I walked into a cafe, after missing two busses and therefore resorting to a bellowing haul down Halsey Street in Newark, to meet a calm soul sitting on the edge of a chair with his head positioned so that his eyes could catch a glimpse of the sun that sat on the concrete just outside the building we’d met in for the first time. This was Justis Pitt-Goodson. The creator of the brand we know today as BrownMill. I’d only known him from instagram because somehow, even though we’d went to the same school — Rutgers University Newark — we’d always seemed to have missed each other. A reality that is in no way unfamiliar to those attending larger universities. But what was strange to me, was though he’d accomplished so much in the creation of his brand at only 20 years of age and as successful as BrownMill has become, the eyes that sat just behind his eyelids possessed a humility. And so we spoke.
Let’s just start off with your name and what you do.
My name is Justis Pitt-Goodson and I’m a Tailor, Fashion Designer, Entrepreneur, and Leader and I make clothes. I Engineer garments.
Why did you choose Design?
I’ve always been a hustler— you know always trying to sell stuff to make money.Throughout middle school and highschool, I would sell sneakers, cut hair, sold candy all the above. But you know, one thing I really like to do is get dressed and look nice and present myself in a nice fashion. So I figured, “Why not teach myself how to do it?” That’s what I did and I just ran with it. I am a big advocate for Salam— a black owned business — and I’d always ask myself, “All these clothes I buy, where is this money going?” And of course, I soon realized, “Not my people.” And in that, I wanted to build a platform, to put my people on— to put my friends on. And so that’s something I’ve been doing since then.
You post often your community service escapades, why is it important to give back to your community?
Well I feel like, personally, nobody ever really did it for me. So like, going through my trials and tribulations. Seeing like, “Damn I wish I had this, I wish I had that,” or “I wish someone would’ve told me this earlier, and also being an older brother, that kind of helps — seeing my lil’ brother not go through shit that I went through, is because I was there to say “This is what you don’t do and this is what you do.” So It’s like, “What if we can do this on a mass scale, what if we can scale that to our whole community? What is we were leaders and could tell the youngins’ “this is what you don’t do and this is what you do.” and just be an example for them and lead by example. I guess my passion for Community Service comes from not having that in my life.
So that’s why you identify so much with being a leader. Hmmm. Would you say creating BrownMill was a form of leadership?
Yeah. That’s one hundred present. If we don’t make clothes, even if we never sell another jacket, as long as we’re presenting ourselves in a manner that we should, we’re doing the best that we can do.
In terms of the stigma surrounding African Americans, how do you feel about us representing ourselves in the best way possible?
You know, that’s a tricky question because I don’t wanna be like, “Everyone should pull their pants up and be that guy.” I mean, when I create clothes, I think of the “BrownMill Man”, so that’s all I can do. I can’t think about everyone in the world— I think about the “BrownMill Man” and who I’d like that to be and what I think he should stand for.
What should the “BrownMill Man” stand for?
Yah know, I think he should be a righteous individual, I think he should be someone who’s conversation should always be one of improvement. Someone the little guy on the street can look up to. The “BrownMill Man” should be someone that’s attractive — Mentally and Physically, a Full and Healthy being. And that’s who I design for. That's… The “BrownMill Man”. I can’t say the “BrownMill Man” doesn’t hang on the block, because yeah he could hand out oon the block. But if he’s hanging out on the block, he’s always doing good shit for the community. Talking about good shit. So what would the “BrownMill Man” wear? That’s my process.
So would you say you create clothing for the sake of Occasion? Would you say you create uniforms for what is considered to be the “BrownMilll Man?”
Yeah, you know, my mentor — Luigi Theodore of the Brooklyn Circus — once said to me that “It’s very important that we have uniforms when we come to the office.” I always understood that because, we all went to the March on Washington in December as a collective, and when you saw all the Muslim sisters there, you knew you couldn’t just approach them the same way you’d approach shorty on the street. You couldn’t go up to them and be like “Ayo Ma! …” Because she’s wearing her hijab, and why is that? Why did I feel I couldn’t approach her any way I wanted to, that’s because by the way she was dressed it represents something, it spoke to what she stood for and the way she presented herself mattered. And I thought of ways of how can we put that into the context of what we do as far as BrownMill and the Brooklyn Circus? Making sure we constantly use that same philosophy? Because it really does matter; presentation of self.
I feel like we sort of know and understand that better than anyone, because as a black man, there’s always this stigma surrounding us. A large part of the world sees us as delinquents as soon as they see our brown skin, they see us as a physical threat. Nonetheless, to piggyback off of what you said, presentation does matter, but in what sense do you think presentation doesn’t matter? In what sense do you think substance matters most?
See that’s the thing, I noticed you stated that people think black people are delinquent and all the above, But at the same time, I always end up asking myself, “Why does it matter what they think?” It really only matters what my community thinks, right? So in a sense, presentation does matter, but it doesn’t. Creating a balance is important. But overall, I think it’s important that we create something that stands for something and that is greater.
How would you explain the Utility Collection?
So the Utility collection is something we did last year, around August. And I thought of the notion behind “functionality.” Making sure that pieces aren’t just fashionable, but ensuring that they’re also functional. I started studying janitorial positions and people in the work industry and at the time I was working at a mechanic shop under a guy named Joe and seeing him go day to day with the things that he wore — clothing that possessed pockets, elastic embedded material for flexibility and comfort — I thought, “Let’s devote a collection to just that essence, those patterns, those color schemes,” so in one word — Functionality.
