Heritage, legacy and craft form the foundation of Barbour’s ethos. Throughout its 130-year history, the British label has evolved from its staple outerwear garments to transcending cultural realms and single-discipline uses, offering a range of durable lifestyle pieces.
Continuing to navigate the ever-changing fashion landscape to create timeless, functional pieces built to last, the label is embraced by heritage enthusiasts and contemporary style adopters alike. By delving into its own decorated heritage, Barbour uncovers a range of unique craftsmanship techniques and fabrications that lent to the allure of its garments.
Innovating whilst honoring legacy is the key to Barbour’s latest, aptly named, Heritage+ collection. From the rich stories the archives hold to the forgotten craft immortalized through sketches, the range blends these masterful techniques to create unique pieces for the modern wearer.
It is Barbour’s aforementioned characteristics that closely correlate to the values of parenthood. Whether it’s wanting to provide a better life for their offspring, teach life experiences, or continue a legacy – achieving the perfect balance is what most parents strive for.
Celebrating the latest collection, Hypebeast taps fathers, producer KwolleM and photographer/director Bafic, to discuss the three disciplines and how they channel that into new-found parenthood while passing the torch to the next generation.
Both of the London-based creatives possess a unique outlook on establishing themselves in their respective craft. For KwolleM, being a music producer is more than just making beats for vocals to be laid over, it’s about being an expert curator of a body of work that speaks to his values and vision. “My responsibility in my craft is being the producer of the music, but also an executive producer, and being able to steer a conversation. I’m not rapping on any of my music, I can't say what I think,” he explains. “I need every single person involved to be taking my energy and incorporating it. Essentially, without saying words, I'm still able to be eloquent -- they’re my mouthpiece.”
As Bafic continues his stride as one of the most exciting photographers and directors in the country, his journey is far from over. With an award-winning resumé spanning a variety of projects -- famously documenting the late Virgil Abloh’s debut Louis Vuitton Men’s show on 2ème Étage -- his striking visual aesthetic is defined through bold palettes and intimate shot style. Inspired by the greats who preceded him, it was "music videos that were my gateway into this.” However, whether adverts, documentaries, or movies, he didn’t know it at the time, but he “was fully obsessed with graphic design and branding” during his formative years, so it was only a matter of time before finding his entrance into the industry.
Creativity, in its essence, is rooted in curiosity. The constant research, questioning, and seeking answers unlocks new levels of inspiration, and unearthing knowledge otherwise never realized permeates into all aspects of society. “I feel comfortable in not knowing and trying to learn more. After that, it’s about implementing what you find,” Bafic tells Hypebeast. This, however, is not inherited but a learned characteristic, and working with Abloh opened his eyes to the ability to see it from a corporate standpoint which continues to help his career trajectory. “Honestly, the eye-opener was 'I can exist.' Watching [Virgil] do his first collection for LV, I literally watched him present -- sitting in meetings and he just kept asking questions.”
This confidence is what he aims to instill in the next generation by encouraging asking questions, and never stopping his child from the dreaded Why? But teaching is never one-sided. Bafic finds joy in the act of discovery through the innocence of his son’s lens. “Having a child is like I'm learning things again — really simple things — about how fascinating they are from his point of view,” he explains.
"My brand is so many different things. But right now, that's where I am in my life. I'm Melo's dad."
While KwolleM’s releases are a rarity compared to how music is consumed today, his projects are still as highly anticipated and garner critical acclaim, namely for his ability to stay relevant, both sonically and as a public figure. From being involved with on-the-pulse collectives to his online presence showcasing the intimacy of family life, he’s just as lauded as a fashion-forward tastemaker as he is for music. “A kid was like, ‘Yo, I need to take a picture of you’ and [Clint] asked if he knew my name. He responded saying ‘I don't know his name, but he's Melo's dad’ and that's hard,” he recalls. “There are people who know me as KwolleM, people who know me as the face of A-COLD-WALL*, from the Corteiz stuff, even people who think I own Places+Faces. My brand is so many different things. But right now, that's where I am in my life. I'm Melo's dad.”
