Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Labat.
Hi Ian, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My passion for Streetwear started back in early 2006 when I became a fan of Lupe Fiasco and was able to find videos of his interviews on the internet. I already knew about A Bathing Ape and had a Billionaires Boys Club hoodie, but had no idea about other brands or the culture and community surrounding Streetwear as a whole. I loved that Streetwear clothing gave me a new way to express things visually.
After being a huge fan of Streetwear for so many years, I eventually realized that the big brands in Streetwear were only really representing New York, Los Angeles, or Tokyo. Like, I would wear a Mishka hat, and people would ask me, “Oh you’re from New York?” And I would always have to answer, “Naw I’m from New Orleans. I just like this brand.” Unfortunately, around that time, the only clothing I knew about that represented New Orleans were tourist souvenirs and sports jerseys. That’s the initial dilemma that led me to create Roulé SAPC.
I wanted to be able to wear something that was well-designed with attitude but also represented my city. I’ve since branched out to include the surrounding areas of New Orleans as well as the “Third Coast” or the Gulf Coast to give representation to people left out from the bicoastal creative communities.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Probably the biggest challenge has been doing all of this as a solo entrepreneur. It took a while to find quality vendors and printers to produce my designs and a reliable and cost-effective way to produce and fulfill orders. I’ve been lucky to have some financial support from my family because all of my expenses have been out-of-pocket so far. This has made it a little bit harder to expand as quickly as I would like or invest in larger marketing campaigns to really boost awareness of Roulé.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My goal with Roule was to create a space for New Orleans and Third Coast in the Streetwear scene and to share the rich culture and history of the city that I love. Many people only know New Orleans for the stereotypes surrounding Mardi Gras, but it is so much more than that.
For instance, when people hear “Social Aid and Pleasure Club” they might think it’s something like a members-only gentleman’s club, but it’s much more wholesome than that. Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs were the original insurance companies for the community before insurance companies were widely available. Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs made sure its members could afford expenses surrounding healthcare, funerals, or property damage. But then they would also celebrate the good times by throwing parties, so that’s where the pleasure meets the social aid aspect.
I love sharing the history of New Orleans with others and I include a lot of cultural references in my designs. Like I have one design that references a postcard from the 1950s that promoted a widely known illegal casino in New Orleans – little tidbits of information like that fascinate me so I love to share that with others.
Another thing I like to do is to continue Streetwear’s long tradition of logo flips. It’s the same level of fun people used to get from bootleg Bart Simpson tees but also mixed with a few cultural references as well. For example, I have a design that is clearly a take on the logo of a huge fishing store chain, but I’ve made it represent Louisiana by changing the fish to a shark, because there are sharks in Lake Pontchartrain, and the font to read “Sportsman’s Paradise,” which is one of the nicknames for the state.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
My partner recently described me as a shy extrovert, and I’ve never felt so seen. I grew up really shy in school but was extremely talkative at home or around people I felt comfortable with. I also had a really bad speech impediment where I couldn’t say words with “er” or “ir.” So I had to take speech lessons till middle school.
I also had a bad case of stage fright that kept me from doing things like plays or sports, and I never had the patience to learn how to play any musical instruments so I never did much extracurricular-wise. I felt better going home after school and watching Dragonball Z on Toonami.
In terms of interests, I was a real video game and cartoon lover. I loved staying up late and watching Adult Swim. Cowboy Bebop and Home Movies blew my mind in two completely different ways. Also, as I said earlier, Lupe Fiasco was my favorite rapper growing up. He may not have made it cool to watch anime in the early 2000s, but it did feel good to relate to a rapper and feel represented by their music.
I became super interested in Streetwear in high school and found the Hypebeast forums that basically taught me everything I needed to know about the culture. Also, it was pure luck that my family relocated to Atlanta after Hurricane Katrina. I had no idea about stores like Standard, Wish, and Stratosphere when my mom asked my brother and me about possible places her job could transfer us to. We just knew that Atlanta sounded better than Dallas at that time.
I was all in once I found them though. My mom would give me lunch money every day, and I would skip lunch and save it to buy t-shirts or SB dunks. I basically practiced one meal a day way before it became popular just so I could get the things I wanted. Plus those clothes were much better than the food they were serving us. I still have a lot of that stuff to this day.
Contact Info:
- Website: RouleSAPC.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roulesapc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RouleSAPC/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/roulesapc
Image Credits
Hannah Washington and Mathu Moore
