FASHION
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In the Main vein
Ever since Marlon Brando rocked a thin, stretched tee as brutish Stanley Kowalski in 1951’s A Street Car Named Desire (subsequently kicking off the sale of over 180 million T-shirts that year), the T-shirt has steadily grown into its own thriving subculture in the fashion industry. From the most obscure local rock band to the biggest international designers, the T-shirt has been embraced as a stylish way to get a message across. Now, three young Montrealers are out to make their own mark with this North American classic. Go to any hipster hangout on the Main and you’re bound to see one. Short sleeve or long sleeve and seldom in the same colour combo, but always with the same delicately outlined cursive font simply reading “Plateau,” the T-shirts of Matt Savoie, Matt Williston and Nomadic (aka Jesse McDonald) are becoming a part of the St-Laurent landscape as quickly as graffiti on a freshly painted wall. “We’re just a couple of friends
that got sick of paying 45 bucks for T-shirts with logos we thought
we could put together ourselves,” says Savoie, the self-proclaimed
“money guy” of the guerrilla-style collective. “The
culture that surrounds the Plateau is just as cool in my mind as the
early ’80s surfer/skate culture in California that spawned the
so-called kings of T-shirts,” continues Savoie, referring to skate
companies like Powell Peralta, Santa Cruz and Vision. Graphic/jewellery
designer and designated “art guy” Nomadic is quick to concur,
citing future plans that include accessories incorporating local artists’
designs. While their Plateau shirts may remain a bit of a piss-take on the ubiquitous NYC borough shirts currently plaguing urban style, the trio take their work very seriously. They made a conscious decision to provide limited runs of shirts in unique colour combos because, according to Williston, they “didn’t want to walk down the street and see other people wearing the exact same thing we were rocking, which happens often if you’re buying Diesel or any of those other big brands.”
“Right now we’re not living off profit,” says Williston. “We’re living off the trip of seeing people wear it, we’re not in it for the almighty dollar. Other people might take it like we’re trying to capitalize or whatever, but we’re doing it for our reasons and people can take it as they want.” “Plateau is what we’re doing,” continues Williston, “Plateau is us drinking coffee, Plateau is us getting down on the dancefloors at any given club or wherever we go to party. Above all, it’s about a sense of community—Plateau-pride.” Nomadic sums it up like this: “From Bubbles to Bifteck, it’s about believing in what’s coming out of here and repin’ it.” For more info call the Plateau hotline at 808-1577, e-mail plateau_gear@hotmail.com or catch ’em “chillin’ on the Euro-Deli stoop” on St-Laurent most weekdays FASHION >> the boys behind the Plateau shirts >> Duy reveals the secrets of his winning >> Less is more at Eskimo Store and Design >> On & On ecolo chic gives old clothes a chic new life >> Christopher Kon’s leather sacs score points south of the border >> Busybody Patrick Pépin wants to give men nothing but the best |
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Operating
on a strictly word-of-mouth basis, and charging almost half of what
most stores charge for a T-shirt, in the first three months the three
have tripled their earnings with over 200 logos. Currently in the early
branding stage, the team prefer flipping all the profits back into the
company with future plans to give back to the St-Laurent community.