How would you introduce the brand to others when it comes to Guerrilla-Group?
It is a well-established techwear brand in China; It is also a hardcore cultural techwear brand created by movie/anime enthusiasts Or a "pioneering" fashion brand created by military fanatics... I think everyone is familiar with the general information and works of Guerrilla-Group. Still, with time, Guerrilla-Group is also constantly "evolving," so many friends have begun to say that they can't understand Guerrilla-Group more and more. In response to these problems, in 2020, we found the manager of Guerrilla-Group, Mr. Andrew Chen, and talked to him about the present and future of Guerrilla-Group in his eyes.
X: Hello Andrew, we all know that Guerrilla-Group has been established for seven years (launched in May 2013); with the change of time, I believe that you will have a completely different understanding of your brand, so can you now tell us about the opportunity you founded Guerrilla-Group, and what you see in your eyes today and your ideal future of Guerrilla-Group? (The X in the following article refers to X, and A refers to Andrew)
A: Hello; when (Guerrilla-Group) was founded in 2013, the purpose was straightforward, and the brand was only the title of my graduation thesis when I was in graduate school. Since I didn't know what direction the paper should be about, I decided to set up a brand and write my hands-on essay from a designer's perspective. But at that time, most of them were in the stage of thesis writing, so it was not until graduation that they decided to join the brand as a full-time job, which was also the end of 2014.
I did not come from a background in fashion design, so in my ideal setting, I have not simply limited Guerrilla-Group to the techwear themselves; on the contrary, I will be more inclined to define this brand as a platform I want to express Guerrilla-Group worldview through different media, and techwear is only an initial expression method.
This also explains why OSVI was founded, which will become our primary medium for expressing our stories and worldviews through game engines, new technologies, music design, etc. In the plan, Guerrilla-Group will not only be techwear , we have now set up a multimedia department in addition to OSVI, and the related projects are also expected.
X: Guerrilla-Group recently changed the limitations of the season as a new product release and altered "OSVI," a continuous drama-style chapter, as the theme of the season. Can you talk about the background and future direction of the music of OSVI?
A: OSVI is a milestone for me personally. In the future, Guerrilla-Group will abandon distributed storytelling and instead use continuous storytelling as the theme. In a relatively simple way, you can think of OSVI as a science fiction series, and the costumes in the future series of Guerrilla-Group will be the characters or groups that appear in the script. In terms of performance, the ideal situation is to produce more than six episodes per year so that everyone can fully understand the plot and worldview. In terms of story setting, although OSVI is an artificial intelligence AI, the script set will not be the dystopian plot that everyone is familiar with, and we hope to explore more in-depth information in this worldview. Technically, OSVI is a time-consuming but challenging creative process. Since we use the game engine Unreal Engine as the primary technology, it is different from the general 3D Rendering; our creative process is no different from game development, so we plan to launch each episode. In addition to the film itself, we can also establish a mini-game and soundtrack for everyone to download for free. However, the game's optimization is remarkably time-consuming, so we are still overcoming this aspect. The first episode is already making final-end adjustments, hoping to be released within a month.
X: As far as the theme of the latest season of Guerrilla-Group, NARAUTAL DISASTER (Natural Disaster), is undoubtedly a new shaping of the classic theme of the past and the present, so will It be possible for Guerrilla-Group to reshape the classic theme of the past in the future?
A: Previous natural disasters and this season's natural disasters can only be regarded as coincidental names. The original theme was a co-branded product based on Howie Lee's album, and this season is because OSVI's story originated with a natural disaster. In the creative development of future series, I will also try to avoid using elements or themes that I have used before.
X: Guerrilla-Group is currently in the form of agents in China. Have you considered an official entry into the mainland? The OSVI theme party held earlier by Guerrilla-Group has also caused quite a stir in China. Will it be possible to keep such a grand event on the mainland in the future?
A: Due to time and business reasons, there is no serious consideration of the official settlement plan. OsVI part, initially this year, was planned to do a tour of the two cities in the north. However, it may be extended to next year due to the epidemic, which is also a regrettable part.
X: We also know from some literature that you are a big fan of the military; For you, what role does the military play in the design of Guerrilla-Group products? What do you think the relationship between military and functional should look like?
A: At the product level, due to the global engagement during World War II, the rapid development of military uniforms was oriented to practical and functional as the central axis, followed by a large-scale hot war During the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the military uniform was developed under the premise of survival and continuous testing and optimization, accumulating a vast amount of material and inexhaustible details. The essence of military and functional is to achieve the best efficiency in harsh environmental conditions, in different latitudes and geographical environments, Guerrilla-Group's product settings use a large number of military designs as a detailed configuration; we do not particularly consider the background of the times and the war itself, but from the creation of the techwear itself to start, through functional fabrics, high-strength accessories to make the product have superior practicality. Guerrilla-Group tried to integrate military concepts into everyday wear, simplifying and deconstructing the over-functionally oriented orthodox military uniforms to achieve the balance and independence of each product.
X: Why has a series of popular functional fabrics, including Ecoya fabrics, which YOSHI HEAVY Industries used a lot today, become rarely used in recent pieces? We also found that Guerrilla-Group brings more high-end technology fabrics every season. Will this be the trend of GEF's development in the future? Looking back at the techwear you designed in the past, what kind of techwear do you think people need more in today's 2020?
A: Since the ECOYA fabric style developed before has not met our standards, we are currently working on developing new ECOYA fabrics; after all, ECOYA is an environmentally friendly material. The apparel industry's impact on the overall world environment is also a topic of concern to me, so we will continue to use this material. These fabrics will be expected to be applied to the design of 2021.
As for other fabrics, GFW will now expand the use of materials according to the needs of different series. For example, in the spring and summer of the 20th, the fireproof fabric Zeromelts®, the warm-sensitive fabric Unicombat produced by Majotech in Italy, and the M. Unicombat® which was used in the British army. Stealeth®, Maclowly, a highly breathable and lightweight fabric from Japan, and the familiar fabric company Schoeller produces 3XDRY® fabrics and high-strength three-layer fabrics® ™ C_CHANGE, etc.
Take the perspective of modern people. techwear design can improve the convenience of life, so in the creation of Guerrilla-Group, I am still learning the balance of product design and creative structure; after all, techwear is still used to wear, and it is still essential to wear comfortably.
X: In recent years, the techwear style of Guerrilla-Group has become more detached than in the early days, and the type of techwear has become more and more abundant; what kind of techwear do you want to try to integrate into your design in the plan?
A: In the future series, the design outline will be based on the plot orientation of OSVI, so I am not sure about the direction of the style. However, what is certain is that no matter how the silhouette of Guerrilla-Group is converted, the military uniform and techwear considerations will always be the brand's product design specifications.
X: Nowadays, more and more fashion brands are moving closer to functionality; how long do you think this situation will last, and will it become a significant trend in fashion styles in the future? Which brands are you paying more attention to recently?
A: Actually, I don't look at fashion brands much now, but the trend of functionality should not diminish. From the most austere meteorological environment in recent years, the earth we are in has gradually entered a state of extreme climate, and functional design is the techwear that can quickly respond to this environment. Brands now prefer Teatora, which is more straightforward and neater.
X: Finally, does Andrew have anything to say to the fans in China who like techwear and Guerrilla-Group?
A: I thank you very much for your support; although Guerrilla-Group has not officially entered the mainland, it has accumulated a lot of guests during this period, which is also a thing that I have always been grateful for; I hope to meet you through OSVI this year or next year.