What’s good boys! Today we have an exclusive interview with Chris Doyle, the founder of EDTR MADE. We previously interviewed him in 2021 when he was focusing on directing/editing videos in the music space. Now Chris is the creator of EDTR MADE a clothing brand that is doing things differently. Check out the interview below!

Q: What’s good bro! Stoked to catch up with you. The last time we
interviewed you was in 2021. What’s new with you?
EDTR: A lot has changed for me, but the biggest one is that I only really focus on clothes now, editing and video making is still something I’m interested in and have a passion for, but I don’t do it because I know other people who do it way better than me & who have a great eye for it.  Before the last interview we had in 2021, I was trying to make clothes for my editing brand but didn’t do enough research on it & didn’t know how it really worked.  Now clothing is all I do along with pop-ups and parties.

Q: Back then you were directing and editing music videos, what made
you transition from director to clothing designer?
EDTR: It wasn’t my goal at first to switch completely to clothing, but just to make clothes kinda based off my editing brand, but separate from it.  After a while I became more interested in it and it became priority over my editing & I got more fulfillment out of it.  I always wanted to be able to create a physical product I could touch.  At this point I wasn’t even successful with it, I just liked the idea of making clothes myself & having full control over it, not outsourcing it.  Making all the clothes myself I am more tied to it & a lot of times you see brands completely just stop creating stuff because they’ve gotten bored with it.  For me I can’t really get bored with it cause the stuff is so accessible for me and I am constantly thinking of new ideas.

Q: How have you leveraged those skills as a director/editor and
implemented them into your new found passion of design?
EDTR: Video editing itself didn’t have much of any leverage on my designing, but what did help me with my editing brand is Instagram & what to do and what not to do.  I made it a goal to not follow anyone besides myself on my clothing account so that all of my followers would be completely natural & follow because they like the brand.  Working with other people before I started my brand has also taught me a lot on how to talk to people and deal with people.  Regarding the clothes though, everything you see me doing is my progress in real time because before this I didn’t ever put thought into designing clothes, I had just put a logo on a shirt.  Over time though I have found what people like more & try to combine that with my personal taste (for example clothes mentioning New Orleans or 504) to make something I’d wear but can also see other people wearing.

Q: Could you briefly describe the essence and philosophy of EDTR
MADE as a unique streetwear brand?
EDTR: I’m not really sure how to answer this question, but being unique from other brands is extremely hard to do because there is just so much stuff that already exists, when you think you have a new idea, it’s probably already been done.  But also every new idea we have has been based off of something we’ve already seen, so maybe that is why a lot of the time brands look similar.  Yes there will be similarities between brands, but what can influence people to buy yours over theirs is what your brand represents.

Q: One of the distinctive features of EDTR MADE is the uniqueness of
each piece of clothing. Could you elaborate on the creative process
behind crafting these one-of-a-kind garments?
EDTR: The reason on most of my tags it says “EACH PIECE MADE UNIQUE” is because each shirt or hoodie will have some things different with it.  Each piece isn’t a copy and paste version of the other, as the placement of designs or tags or even embroidery may be slightly different. 

Q: Could you share some insights into the sources of inspiration that
drive the design direction of EDTR MADE’s collections?
EDTR: A lot of my inspiration comes from other brands and what I see people wearing.  Sometimes I’ll see cool placement of embroidery on a shirt and I’ll take a picture of it for later.  People have misconceptions of copying, you can take inspiration from things & your clothes look similar to theirs, while all keeping it different.  A lot of creativity when it comes to designing stuff is figuring out what you can remove from it, because a lot of the time there’s stuff that you can remove from designs that make it look a lot better.  I don’t specifically have one brand I’m inspired by because I’m trying to become my own distinguishable one, but opposite to having inspiration, having no inspiration at all or just not looking at clothes helps with designing too because then you can only make something that’s original and different from the others.  I think what helped me out at first was I didn’t know any other fashion brands to take inspiration from so I just made what I wanted & what I thought looked cool.  Even though other people didn’t agree, I still felt happy with what I made while also learning what people do and don’t like.

Q: What can we expect from EDTR MADE in the near future? Are there
any upcoming collections or collaborations that you’re particularly excited
about?
EDTR: Today I am dropping hats that I’ve been working on for a while. I’ve been designing them and working with people on them for months & now that I finally got them I’ve been doing photoshoots & video shoots with them.  I’ve also been working on the next EDTR MADE PARTY which will be sometime in the next few months, along with the shirts for the party.  But constantly even when I’m not planning a big drop (like the hats) or a party I am still drawing stuff out & thinking of new ideas.

Q: How do you envision EDTR MADE’s role in the broader streetwear and
fashion landscape in the coming years?
EDTR: Where I see myself is something that I think about all the time and think that that’s something a person should keep to themselves.  I would love to create different clothes and make more unique pieces, but another thing I am focused on is putting on great events (like parties) that people will attach a memory to & think of EDTR MADE in that way.  That would hopefully influence people’s decision when buying my clothes, and be wearing the clothes because of what EDTR MADE does outside of just shirts.  

Q: Is there a message or sentiment that you’d like to convey to your
current and potential customers, especially those who have been following
EDTR MADE’s journey?
EDTR: I don’t have a single message or sentiment attached to my brand, but for people who have been following me and supporting me even since my clothes weren’t all that Thank you.  People sometimes question why I’m doing something even though I’m gonna make no money from it and 1; I just like to do it, and 2; Everything I’m doing now will be worth doing someday when you can look back on it.  It is just adding to the portfolio of your brand and making it more solidified, that’s the only payment you will get in return for certain things.  I still have a lot of steps considering my brand and how young it is, and plan on eventually growing past just streetwear.  But for right now and at the stage I’m in I love what I do & hope to continue and progress.

Thanks for reading! Make sure you guys check out their new collection, i’ll post the link to their website below. Cheers!

https://edtrmade.com