What are BrownMill’s origins?
My grandfather’s last name is “Brown” and my grandmother’s first name was “Mildred,” so I went off of what they stand for. My grandfather moved from North Carolina with three kids to the hood. He worked two full time jobs just to get them out of there. So with that and my grandmother’s creative abilities, I thought it was important to embody what the stood for in their lives, and family is something I really hold number one.
"The only thing I know
about leadership
comes from a woman."
Your latest collection you have coming out — The Virago Collection — you mentioned in a post on the BrownMill instagram page, that especially in Western Culture women aren’t really valued and in that it’s hard to find words in the english language that represent or embody the powerful women. With your grandmother having such a strong influence on you, what is your definition of a “Powerful Woman?”
Well, giving context, I was raised by women. My grandfather had a stroke and was bed ridden when I was in the fourth grade, so most of my life I was raised by my mom, my grandmother, my aunt. So that female image, that model has always been there — it will always be there. And I won’t stray away from. The only thing I know about leadership comes from a woman. So it’s hard to describe.
Considering that those words are so hard to find, and language and communication is everything in society, you wanted to create a collection that stood for what it meant to be a heroine rather than creating a word. The collection is the word. Did you want to create a collection that honored everything you know about leadership and how that stemmed from the posture of a woman?
Haha! — See i’m trying not to give you too much on the collection before it actually comes out! But the collection is so dope man. All the models will be female. Being a menswear brand I wanted to express our ability to be flexible, so although it won’t be women’s clothing, It’s be woman displaying the clothing in a unique way. One of the quotes that inspired this collection is the words of Kanye when he said “I could stand there in a speedo and be looked at like a fucking hero.” We want to have the barest and minimal approach to this collection and at the same time no matter what, the looks that these women give are very heroic. I want people to see right off the back “Damn, thats a leader.” You know? So i’m really excited for this. Hopefully it changes some lives, some perspectives.
I’ve noticed that most of your clothing has this recycled element to it, can you explain that a bit?
So yeah, that’s another thing we explored. Its an ongoing project called “Thread by Thread.” So around the world, tons and tons of clothes are wasted every year. So knowing that, and knowing the garment industry. So that project is dedicated to making clothing sustainable. We use one hundred percent recycled fabrics. Hopefully going forward, that’s something we do with every piece of clothing. We hope to be a clean sustainable brand.
Socially, what would you say you’re attempting to do with BrownMill?
Overall I want it to have a very communal feel — a very grass roots feel. In terms of stores, I want to only have about three stores around the world. I want that tailored element to always be there. I feel there are many brands that produce too much, which depletes the value of an item. So being able to walk into a store and say “only ten people have this and I’m one of them…” thats awesome. And on top of that, if the quality is A1. That’s something I want to maintain throughout. I’d like to give people an opportunity to display and exercise their creative abilities through my platform. A lot of people I’ve worked with in highschool and college who are on my team and are doing the same things. I wanna give people the opportunity to be the best that they can be at all times. I wanna urge people who have talent to exercise it. I want to do the best that I can do in order to help urge people on my team to do what they were born to do. People who aren’t in the brand. I want to inspire them to go after their dreams. That traditional “Follow Your Dreams” speech.
I sense there’s a connection between your urge to create and recreate, and your desire to change society’s perception of certain groups of people. Is that accurate?
Yeah I think so. I don’t think my motive is to change the world. But I do what I think is right. I consider myself a God seeking man, and I compare myself and what we do, to the prophets in the holy books. In these books, thee talk about Jesus, Moses and Mohammed. These were excellent men and we’ll never attain what they attained. But it tells us to seek that, and try and then try again. As long as we try to be the best that we can be and to be like them, we’ll always be doing better than who we were yesterday. Its the same concept at BrownMill. If i’m doing the best that I can do as a leader— as if I was called as Mohammed, Jesus or whoever. So yeah.
What is the connection between BrownMill and sports? Does sports play a role in your brand?
I guess not directly, but indirectly. My background is in sports — basketball, football — but other than that I just love black heritage. I love melanated peoples heritage. That’s something I’d really like to promote. Anything I find interesting. Anything I find unique. Just sort of using that as a reference for what I do.
Who would you say were some of your inspirations? Who would you say inspired you the most?
Well, the Brooklyn Circus, who I interned for a while back. Ralph Lauren definitely. Oswald Burton. Supreme. Bape. A lot of different brands.
Lastly, what would you say to someone who wants to pursue a career in design?
I would say DO IT! I mean, be as timeless as possible. Because with Brown Mill, I think that’s what people like most about us. We make sure everything we make has that element. Because I think the worst thing you can do is create a trendy piece. That’s something I sort of what to move away from. I think with the sustainability factor, I think that’s something that can be kind of cool because these are pieces we can pass down from generation to generation. Make sure that whatever you do is done with great execution. And make sure that whatever you do isn’t done for the now. But taking in what you’ve done in the past, and present to create something that can be worn forever. There’s so much garbage out here in the industry. Don’t create garbage. If you’re going to create something, take your time. So it well. Do it hard. Use reference. Do it from your heart because uniqueness is something no one can ever take from you. The worst thing you can do is try and be like someone else. Each and everyone one of us is uniquely created and different. So drawing in and tapping in on that uniqueness, no one can mimic that. That’s something i’m working on every day — finding out who I am. What’s unique about me. The self analysis the self reflection i’m using to put into what I do.