain aesthetic in mind but obviously, as I got older, over time my personal style changed and my brand’s aesthetic with it. I am currently coming off a 2-3 year hiatus with my brand. My next collection I feel will solidify my brand’s aesthetic for years to come. This collection is based on world building, it’s all about what different occupations & people in general would look if I ran the world. I plan to have something for everybody like bikers, construction workers, and even gamers.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect for me is seeing someone excited and happy to receive something I made from scratch. It always makes me happy to see someone else happy to be receiving either something I made from just fabric or something I had to draw up for my manufacturer to make.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I definitely wish I knew how to actually put together a collection and tell a story through clothes, instead of just making things I think would look cool and trying to put something together to match it. Actually sitting down and thinking of how to tell a story through clothes are what the best designers do, and I want to be in the conversation with the best. I don’t want to be just another brand that’s overlooked because this industry is over saturated with people who are just in it for the money, or people just looking to make 1 viral TikTok shirt. I want to build my brand into a house, and i know story telling and paying very close attention to details will help.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.byxanti.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byxanti?igsh=YjJqdm4zanQ3emhn