Through a joint venture between Perry Ellis International and RP55 Group, GOTCHA launches their second collection in 2021—the first fall drop—that not only celebrates chasing an endless summer but an offering that primes the wearer for the shoulder season ahead. The first fall GOTCHA delivery borrows from its heritage with classic silhouettes that pop in a range of colors and graphics with some basics punctuated by GOTCHA’s signature loud jacquard collars often worn as a badge of differentiation. A range of long sleeves and hoodies provide extra comfort for easy breezy afternoons as the days shorten and winds blow off shore.
The first fall delivery also looks to mid-summer and vacations to outfit those taking some extra leisure time. Woven short sleeve shirts and knits are given a few treatments that can be dressed up or down seemingly communicating island attire. Patterns seen in this delivery are modern variations of some used in the past but remixed to fit today’s market. GOTCHA’s color story also plays back the brand’s heritage, as it was well-known for its bright and vibrant palette. Those neons sit next to fall earth tones to make a bright but wearable statement. Hats and beanies round out a whole collection translated in a look book through the eyes of artist,Julian Klincewicz.
“I was really excited to get to shoot one of the first GOTCHA campaign relaunches, as it’s such an iconic brand and really is the seed for so many other current brands. Discovering the brand actually felt a bit like when you discover your artists’ favorite artist and you can see the lineage and all of a sudden you have a better understanding of the context of what’s happening now,” he added.
“One of the things that felt sort of interesting or even challenging, given the very loud and provocative history of GOTCHA, was to try to actually keep it very simple—a bit real, a bit playful. One of my good friends has this saying, “Ambient is punk” and I definitely feel like that’s true right now. Much of the imagery we shot at these very everyday locations—a basketball court, a park and the beach. I was really interested in trying to find subtle ways to make these very simple, ambient locations have some new life taking inspiration from some of the everyday mundane lifestyle moments that might have inspired GOTCHA in the beginning and extrapolating on them in the simplest possible way.”
The result is a symbiotic vernacular between the clothes, locations and the artist that amplifies the autonomy and taste level of the GOTCHA wearer for today.
About Gotcha
Born in South Africa and incubated in Southern California during the early 80s when surfing had already long abandoned its global bubblegum image, professional surfer Michael Tomson launched GOTCHA on the premise that iconoclasts and free-thinkers drive culture. Tomson shook up the industry by not only pushing the limits of design but simultaneously aligning GOTCHA with fearless passionate creatives, radical surfers and revolutionary anti-heroes of all kinds.
The result was a punk rock approach that borrowed aesthetics from rip and tear ‘zine culture, the vibrant, loud neon look of Southern California Valley Girls and big-haired metalheads that blended well with anyone brave enough to make their own declaration of independence through the clothes they chose to wear. Tomson birthed a far-reaching, “risk-taking idea factory,” as Kevin O’Sullivan writes in ‘Going Big’, the seminal two-hundred plus page bible on the glory days of GOTCHA.
Today, GOTCHA is still a symbol that embodies that anarchic spirit at a time when coloring outside the lines is an affirmation that people should take notice. The brand didn’t follow but inspired trends that are seen down the sleeves of some of the most respected streetwear brands today. As GOTCHA is reimagined for now, it still follows a similar global uniform message, a pattern of progression that honors the surfers, designers, photographers, artists and peripheral communities that surround them—individuals who still know GOTCHA makes a statement for the bold, brave and unmistakably independent.
As Tomson would say, “To hell with the consequences.” This is the Gotcha of today, the way it was intended to evolve.
