Jeff Staple is closing on the 25ththe anniversary of his Staple streetwear brand with the launch of a new Rizzoli book.
Entitled “Jeff Staple: Not Just Sneakers,” the book gives an insight into Staple’s storied career in the streetwear industry, starting from the graphic and fashion designer’s childhood and focusing on many of the highlights and major collaborations. that he has embarked on since founding Staple in 1997. .
“In the beginning, it was very painful because it’s essentially about taking my life and figuring out how to compartmentalize it, which is weird because life isn’t meant to be compartmentalized,” Staple said of the book’s making process. “Everyone’s journey is unique and intertwined. It’s like a spider web, right? And now you are asked to take that web and cut it into digestible chapters. That’s a challenging thing to do.”
While Staple’s book comes out during the 25 years of his brandthe anniversary, said the release date is a coincidence. He said he began conversations with Rizzoli three years ago after writing the foreword to Rizzoli’s book by his friend, designer Hiroshi Fujiwara, and finally began working on his own book during the start of the pandemic.
Staple, who recruited Brent Rollins to direct the art for the book, began the process by going through his archive of illustrations and notes from his childhood through his career. The book contains many of these sketches, which provide insight into Staple’s thought process and how he established his successful ventures in the streetwear market.
“Fortunately, I’m a packrat and I have everything saved,” he said. “Like all the sketchbooks and notepads I drew on, it had all this amazing artifact. I even found the notebook that had the line where it said, ‘What if I name the brand Staple?’ Going back to all those files was really cool.”
Staple said that the book is divided into four sections. The first spans from his childhood to just before he founded Staple, featuring sketches and journal notes from his childhood. Then section two delves into the business and section three focuses on Reed Space, the Lower East Side boutique Staple opened in 2001. The final section dives into all of the many collaborations Staple has embarked on in his 25 years, even with people like Virgil. Alboh, Futura, Jerry Lorenzo, Andre 3000 and many others.
When asked what it was like going through his files, Staple described the experience as “bittersweet.”
“One of the reasons I never seriously tried to get a book is because I feel like doing a book is almost like a retirement thing,” he said. “It’s almost like, ‘I’m done, here’s my book.’ And I’m not done, but I think Rizzoli was always one of those dream places and publishing partners that if I ever published a book, man, it would be awesome to have a Rizzoli book.”
In addition to Rizzoli’s book, which goes on sale Tuesday and retails for $55, Staple worked with the publisher to create a merchandise collection consisting of a hoodie, t-shirt and backpack.
Looking ahead to the next 25 years of the brand, Staple plans to stay true, consistent and on top of what’s happening in the streetwear market.
“I think one of the secrets to how I’ve been able to build what I’ve built is staying consistent since 1997,” Staple said. “The one lucky break, the big moment I had was understanding exactly what I wanted to do and the vision and direction of my brand in 1997. That’s very lucky because I have friends who are now in their 40s and are still trying to find what they want to do. they love to do, so I was lucky to find that, but once I found it, I was very consistent about it.”