“Becoming a parent makes you lean into who you are and lock in because that's what my child needs to see,” Bafic explains. Always striving to be true to themselves, it’s witnessing friends maturing and having children of their own that has also inspired their fatherhood journeys. “[My] contemporaries, people in the industry, people that I look up to, I see how they balance [parenting] and how they still are them,” KwolleM interjects. Instead of leaning on the aspiration aspect of parenting, like focusing on things they missed out on and living through their kids, both creatives aim to teach from their own life experiences like appreciating the benefits of the outdoors or traveling to new places.
Without a doubt, given the circles they’re associated with, their children will be exposed to other inspirational creatives who share their passion for the arts and, in turn, naturally acquire an elevated taste in culture. “My kid is going to be around Walid [Labri], so she's going to understand that you can be a director or a photographer around Gabriel Moses, or with Clint [419] so you can be a designer and make clothes. They’re the things she's going to see and understand that [those avenues] are possible,” KwolleM breaks down, and this difference in upbringing is set to provide them with the level up they didn’t receive.
Nonetheless, being in the industry is something that they’re not too keen on passing on, as Bafic explains, “Growing up, you want your kids to be artists, but as you get older, you realize the beauty is in the pain,” with KwolleM responding, “I don't want [her] to have to deal with [the music industry], there's a pressure and an anxiety you're going to get. There's a chip on your shoulder you'll have to develop, so I'd rather she doesn't have to deal with it, to be honest.”
"When you go to the root of it, craft is really about experimenting and doing what hasn't been done before."
“You have to understand, the rules are made to be broken,” KwolleM begins on making a name for yourself. “You don't have to adhere to it because if you do, you get neatly tucked into a box. I'm aware that if I want to be who I want to be, if I want those nice things, you don't get [it] from doing what society has deemed necessary.” This ethos of headstrong determination is channeled to his daughter. Not only does he want her to understand what she needs to do to pursue her dreams but also map out a path to success. “As long as you know how to get the house and you're confident, you have my blessing,” he says of the values he holds.
Craft spans a wide range of disciplines centered around intricate methods and practices. And whatever realm it finds itself occupying, the understanding of what came before and how to bring it into the future is what innovates in the respective fields. “When you go to the root of it, craft is really about experimenting and doing what hasn't been done before,” Bafic explains. Fused with his importance of curiosity, the director advocates to “push the craft, question it, and take it in another direction.” Breaking down the historical references that are a direct result of bringing these things together, he states, “That's everything from waxing jackets, turning grapes into wine, or scoring an orchestra. It needs to hit the person who doesn't like doing what everyone has done, to push it, to then make the new thing that everyone else will do.”
"...the best things happen when different environments come together to make something new."
This rings especially true for KwolleM. Creating a new sound — what he describes as “mellow grime” — brings the grittiness, and fast-paced BPM synonymous with grime to mellow beats. There are no set boundaries, and rules can be broken – that’s what pushes innovation. “Me making mellow grime. I was aware that it was a juxtaposition. In theory, those two things clash, and I knew I was going against the grain,” he says, and it’s these niches that keep the arts alive, on their toes, and initiate the launch of something wholly unique where “genres are created and evolve.” Viewing collaboration as an essential part of the creative process because “the best things happen when different environments come together to make something new,” Bafic celebrates the beauty of sharing resources and knowledge where each party brings a different perspective to the table.
KwolleM’s latest EP, Melo is an ode to new-found fatherhood. Titled after his daughter – from the self-explanatory opening track “GIRLDAD” to “Talk to Me” which navigates a breakup that his “daughter is going to go through exactly what she's talking about on this song” -- the album is a masterful example of his role as executive producer. “I want Melo to go to the show and tell, bring the CD, and say my dad made this,” he says. “My idea was always to give her something to be proud of, something to look back at, but also to have something aspirational.”
"I read this quote which spoke about legacy that said the sign of a good father is the person who is happy to plant a seed that he knows he won't be able to sit in the shadow of that tree," Bafic reflects with a profound quote on the topic of parenthood. “A sign of good parenting is when your child goes through stuff in their 20s, which they eventually will, will they come to you for advice?"
Watch KwolleM and Bafic discuss innovating through heritage, legacy, and craft in the full campaign video above. You can shop pieces worn by the artists through the galleries, alternatively, explore the full Heritage+ collection on the brand’s website now.
