ICON INTERVIEW

Directed by New Zealand born, now Sydney based Designer & Creative Director Sam Moore, PYRA is a manifestation of what was missing in his own wardrobe; streetwear designs that seamlessly compliment a lifestyle fuelled with adventure. His eye for distinct function and timeless silhouettes fused with alpine forward designs has expressed a unique offering that the menswear market is longing for. And one common thread amongst his designs is the commitment to technical innovation through his outerwear. Designed to unite your journey with thought-out form and function, the pieces are created with technical fabrics, organic cottons and graphic jersey to bring life to forward-thinking designs.

ICON caught up with the local creative for insight into his new project.

ICON: What’s PYRA? What is at the roots of this new project?

Sam Moore: “PYRA is streamlined street detailing built for the Elements. PYRA is designed to unite your journey with thought-out function and form. It blurs the lines between technical alpine functions and a sartorial premium aesthetic that is made to last beyond the season. Fusing streetwear expression through a sophisticated manner that embraces the now, PYRA is grounded in the elements; bringing you a completely purposeful wardrobe of technical fabrics, organic cottons, graphic jersey and aggressively elegant accessories that reinforce your season to season wear. Pyra comes from the greek meaning of “Born of Flame”

Who is perfect customer for PYRA?

SM: “We don’t care on how old, where he lives, or what he looks like. He’s a guy who lives an active lifestyle. He cares about how he looks and how he presents himself to the world and he willing to pay for quality. He wants to have fewer clothes that last longer with multiple functions, that won’t outgrow him.”

The industry has never looked so competitive. Where do you want to place yourself? And what do you feel is missing in the market?

SM: “Having spent the past 10 years designing and working in the commercial market here in Australia, I wanted to make products that had more meaning and connection with my own personal style by working with better technical fabric and more thought out design. I have come from a background where we would design 300+ styles a year and would be jumping on all trends. I feel like this end of the market is really competitive, and there is a massive gap between streetwear and luxury – think Stussy to Off-White price points. Who are ultimately chasing the same trends at the moment. PYRA is going to sit in the middle between these two, a lifestyle brand the represents a contemporary luxury.”

The biggest rookie mistake you made at the start of your career as a designer?

SM: “We learnt this the hard way: picking the right production partners from the start and not having all your eggs in one basket. We, unfortunately, made this error with Dead thinking it was easiest to do production all under one roof. But ultimately we lost control and we didn’t have much leverage as we didn’t have any other options.”

Directed by New Zealand born, now Sydney based Designer & Creative Director Sam Moore, PYRA is a manifestation of what was missing in his own wardrobe; streetwear designs that seamlessly compliment a lifestyle fuelled with adventure.

The industry is so dynamic and fast. How do you plan to be on top of the “trends”? What’s your strategy?

SM: “As creative director, I’mm always travelling. We travel to  the USA or Japan 3-4 times a year. I’m always surrounding myself with product, and I have a clear brand strategy and aesthetic for PYRA. I don’t want to fall into chasing trends. PYRA is about designing products that last beyond the season in terms of quality and style. I have tapped into the subcultures that I have grown up with from skateboarding, surfing, skiing, raves, all of these different subcultures I have drawn inspiration from.

I want to tell a story through my journey so far. I’m also big on sustainability, there are too many clothes in this world. I want to design styles that deserve to exist and last beyond the season. We may not be fully sustainable just yet, but every season we are learning and trying new techniques to minimise our impact on the environment. Starting from the most obvious been plastics, all our packaging is all biodegradable and compostable, and by using as little water as possible to make our clothes. We don’t want to come across as a green brand, because we are not. But we are a fashion company that makes products where we can in a sustainable way as we think that should be a baseline with what every brand should do. If we can have the right intention from the start with the sense of discovery for our customers, they will then hopefully share [it] with their friends and it will start to become the norm for all brands.”

What’s the vision in the next couple of years?

SM: “For PYRA to be a global leader in luxury streetwear, worn by the most influential youth of today, stocked in the best retailers globally and to have our own global footprint of retail stores.”

See the full interview here:

https://icon.ink/articles/the-new-streetwear-brand-you-need-to-know-pyra/