About G-star RAW

Since our creation in 1989, G-Star’s philosophy has always been, ‘Just the Product.’

G-Star RAW (commonly called G-Star) is a Dutch designer clothing company that, founded by Jos van Tilburg in Amsterdam in 1989, produces urban clothing. Models for the brand include Liv Tyler, Lily Cole, Girls' Generation, World Chess ChampionMagnus Carlsen, Clémence Poésy and musician Sergio Pizzorno. It was showcased at the New York Fashion Week from 2008 to 2011.[1]

G-Star was originally named Gap Star but decided to change their name upon going international to avoid confusion with the already established Gap. The brand specializes in making raw denim—an unwashed, untreated denim. G-Star is influenced by military clothing. Inspirations of their designs come from vintage military apparel from around the world. Some examples include special pockets constructions and the use of trims.

G-Star's flagship stores are located in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Sydney,Shanghai, Paris, London, Cardiff, Milan, Santiago de Chile, Mumbai and the Netherlands as its home base in the most luxurious shopping street of Amsterdam, the P.C. Hooftstraat. In total, G-Star has more than 6500 selling points worldwide.

P.C. Hooftstraat

Gstar

Head designer Pierre Morisset invented '3D Denim'

Inspiration often comes from the most unexpected places. Head designer at G-Star, Pierre Morisset, recalls the story of his own inspiration, narrating it with the enthusiasm and fervor of a proud father. Morisset was sitting at a café in the South of France when he saw a German motorcyclist go by. Over time, his jeans had become etched with the markings of his long journey and his exposure to the elements. Morisset says the jeans had wrapped and creased onto the biker, contorting to his form and inspiring what would be his first jeans designed using the 3D-denim method.

As with most innovative ideas, these jeans, which are much loved today, were not an instant hit. Holding true to their ideals of innovation, G-Star stood by their design and employed a variety of marketing strategies to get the public into their sculpted 3D denim. Once customers tried on a pair of these now-iconic jeans, they were blown away by their form, fit and functionality. This process further cemented the importance of functionality in design; an element that serves as a pillar of G-Star’s brand DNA. Since their entrance into the denim market, the beautifully constructed jeans have had a cult-like following and have maintained their status and relevance as one of G-Star’s top sellers.

Head of women's design at G-Star RAW, Rebekka Bach

As head womenswear designer for G-Star RAW, Rebekka Bach is at the forefront of pioneering denim design for women. Interviewing Rebekka at the Bread and Butter Tradeshow in Berlin last week we discussed the endless possibilities of denim which continue to inspire the innovation and craftsmanship at the heart of the G-Star brand philosophy. Read the interview with Rebekka to discover the latest innovations and key features of the autumn / winter 2013 G-Star RAW collection and find out why G-Star has launched a women’s only store.

Co-owner Pharrel at G-Star

This partnership comes after two years of collaboration between G-Star and Pharrell Williams’ company Bionic Yarn on RAW for the Oceans, transforming recycled ocean plastic into denim. With established compatibilities in design ethos and creativity, Pharrell’s involvement with G-Star emerged to be natural fit, both being recognized for a shared pursuit of innovation.

G-Star and Pharrell Williams share an aesthetic that is raw, pure, innovative and identified by the continuous search for the unexpected.

Pharrell: “G-Star is an independently minded and forward thinking company. I believe they will be the definitive jeans brand of the 21st century. I am looking forward to be part of that mission and to co-create G-Star’s future.”

Being the originator of forward thinking design concepts such as 3D denim, mass market craftsmanship and shaking up the industry with progressive endeavors such as their collaboration with acclaimed industrial designer Marc Newson, furniture line Prouvé RAW Office, and partnership with world chess champion Magnus Carlsen; G-Star foresees that the partnership with Pharrell will stretch expectations with something unexpected and suitably raw.

Thecla Schaeffer, CMO G-Star RAW: “In working with Pharrell Williams we wish to continue to innovate by allowing Pharrell to push the boundaries even further across all aspects of our business from creating new product ideas and new visions on sustainability to creating new brand experiences. We’re genuinely excited to welcome Pharrell into the G-Star mission in order to reimagine the future of denim together.”

G-Star will expand and continue its partnership with Bionic Yarn. With Pharrell as new co-owner, G-Star's sustainability initiatives will remain a core focus to innovate the future of jeans.

The Head Office on the A10

In 1989, a small designer clothing company was founded in Amsterdam, which soon went on to become Europe's most iconic raw denim company. Originally named Gap Star, the firm is now known as G-Star Raw. Just like the denim that made the company famous, the notion of raw surfaces is also at the core of their new headquarters, designed by Rem Koolhaas and his Rotterdam-based Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

A lot has been said about contemporary architecture's role in developing physical manifestations of brand identities for large fashion houses, and it is often debated whether the architecture actually ends up enhancing or conflicting with the company's 'brand values'. In the case of Rem Koolhaas and the Dutch jeans company G-Star, however, the combination seemed like a natural fit, seeing as a distinct aesthetic of raw industrial chic lies at the core of both firms. G-Star defines their own corporate identity as "unfiltered, unprocessed, crude, naked and harsh" - and the same could arguably be said about a lot of OMA's work.

Today G-star is one of the biggest HQ in the world.

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