Unassumingly, a bearded man walks into the room. Not quite hippie, yet not quite rocker, he proceeds to gaze round the room like a bright eyed child soaking up every minute detail. Underneath the gaze and the scraggly mop lies the very driven and very genuine Sean Woolsey, creator of Status Foe. At the binge drinking and Frat party age of 21, Sean avoids such clichés, shutting himself off to the outside world while forging his own paths. Because of this Status Foe has been picked up at retailers such as Active and Fred Segal, something that most designers dream of. Through all this Sean stays grounded, even finding time to talk with Over/Under about his infatuation with life and what’s next for Status Foe.

OU: How and why did you get started in fashion? S: I’ve always been into art and making my own clothes, cutting stuff up and putting it together differently; designing and all the aspects of it. OU: What are some challenges you’ve encountered? S: Oh man, there are so many challenges. I’d say that a really tough thing to over come is that there are so many clothing lines out there. It seems like every guy wants to be in a band and start his own clothing line. There is so much talent out there that it’s crazy. It’s just hard to start out and get your name out there, because all the big companies are advertising in all the big magazines and they already have the audience. That is a huge challenge. Getting it (the clothing) in stores isn’t easy either… OU: does it seem that initially you just call up the stores and get your stuff in there? S: Oh yeah! I wish it were that easy. You have to go through this whole process. It’s funny because in the last couple of days I got two emails from these two kids that are starting clothing lines and they’re hilarious. They want to start it (clothing lines) out because it seems like a cool thing to do. They’re asking me advice like how to get in stores, how to make the shirts, what programs I use. All these random questions… OU: You’re kind of figuring it out too? S: Yeah, I’m figuring it out, but they’re a few steps behind. I feel like telling them,” Honestly, dabble in starting your own restaurant or coffee shop, ‘cause the clothing business is not easy.” OU: You’re very young… S: 24 is young? No, I’m 21, and yeah 21 is pretty young. OU: Do you find that is an advantage or a disadvantage? S: I’d say it goes both ways. The beard definitely helps out. People don’t believe I am 21 when I have it. I think the product sells itself, though, and once you get to a certain level, like when you say,” I sell in Fred Segal and Active,” there ears and their eyes start focusing your way. OU: Doesn’t matter who you are… S: Yeah, but I meet people all the time that can’t believe I’m 21. OU: Are you more conscious about trends now that you are in the thick your own clothing company? S: I used to be really into what other clothing lines were doing, but the last few months I have wanted to stay in this box, like a fortress, and not even look at other stuff. I feel that when I see other stuff I get influenced by it and maybe go against what I really want to create. I shelter myself on purpose. OU: what fashion trends that you hate? Really like? S: I am over the Sevens (jeans), So over the girls in		Sevens. What do I really like? V-necks! For guys, I’ve been working on a really rad v-neck. I think v-necks are going to be the next big thing. I’m over denim, corduroys, I’m way into cords. Just individuality! Seems like when there is a trend of denim, first Diesel and then Seven, then everyone came after that…Chip and Pepper, Paper Denim, Joes, you can go on and on. You go out to a bar and %99 of the people are wearing jeans. OU: What can we see from you in the fall? Can you give us your secrets? S: (Laughs) I’ll tell you a little bit about fall… I was up in San Francisco a few months ago. This is the Donavan story. The fall line is called the Recluse Series. I met this guy. His name is Donavan. He is probably around 55 to 60. I met him at this coffee shop there (San Fran). I was solo and we just started talking, he was doing some sketches, he then invites me to his house to try out some wine, we somehow got started talking about wine. Basically he lives in this old abandoned church that he bought when he was 22, pews still intact. Just the most amazing stained glass windows! He’s even got a little wine seller in it. It’s just the most amazing thing ever! He renovated it and put art up on the walls. He travels a lot and only lives there about three or four months out of the year. He blends his own honey and he’d sell out of it at farmers markets, he paints, he’s made his own root beer and beer, he’s been in bands, he’s just a modern day renaissance man! He’s into this weird Celtic music from the northern part of France and we’re just sitting there listening to it drinking some red wine that he got over in Europe… But anyways, the story is that we got started talking about clothing and how I design clothes. I was just so overwhelmed by Donavan and I told him, “You know what? I am going to design my next line based on you!” I am going to try and manifest myself into this guy’s brain. I am gonna drink the wine he drinks, listen to the music he listens to, buy vintage buttons… A lot of the new stuff has vintage buttons. Corduroy and just weird buttons. We’re doing a shirt design with just honey and bees on it. We’re doing messy writing on shirts that looks like just paint on them. We’re doing a lot of pocket tees. So basically this next season is based around this quirky, weird interesting guy named Donavan. We’re actually hooking up with Jones Soda making a Jones soda that has his photo on the front and then on the back it will say a little bit about Donavan. Super limited edition. For info on the fall line and news about Status Foe go to: www.statusfoe.com