Words by Christopher Kevin Au // Images of Chloe Sargeant by Angela McCormack

Moods is a new Sydney label looking to tap into your memories from yesteryear – a time dominated by Playstation, Oasis b-sides and pets that have since moved onto doggie heaven.

With garments arriving in flamboyant colours and refreshingly simple designs, Moods will be dropping Season 1 at Goodspace Gallery this Thursday December 8, where you’ll be able to purchase their debut line. Ahead of the launch party and pop-up, we chatted to co-founder Angus Truskett about the Gallagher brothers, how to become a mobile Photoshop expert and how good dogs are. Read it below and make sure you head to Goodspace come Thursday from 6:00pm:

Tell us who is behind Moods and why you guys decided to start a label?

Moods is myself, Angus Truskett, and my good friend Nathanael Noon. We started the label simply because we were sick of spending all of our hard earned cash on clothes made by other people.

Long before we decided to make Moods offish, we used to send each other weird design ideas we’d make on our iPhones and constantly try to out-do each other – just friendly competition. We always spoke about some “grand plan” to start our own label, and eventually we decided to put our (lack of) money where our mouth is. Now we try to only wear stuff we make, which makes us sound ~sustainable~ but it’s literally just a roundabout way of saying we’re bad with money.

You say that Moods is inspired by Oasis b-sides. Do you remember where you were when you found out that Liam Gallagher headbutted a fan on Oasis’ 1998 Australian tour in Brisbane?

Everyone remembers where they were when Liam headbutted a fan in Brisbane, don’t they? I was in my bedroom blasting their severely underrated 1998 album Be Here Now, still emotionally recovering from the fact they cancelled their 1996 Sydney gig when I was 11.

I didn’t go to see them in ’98 because of how much the ’96 cancellation got effected me, but eventually saw them in 2005. By then Liam’s voice was garbage, but how wild was 2005? Fun fact: listen to The Masterplan, it’s entirely b-sides from Oasis’ first three albums and it’s better than half their regular albums, no shit.

Which is the GOAT inebriated Oasis sing-a-long track: ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ or ‘Champagne Supernova’?

‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ is perfect in a private karaoke room full of mates – hopefully including someone you’ve wronged in the past. This way, you can relay the song’s sentimental message at the top of your lungs while a) maintaining direct eye contact with them and b) asking for forgiveness, all under the guise of a seminal crowd pleaser.

Tell us about the design aspect of Moods Season 1? What are the tricks of the trade when it comes to using Photoshop on iPhone?

Deciding whether to go ‘pro’ or not on a lot of the freemium apps. Are you distracted by pop-ups? Then drop that $4.99 and say hello to a less-interrupted design experience. Also, it’s a necessity to be able to screenshot while your fingers are in compromising ‘zoom’ positions.

You guys have used a pretty diverse and ignorant colour palette for your garments. In fashion, there seems to be a big shift away from 2012/2013 when everybody dressed like a goth – what do you think has prompted this move towards brighter aesthetic in fashion?

Euripides said ‘Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish’; ignorance ain’t shit. The future is bright.

For months we played around with a lot of colour and combinations – we would always land on combos that ignited some kind of nostalgia within us. We’d start off trying to find a palette that didn’t work, then make it work. If a garment can stand out and get attention for looking ‘different’ somehow, it makes for a more memorable experience.

You have plenty of nostalgic reference points for the brand. How do you use a brand to hark back to previous era while also remaining fresh and contemporary?

I’ve always been a firm believer of when something starts to become ‘ironic’ then it’s failed. We’re really inspired by bootleg merchandise for season one, so we’re trying to recreate a merch stand hearken back to something you’d see at a rock gig of yesteryear. But with fresh, contemporary, irony-free prices.

Your Season 1 trailer includes a lot of dogs. Besides dogs being pretty great, what has prompted the heavy presence of four-legged creatures?

It’s strictly a conscious business decision designed to drive profit. People don’t like people as much as people like dogs. Having said that, my dog Sparky’s ashes will be on display at the launch (RIP).

You guys will be throwing a launch at Goodspace Gallery this Thursday. Tell us about the event and what we can expect from Moods IRL presence?

Besides being able to buy our Season One range for the very first time, the launch is going to be soundtracked by DJ Levins who we commissioned to produce a mix with the theme: ‘All Dogs Go To Heaven’.

There’s going to be a 13-minute film playing on loop consisting of screensavers created for specially the event, snippets from low budget straight-to-DVD films with ‘Dog’ in the title and footage of Liam Gallagher picking fights with the press amongst other things. And last but not least, a live performance from Sydney’s best kept secret, a very kind boy called ERA KIN.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa4wqhHx7sM&feature=youtu.be