MADE TO ORDER UTILITY WITH WALEY GAO FROM TIRED LAB
Hailing from Toronto - Waley Gao is an emerging forerunner in this space of made-to-order, patchwork gear.
His pieces focus on highlighting the individual story behind each fabric and material while interweaving those materials together into an infinitely wearable garment. The aim and intent is clear: unique utility clothing with a conscientious eye for binding the core DNA of your own homegrown brand into each step of the production process.
Drawing influences from utilitarian functionality and with a deep focus on wearability, Tired pieces range from the completely custom made-to-order category all the way to their most recent collaboration with Latre - patchwork pants formed with hand-dyed cotton from West Africa and repurposed M-51 jackets.
A recurring theme in Tired’s production process is responsibility, and how location affects more than just the current project. While Waley and Tired are both currently based in Toronto, some of their projects such as the aforementioned made-to-order program, shining a much-needed light on the implications and difficulties that everyday consumers may not ever have to think about. The accessibility of materials, factory specialization and decisions on scale are just some of the necessary components that can not only affect the production process but also the production schedule far beyond the current foreseeable timeline.
We sat down with Waley Gao to explore more of his thoughts on responsibility, what’s next for Tired, along with his previous foray into music and how that’s shaped his design ethos.
Hi Waley, thanks for talking with us - for those who aren’t familiar with you or Tired Lab, how would you express the creative force behind what you do, and how does it tie into Tired Lab itself?
Hey thanks for having me. Wow creative force. Thank you, I just see myself as a guy making clothes. I used to release pieces on a sporadic basis which eventually turned into Tired.
For you and Tired Lab both - what drives your design process more - pure minimalistic functionality or the ready for anything, anywhere, at any time ethos? How do you balance these two in your process?
Both are equally as important in my design process. I want to make clothing that can be worn all the time, and by incorporating functionality, wearability, and comfort I think these help achieve that goal. I think the ethos is to create uniform pieces that are made to last.
How do you see the concept of “utility” being reimagined with Tired Lab?
I don’t see us reimagining utility cause it isn’t a goal in mind when we make things, but we just want to offer something different.
Do you agree with the belief that locally sourced materials are always the best? Or is that a mindset that you think is pushed purely for the sake of just being able to say that a brand is “local”?
It has its pros and cons, and it depends on what you’re trying to do. Like if you’re just starting out and you can’t commit to the minimums and the higher costs of fabric from specific mills or countries, or you’re only looking for a couple yards and you want something quick and easily accessible, then sourcing materials locally is the way to go.
There’s a number of downsides, i.e. you’re looking for something specific, you’re limited to what the local stores bring in. If you’ve been using local materials and you decide to do a production run, you could run into some obstacles with sourcing, like the local spot might not bring in the fabric again, or they sold out and won’t be restocking. I’ve run into this situation several times where I’m ready to do a run, and I can’t get it from the local spot for any of those reasons so I have to source elsewhere regardless.
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Also I’m from Toronto so materials are most likely imported anyways, so it really depends on where you’re from and if you’re able to get materials from a truly local source. I think it’s great if you can cause you can directly support the source, have a reliable and consistent supply, quality control in person, and avoid import costs.
Location seems to be a recurring theme in a lot of your work and being able to see all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes is a vital part of the process. The Tired Lab X Gutter plushie collaboration is a great example of giving that insight and connecting those dots between Chicago, Toronto, and Japan. Are you currently still based out of Toronto, and if so, how important is that to you right now?
Yes I’m still in Toronto. I think about this pretty often.. It would be easier to do this in a city where materials were easier to access, or there were more factories that specialize in what I’m trying to do. It would remove a couple steps I deal with living in here which end up being time consuming and expensive, but for now Toronto is cool. It’s limited here but I’m making it work.
Speaking of other brands - Index is another label you were involved in with Eske Schiralli as a co-partner, and it definitely has a significantly different feel than Tired Lab does. What was that like?
I learned so much from that experience. We did as much research as we could before stepping into it, and we had no background in the clothing industry. So we figured out each step as it came. There was a lot of trial and error.
We went the full production route where we learned how to find and work with a pattern maker, doing fittings, sourcing and resourcing fabrics, finding a factory, etc. and everything that comes with starting a brand + running a business that I had no idea about. I was also interning at the time at a store to learn the buying and e-commerce side of things.
