Jeff Staple embodies the ethos of From Scratch perhaps better than anyone. In the inaugural episode, he talks about how he settled on the pigeon motif, which has become inseparable from his reputation as a designer. In his early days hustling on the streets of NYC, he began to develop an affinity for pigeons scrambling for crumbs every day: "All the time, I'm seeing these guys, pigeons, everywhere, 24/7, doing the same thing I'm doing. [...] You're me. No one likes you, everyone hates you, but you out here eating somehow." He goes on to joke: "Wait. Could the flying rat be my mascot?" And thus the Staple Pigeon was born.
They spend part of the episode diving into the Pigeon Dunk, which is one of the most iconic dunks in the history of streetwear. Especially in light of the revival of dunk hype over the past few years, the sneaker was ahead of its time.
Staple provides insight into his creative process in the current moment and addresses the contemporary state of streetwear. They also explore a massive collaboration of Jeff's this year: the Perspective Pigeon x Staple Pigeon collab. When Gary first debuted his Perspective Pigeon drawing, fans of Gary and Jeff alike drew the connection, blowing up their phones. They got on a call immediately and the rest is history.
From Scratch aims to highlight the mechanisms by which creators build their identity and find success with their vision. No one demonstrates the From Scratch mentality better than Jeff Staple, who built his empire, literally, from scratch. Watch the inaugural episode above and stay tuned for more.