Gourmet: 151 Pieces

Frank151: How did you guys come together and get to the point of run- ning a successful shoe company?
Greg Johnsen: I knew Jon and I knew our other partner, Greg Lucci. Greg and I had the same mindset, to come up with a more Italian-American brand. We were going to do it, but at the same time Jon was like, “I’m going to come up with this t-shirt brand, and it’s all about food. I’m gonna call it ‘Gourmet.’” I was like, “That’s bananas. You gotta meet my boy Greg. He’s telling me about the same thing.” Fast-forward, we were making stuff in Italy and trying to pull all that off, but it was just too expensive at the time. As an accessory to the brand, we developed a pair of sneakers that ended up performing well and caught a buzz. People were excited. From that point we never stopped making shoes and departed from making clothing. Now we’re evolving and building on the brand and delivering new styles as a full-on shoe brand.


F151: Talk about the Italian influence on Gourmet.
Jon Buscemi: We did make clothes in Italy, but we don’t anymore. We might in the future. It actually was—I don’t want to say a dream come true, but for guys like us who come from the “skate” or “streetwear” world, to make sportswear in Italy at some ofthe best factories in the world was amazing. And it does come from the influences that we grew up with. All of it goes into the design process, whether it’s music, food, clothes, cars, jewelry. So now instead of putting all that influence into clothing, we put it into shoes. You can see the influence in fabric selection, leather selection, lace selection, colors. The way we put everything together is all thought out and it comes from that inspiration.
GJ: It’s true. I think Gourmet is a blend of high-end principles, but for the everyday guy.


F151: Has Gourmet done any collaborations with other brands?
GJ: In this day and age, collabos are pretty much unavoidable. Instead of the normal, predictable “label and label,” we have to be smart and selective about who we pair up with. It’s not that special anymore to just do a collaboration, but with the nature of footwear and shoes, you can come up with something a little more unique.
JB: For 2011, we’ve gone into a partnership with Jason Castriota Designs. If you don’t know who Jason Castriota is, he was the lead designer for Pininfarina, the design firm that does all the Ferraris and Maseratis. He recently left to start his own design firm, and he’s going to be working on a shoe design for Gourmet inspired by car design and his history. We’re really excited to work with Jason ’cause he under- stands what Gourmet is. He grew up on the East Coast just like us, and he’s a designer just like us—he’s just in a different industry. He appreciates what we do, and we appreciate what he does. It’s like a marriage.

F151: Is the footwear market difficult to break into?
GJ: I started a t-shirt brand in the early ’90s when it was still like some kind of intimate family. It was intimate in that there were only a handful of people doing it, and you thought you were doing something special. And then it exploded. Footwear is like a graduated clothing line. You can’t just hop in and develop a shoe brand and deliver on it without paying dues, having knowledge on the design level, and knowing about the business. All three of us had different nuances and upbringings within the business. I was more hands-on, doing my brand and freelancing on the side. Jon was developing things for a major shoe brand, so he had more corporate knowledge about how to run a busi- ness. And Greg, the same way, had his own shops and was also working with adidas.


F151: What does Gourmet’s next season look like?
JB: With each season the design philosophy stays the same. That is to say we’ll never use cheaper materials or design something that’s super crazy. We stay in that zone, using high- quality canvas, high-quality leather. With each season, colors change and the way we put materials together changes, but for the most part, it stays constant. I think we’ve been successful because we’ve been consistent. We haven’t jumped on a trend or tried to reinvent ourselves every season. I think that’s where most companies fail. If you try to be too trendy, the longevity of your company won’t be there. We want Gourmet to live on.

Watch Greg and Jon make lobster parmagiana sandwiches and talk about Gourmet.

www.gourmetinyourface.com