Words by Christopher Kevin Au
Earlier this year, I started seeing Pseushi shirts pop up with greater frequency around Sydney’s inner-city.
So many questions plagued my mind: Where did Pseushi come from? How are they tapping into my inner angst with such precision? And just how the hell do you pronounce their name? Having dropped two collections accompanied by two very beautiful lookbooks in 2016, we decided to catch up Pseushi as they prepare to unleash a third collection in the near future. After all, they use embroidery on their garments and their models wear Air Max Plus in their promotional shots, so they must be worth talking to, right?
See what Pseushi had to say below:
First things first – how do you correctly pronounce Pseushi?
Sushi! Originally came from the name Pseudonym Store. Apparently it was too hard a name to remember for people though, so I kept it short.
Who is behind Pseushi and what are your respective roles?
Wesley Chiang and Chris Loutfy are the two behind Pseushi. We are both Graphic Designers by trade so we work collaboratively and closely with each other. Chris has been blessed with more of a business brain though so he drifts more towards the marketing and business side of things whilst Wesley leans more towards the design and manufacturing side. Chris is also a photographer so he takes care of everything in that aspect as well.
Some Pseushi garments use photography prints on them. How do you pick a photograph that will translate well onto clothing?
I guess manufacturing processes ultimately dictate how a photograph is going to transfer onto fabric. You’d be surprised how many screen printers we tried to convince to print the Germany Mountains photo on the hoodie. Other than that, I think we’re more concerned with the story behind the photos and what that piece of garment is about.
Pseushi seemed to go in two totally different directions with your Collection 1 and Collection 2 lookbooks. What was the motivation behind switching up the mood so drastically?
The first collection was shot in house by Chris – we wanted to put forward a really disorientating and dizzying look, something we really wanted to get across with the collection, fast paced and psychotic. The second collection is really considered, and focused on doing everything slowly and with a lot of time spent on every aspect. We wanted it to be timeless so we went with a really clean studio shoot by our talented friend Rachel Dray.
You also seem to employ a diverse range of models for your lookbooks. What do you look for when you get someone in front of the Pseushi camera?
We never wanted to use real models. We are inspired by our friends and kids who are in the street wearing clothes in their own unique way, so all the people we shoot are just people we know. We want people to see themselves in the garments, not some unrelatable whitewashed collection of models. We are both children of immigrant families and first generation born in Australia so we have no interest in representing a homogenised vision. We want to represent the vast difference in colour, size and gender of our friends and the culture of Sydney youth.
You have chosen to go the independent route rather than getting stocked in stores. Why did you pick this and how do you think Pseushi will be distributed in the future?
We always want to have a really strong control over how the collection is represented and viewed, and when you get into the retail space it can be hard to keep that distinct vision.
We are really being careful and selective with how the label is available. The online space spoils you, you can sell direct to your customer and speak to them on social media, but we are very aware that we need to have a physical presence in Sydney and build the culture with a local store, but we are just working on how that will work. You’ll see Pseushi at a brick and mortar Sydney spot soon enough.
You guys also recently released your debut Pseushi tape. It’s pretty dark. Are these tunes that you enjoy generally or do you think they sonically mirror the aesthetics of the brand?
Everyone we’re releasing a Pseushi Sounds tape with has their own very unique curation of music, so I guess it’s more about the individual than us to be honest. We’re really just wanting to offer a platform that showcases what they’re about and what others are doing in Sydney instead of putting our stamp on everything.
You guys also played around with a Pseushi Air Max 95 on Nike ID on Instagram. Please tell me one of you guys actually copped these?
Still got them saved in the cart… summer’s creeping around the corner though so I might have to pull the trigger soon.
Being pretty active figures in the Sydney art scene, any plans to release a collaboration in the future?
We want to give our friends a platform to share our vision and produce something we are all proud to release. We have a few things in the works with some of our favourite artists, so keep watch for that.
What’s on the cards for Pseushi for the rest of 2016?
We’re currently in the middle of productions for Collection 03. It will be by far the biggest range we’ve offered to date so hopefully you guys will dig!