What about your relationship with Eske? How did you guys meet?
We met back in high school and played in a band together before starting a brand.
Is there another brand or designer on your radar you’d love to work with in the future?
Yes and we will be doing something together soon!
The master archive that is the Internet showed that you were in a band called Homage. Is that still something you’re active in?
Lol you guys are crazy , no we stopped around 2014 right before I started working on clothing.
What’s the backstory on the name Homage? What would you say the word homage means to you nowadays?
Man it was such a long time ago.. Our old name was a joke and I wanted to be taken more seriously as a band when we actually released music, so I was down for anything. Dropping music and playing shows was my priority and I was mostly cool with whatever we decided on. I think we just went through the dictionary and marked options that stood out to us. In regards to what I do now, I would say the word means learning and respecting proper techniques, and taking your time to master them. Whenever I see my old work and wish I was more patient with my approach.
On the topic of music , how big of a factor does music play? Is there a genre or style of music you’d describe your design process being the most similar to?
On an everyday basis it’s a big factor because it’s the artform I consume the most, and it affects a lot of what I do. But by having gone through the experience of writing and performing music I think theres a lot of overlap for both processes. They are both outlets for feelings I cant express in words.
I think clothing is actually easier since it’s tangible and something being well constructed are undeniable, where things in music are more subjective. Especially the genre we were playing in hah. I’ve always identified with the work ethic of rappers and producers I’ve seen in hip hop, like bringing an engineer on tour so you could continue recording. That’s crazy.
The idea of each piece being made-to-order is usually reserved for the tailored suiting world, do you think this the beginning of two worlds colliding together?
Not at the same capacity cause it’s hard to execute logistically as a brand in this space but yes I’m starting to see it a bit more. Having something made specific for your measurements, or to obtain a certain fit brings a different type of appreciation for clothing and how it’s made.
Do you think this made to order mentality will continue for Tired Lab in the foreseeable future?
It was a good structure to start with as a new brand, but as we’ve grown over the past two years it’s become too much to operate on a piece by piece basis since it was just myself and a small team making the pieces. It caused other sides of the brand to be neglected, and it pushed us back months with our schedule. We’ve been really inactive as a result because of it.
If the proper infrastructure was set up to run a made to program that logistically makes sense then I would be open to doing so. But at the moment we’re looking to do factory runs for all future releases.
What goes into the sourcing and selection process for these made-to-order garments?
Made to order garments were all made using fabric and hardware from local stores in Toronto.
Along a similar vein, what are your thoughts on sustainability in the industry, and does it affect your production process at all?
I think it’s great if it’s genuine but it seems like a marketing tactic these days. Making clothes will never be 100% sustainable because it consumes resources and causes waste at every stage from fabric to clothing production. We try to do our best where we can, i.e small production runs, reusing where we can.
Scraps from every project for the past 4 years have been collected and used for projects like our plushes. I think we’re at like 10+ garbage bags now that will eventually be re-used for rebuild projects. When we were made to order, we only bought what was necessary to make each piece, and our production runs have been small quantities so far. We won’t be 100% sustainable for future releases, but as a clothing manufacturer I believe making well constructed pieces using high quality fabric that will last a long time is the best we can do.
Everything is a data point nowadays - Is there a method you use to measure goals for both yourself and Tired Lab? Something akin to a metric you’re using to determine if you’re still on the original path of what you originally set out to do?
Being able to do this day after day is the metric. It’s been a couple years now and I’m so grateful I get to do this for a living. I set loose goals for the brand to accomplish. They are usually things that are in my control and are realistic for where we’re at. I try not to let external factors dictate too much either. I am patient because I know it’s going to take some time to get to where I want to be.
What’s next for both yourself and Tired Lab during this unpredictable time that we’ve now been thrust into?
Moving in a new studio soon and we been working on some new stuff that’s being put it into production for the new year.
About The Author:
Joseph Wang is a Washington D.C. based storyteller focused on the history and influence that brands have on people, and vice versa. Connecting these stories to his roots, and immersing them with context and close relationships are what he strives for.
Photos by Tyler Hayward
