Spencer Phipps Knows Sustainability Isn’t Sexy (But He’s Changing That)

Sustainability isn’t sexy. That surely isn’t a revelation when thinking about today’s biggest environmental activists including the likes of Just Stop Oil with their road-block guerilla tactics that are anything but. And it doesn't get much better when looking at the big names pioneering a more environmentally friendly fashion industry. While the Gabriela Hearts and Mother of Pearls of the world have set the standard for transparent production methods and responsible sourcing, they’ve also shaped what the sustainable aesthetic looks like (i.e. neutral tones that celebrate the natural fibres and the same seasonless smock dress that's typically midi length with a puff sleeve) that was made to never go out of fashion. And then there’s Phipps.

‘There’s no part of [sustainability] that’s sexy’, Phipps tells me over Zoom from his home in Los Angeles where he’s in the throes of preparing for his A/W 23 presentation taking place later this month. ‘First of all, it's very boring and logistical. It’s also ‘do-goodery’ which definitely isn’t a sexy trait. Brands that are generally seen as sustainability-oriented are very ‘brown-nosery’ or all about basics.’ He isn’t wrong there.

Born and raised in San Francisco, the designer established his eponymous label in 2018 in Paris after stints on the menswear design teams of Marc Jacobs and Dries Van Noten. His distinct vision of rugged American masculinity and exploration of archetypes from cowboys to lumberjacks and park rangers captivated the Parisian menswear scene leading to Phipps being shortlisted for the 2019 LVMH Prize. Still, in 2022 Phipps packed his bags and relocated the brand’s base of operations to Los Angeles.

As a self-professed outdoorsman, the move feels more than appropriate for the world that Phipps is creating. ‘It comes from a selfish lifestyle background. I’m just running around being dirty and I need clothing to keep up with that’. Split into four strands – Phipps Collection (the mainline), Phipps Fundamentals (wardrobe basics), Phipps Gold Label (curated and customised vintage), and Phipps Lab (a limited run of upcycled pieces), at the heart of the brand is durable workwear, denim, and flannels crafted with sustainability in mind. ‘I can’t be wearing delicate silks and wools and things like that. I need clothing that I don’t feel so precious about.’

While sustainability is central to everything that Phipps creates, the designer compares communicating that message to walking on a tightrope. ‘In the beginning, we were really heavy in explaining the background of a t-shirt, or why things are like this and this and this. I think it was a lot of work and the response wasn’t there’, he explains. Phipps has already gone beyond taking the usual steps with informative tags, recyclable packaging and working predominantly with deadstock materials across all its lines with Gold Label and Lab created primarily in the USA. Still, he isn’t naive in understanding the difficulties of changing consumer habits. ‘You need to focus on the final product and making things that are appealing and desirable. The ultimate goal is that you want that customer to feel sexy. If you’re going to wear a t-shirt or pair of jeans that make your butt look great and you feel your highest self in them then that for me is an accomplishment.’

Desire seems to be the missing ingredient in much of the sustainable fare available today which is something that Phipps is rectifying. The brand’s S/S 23 collection hit home the brand’s overarching rugged sex appeal with the designer describing it as ‘a sort of pastoral summer vacation. Aspirational American lives’. Rather than the languid, perfectly manicured models typical of menswear at the moment, Phipps’ sought out burly and bearded men to showcase his S/S 23 collection. Rife with handle-bar moustaches, camouflage print, boxer shorts, and beefy builds, it’s a vision of masculinity that has taken a backseat in recent years amidst the rise of queer aesthetics that have sparked conversations on what contemporary masculinity looks like.

‘It's a funny thing because we talk about gender-fluid clothing which just inherently means feminine clothing. What we try to do is almost the opposite’, he explains. ‘There's all these conversations about gender politics in clothing. You have Saint Laurent who are making blouses and things and that's all well and good on runways but I’m not sure all these conversations take into consideration actual dudes. It’s a beautiful show to watch on these lanky twenty-year-old hairless little twink boys walking around. It's incredible and they look great. But where’s the body hair?’

The type of masculinity that Phipps presents is by no means a novel proposal. Aesthetically, it’s in line with the kind of hegemonic masculinity that’s long dominated Western culture and has only been reckoned with in the last decade with criticisms around misogyny and homophobia. When asked about the association between these hyper-masculine codes and notions of toxic masculinity Phipps fired back, ‘I think that’s oversimplifying it. Masculinity isn’t inherently toxic, toxic masculinity is, absolutely’.

Phipps isn’t alone in his exploration of ‘traditional’ masculinity. At the Paris Fashion Week menswear shows several brands presented similar ideas of the great outdoors including Ouest who looked to the surfers of South West France. ‘I think there’s definitely the inverse conversation to have about that kind of masculinity in clothing. Actually identifying what is masculine clothing because to me it’s rugged, pragmatic, durable, it's tougher. Less fragile.’

As he gets ready to present his A/W 23 collection in Los Angeles in the coming weeks, our conversation turns to Phipps’ future. ‘My dream is for it to become an American heritage brand’, he explains. While Phipps is still in its infancy compared to the likes of Levi’s and Woolrich, in the short span since the brand began they’ve already well established not only a recognisable image but a manifesto that makes it a real contender for becoming one. ‘It’s been fun to develop that language. We’ve been pretending like we’ve been around for the last 200 years. Oh, you haven’t heard of us? Where have you been?’