If you’ve been following along with me since mid-last year, you would remember I turned my office into a SHAG workshop/creation station. Manufacturing and production had primarily gone remote in L.A., yet my urge to create & design was stronger than ever. Where a desk and laptop once sat, a cutting table, sewing machine, and dye station replaced what had become archaic set up for me.
So, the first item I decided to try my hand at was the Bucket Hat. A huge part of SHAGBAGG's business plan and creative process incorporates utilizing workable SHAG pieces; if a piece has been used to make a SHAGBomb Jacket, the remaining SHAG pieces will be set aside to make a bagg or hat with, because that's just how I roll! So with excess pieces + lining I had in stock, the SHAG Bucket Hat was born.
I've spoken extensively in the past of how the 1960s era has inspired my brand, yet I nearly have not talked enough about how it truly is my family's retro lifestyle + their fashion in that era that ultimately influenced me as a designer [and person!]. Growing up, a favorite pastime among my cousins and I was reminiscing over old photos of our family members in the 1960s & 70s. The first picture below is our beloved Yiayia Angelos, grandmother in Greek, who was the matriarch of my dad's family. Fabrics from the Vintage Terry Collection of Bucket Hats were her's, yet I had never seen them until she passed...
This is clearly a collection that is very near and dear to my heart, yet I believe she brought them into my life in order to share with you, my family & friends; to expand my creativity within my medium & art (she was an artist, herself!).
Well, as [a designer] does, sharing my newfound creation with the world was the next step, and although I had not put them on the website yet, I decided to send a SHAG Bucket Hat to one of my favorite role models & singers, Grammy-winner, Lizzo... there's a longer story to this, but in short: one day a few months later, I started receiving numerous direct messages on Tik Tok that Lizzo was wearing my hat...in multiple videos with over millions of views and likes.
And with that, a SHAG Star was born: the first item I cut and sewed myself that may be the most popular in SHAG history (Snoop's bagg is a close second!).
