An Interview with Karmaloop's CEO & Founder Greg Selkoe (conducted in 2008).
In these days and times there are very few companies that truly personify street couture and all that it should represent. Fashion is changing daily, and throughout the years of changes this company has been able to step up to the plate and pitch fresh new product, sometimes even before it’s available to the general public. The company has grown from clothing into a way of life, providing other clothing companies with a blueprint to follow. The Company is Karmaloop and the man behind it is CEO & founder Mr. Greg Selkoe. There’s a lot in a name, so why the name Karmaloop? When we started the site I had no idea what to call it. My boy Adrian O’Conner did the original design. Adrian has a degree in sacred geometry; you are probably saying ‘what the hell is that?’ Well, it is the study of ancient symbols and religious symbols like Celtic designs. The first design of the site was based on the Buddhist symbol of Karma, and it looks like volleyball, a looping shape, so bam the name Karmaloop was born out of that. The site looked awesome but we scrapped that design soon after because it wasn’t practical but the name stayed. Do you think where you grew up (Jamaica Plain, MA) had an immediate influence on your wanting to create Karmaloop? Was there maybe a lack of streetwear culture, or fashion where you grew up? JP (Jamaica Plain) definitely had an influence! It ranges from projects to very suburban looking areas, but it is all part of the City of Boston. Even though I grew up in the more expensive section I hung out all over the place, not just in JP, but all over Boston. I considered myself a city kid and got into Hip-Hop, graffiti, and break-dancing, while most white kids were still listening to Heavy Metal. I remember riding the L train on the Orange line (the L is gone now) and hearing ill mixes on boomboxes. The first rap record I ever bought was the LP of Curtis Blow - 'The Breaks'. When I bought it I couldn’t see over the counter cause I was so small. There were plenty of people with ill style around that 'hood, JP is an amazing neighbourhood. Donna Summers, Michael Bivens from New Edition/BBD, and Joey Macintyre from New Kids are all from Jamaica Plain. In my experience there, I came across all types of cultures and had many different influences so I have always been excited by cultural movements, particularly ones from urban environments; I'm not just talking about Hip-Hop culture but also Hardcore, Skate, and Artistic movements. In your first ten years of business, what is the most important thing that you’ve learned? Don’t ever quit. Don’t listen to the doubters. Get up everyday and get better and if your idea is a good one then it will work out if you stick with it. Also, don’t get too emotional, you’ll make bad decisions. Lastly, have fun. Is the company exactly what you envisioned it to be when working away late nights in your parents’ basement? In a way yes. I was always shooting for something that would be the top of the market that would grow past just clothing into a cultural brand. Can you tell us in what direction the future of streetwear is headed towards? Streetwear is getting cleaner and tighter. It is being influenced by high fashion and definitely getting less 'bright'. With what you’ve learned in the past from Rollins College & Harvard University, how much of it has lent itself to creating what is now the largest online streetwear retailer in the world? I didn’t learn anything at Rollins College, maybe it has changed but when I went there it was mostly a school for rejects from other schools. Kids who were drunks and couldn’t cut it at a real College went there and I have to say at that time that pretty much summed me up. I have a public policy degree from Harvard, where i focused my studies on Urban Planning. My interest in buildings, the built environment, and many aspects of cities all blurs together with the kind of business I run now. Even though I was running Karmaloop at the time I learned a lot at the Kennedy School from amazing teachers like Richard Clark and David Gergen. I also took a bunch of business related courses. I learned basic accounting, economics, statistics, negotiation tactics, and great critical thinking skills. I have to hand it to Harvard for letting me in. They have been making a real effort to get people who have different kinds of smarts and weigh heavily other accomplishments besides just grades. If a school just takes people who get the best grades they miss a lot of talented creative people, and just get nerds. I only applied because they told me they would not consider my grades in college (because that would have been a non-starter) and they kept their word. Even though people love to diss Harvard, including me sometimes, there is a reason why it’s Harvard, they innovate and lead and although I sure as hell dressed different than everyone else in my classes, I enjoyed it. Some day, maybe in ten years, I will go back to Urban Planning. What clothing brands excite/inspire you? I am not going to talk about any of the brands we sell because, well that just isn’t diplomatic. If a brand is on the site, it is a brand I am excited about. Brands I like in general and think are inspiring are Gucci, Ferragamo, and Tom Ford. They are just making it happen: craftsmanship and style. All these dudes know what they are doing. On the topic of clothing, what do you think is missing from streetwear fashion in 07-08? What would you or your peers like to see? First off, there are not enough solid women’s streetwear brands. 'Married to the Mob' and 'Made Me' are putting it down correctly but there are just not that many out there and the Women’s streetwear consumer is hungry to get more. I also think that some more of the Men’s brands should develop women’s lines. On the Men’s side: more cut and sew, more crews. Everyone is "T-shirts, T-shirts, T-shirts." We were really feeling the cardigan thing but it didn’t really get picked up by the consumer. More button down long sleeves that are not flannel. With the explosion of companies of all kinds (not only clothing) collaborating with one another, which collaborations in the past year have impressed you the most? I am all for collabs, it helps push style forward by combining two individual styles to bring out a third. I mean it is a little 'out of control' but still keeps things/brands interesting. I was feeling the Mighty Healthy x Logitec Speakers. Undft had some ill collabs. The Absurd x Good Foot (GDFT) Varsity Jacket which we sell on Karmaloop was fire. Plus the re-release of the WeSC x Adidas Crayfish Party sneaker, DC x SSUR project, Karmaloop x Major Threat hoody, and the Crooks and Castles x Know1edge watch. Karmaloop is going to be focusing a lot of energy on collabs this year and special make-up watch for our Reebok x SSUR x Karmaloop sneaker dropping late spring. What are some of your Fashion faux pas, or trends you think are dying out? All over print hoodies pretty much dead, weapons prints, loud designs. I am seeing more muted colours & sleeker designs. Future plans for Karmaloop, what should heads look out for? Well, we will keep developing Karmaloop TV; The response to this has been amazing. For those who haven’t heard, KarmaloopTV is the first on-line channel dedicated to global streetwear culture, we launched in November. We have Clinton Spark’s, Moonshine formally of the Beatnuts, and Travis from Gym Class Heroes all doing segments for us. We have interviewed more than half of our brands with people like Shepard Fairey and Hector from Triko. We also have interviews with Lupe Fiasco, Bun B, and Russell Simmons. There are over 50 interviews that are all original content. Plus we just did a thing with the show 'The Wire' and worked with them to develop original content about the show that would be shown on Karmaloop TV.
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