Gypsy Sport Rides a New Wave
On a rainy and windy New York Fashion Week day, Gypsy Sport held their SS24 runway show on Governors Island – a circumstance that didn't stop anyone from celebrating the brand’s 10-year anniversary. The eclectic collection was a clear indication that change was among us. The rain trapped guests on the island, turning the runway show into a full-blown party that had the models dancing in the outfits they walked in.
The gender-neutral brand displayed dresses, tweed two-piece sets, crochet, glittery and sequin looks, and jersey mesh – many that were more elevated than their everyday streetwear looks. We spoke with Uribe after the show to learn more about this chapter for the brand.
What was the inspiration behind the 10-year anniversary collection?
This season was inspired by all of the past Gypsy Sport collections that I’ve ever made. I went through all of my archives and pulled out some of my favorite pieces and then I decided to remake them for 2024. It was like looking back at all of the things that we’ve done but then also I figured if somebody has never heard of Gypsy Sport and this is the first time they’re gonna see it, I want them to kind of know some history.
How were you able to make it different from your previous collections?
Every collection that I do is pretty different, but it was a challenge to make all of those collections cohesive. I did it mostly with the color story and the colors that we used. A lot of the first samples that I made were janky, not finished, missing buttons, or didn’t fit perfectly. This was a chance to make everything fit better and look better.
You had the runway on Governors Island despite the rain. How did that go?
We couldn’t predict the weather. I thought the venue was perfect. I knew it was going to be a bit of a challenge for our guests, but we honestly had so many great RSVPs and confirmations. It kind of turned out to be a private party for the people who stuck around and made it through the rain. I appreciated it because we’re such a community-based brand. I knew a lot of the fashion industry people were not going to be able to stick around, but at least the people that I designed for were there and that’s what really mattered to me.
After 10 years, you’re changing the name of the brand. Going back to the origin, how did you come up with the name Gypsy Sport?
I was grocery shopping in Harlem. They were selling sneakers in there that were called G-Sport. I think it was one of the first posts I ever put on Instagram. Then I thought, ‘That’s so cool. These shoes are probably made in, I don’t know, Egypt somewhere, and then they’re shipped to America, and some guy in Harlem is wearing G-Sport slides.’ It just inspired me so much. I came up with the name Gypsy Sport and then literally the same day, I googled it and found out that it was already a breed of a horse. I really love the horse, it was actually gonna be my logo, but I came up with the planet instead. It was just one of those days where everything was telling me, ‘That’s the name, this is it, you found your name.’ I loved it. I still love the name Gypsy Sport. I still love the work and I wanted to keep it, of course, but it doesn’t feel like it’s my word to use anymore. I’m just more educated on the language, the culture, and the oppression of the Roma people. It took us a while to make the decision to change it because it’s not easy; there’s a lot of back-end stuff and costs. But I figured if we’re turning 10 years old, there’s no better time to do it than now – just make the change, jump into the void, and figure out what the next name will be.
With the renaming of the brand, will there also be a new look, or will it be cohesive with past collections?
There will be a new look, but the logo, we call Planet Hadden, will not change. It’s a registered logo. But the aesthetic and the name will be different.
Do you have a new name yet?
Not yet.
Once the name is changed, where will you and the brand go from there?
We will work with more people. I think being established enough now to know how to work, in a big way, Gypsy Sport was an educational process for me and my team. I’m not formally educated, I just kind of jumped into fashion and it grew much bigger than I expected it to. I wanted to take everything we’ve learned over the last 10 years and concentrate that into the strongest, most beautiful parts of Gypsy Sport that will live on through the new name.
Do you plan to continue to run the brand or will you have someone take on your role?
I’m going to continue to be the creative director, but we will have new people coming in to help run the company in a tighter, smarter way.
Is there anything you want to say to new and old fans of the brand?
I want to apologize again to anyone who’s been offended by the name. I just want to reiterate that the intention of the brand, aside from being cool fashion and selling clothes to people, has always been more important for us to unify, celebrate diversity, and bring new types of people into the fashion industry that have never been recognized before. I really love that we're doing that and we’re going to continue doing that with the new brand name.
