“I haven’t been requested the place I’m from in a very long time, and I believe it’s partially as a result of I’m at all times sporting a Pittsburgh hat,” says John Geiger, a toothy grin spreading throughout his face. Geiger might break up the lion’s share of his time between Tampa Bay and Puerto Rico today, however he’s nonetheless a Pittsburgh child at coronary heart. There’s at all times at the least one black-and-yellow garment or footwear colorway in his eponymous model’s drops, and he’s a frequent presence at Pirates, Penguins and Steelers video games.
Now, the Metal Metropolis child turned chief of a thriving unbiased model is having what could also be his most grand homecoming but: a collaboration with MLB, New Period, and Lids that sees him carry his signature “Misplaced” ethos — suppose boldly stacked, quickly repeated logos that create a kind of trompe l’oeil impact — to a nine-team assortment of 59FIFTY fitted hats centered round his beloved Pirates. Apart from the Pirates, the choices additionally highlight the Marlins, Rays, Phillies, Mets, White Sox, Cardinals, Angels and Rangers, all with tripled-up, tightly stacked logos on the entrance panels and a customized patch on the facet.
Longtime followers of Geiger’s work know that the “Misplaced” ethos dates again to his early work with The Shoe Surgeon on bespoke “Misplaced Checks” Air Pressure 1s and may also be seen in John Geiger Co. merchandise, however the designer notes that this collaboration opened his eyes to the widespread attraction of the aesthetic. “Working with Lids on this undertaking helped me see that the ‘Misplaced Sequence’ is sort of like common branding at this level,” he says.
However, earlier than we proceed our dialog, a pause is necessitated. “That is the primary time I’ve seen everybody with the hats on!” says Geiger, pausing to seize a screenshot of the video chat, which is awash in repeated logos.
Discuss us by means of this collab. How did it come collectively? Do you know what you wished to do instantly when the chance introduced itself?
Funnily sufficient, I had this hat design sitting for some time and was simply ready for the correct alternative to carry it to life — that, and hoping that I wouldn’t see one thing related within the meantime [laughs]. When the time got here, the one factor we needed to do was get the groups on board. Initially, the groups that have been going to be included within the capsule have been groups within the cities that I’ve lived in, like Pittsburgh, New York, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay, after which it simply grew from there.
Altered placement and repetition of logos have lengthy been part of your design ethos, courting again to the bespoke “Misplaced Checks” Air Pressure 1s you created within the 2010s. What initially drew you to that design language, and the way would you say it’s advanced since then?
It began out small. Once I was working with Darrelle Revis and Nike on the Zoom Revis, I acquired the thought to create a small run of customized Air Pressure 1s with overlapping checks, and the title “Misplaced Checks” got here from the nickname we had for Swooshes in Pittsburgh, “Nike checks,” in addition to a little bit of a play on the truth that I used to be receiving consulting checks from Nike on the time. Then, a number of years later, I’d stack and overlap my very own model’s “JG” wordmark emblem on its merchandise.
There was a interval once I began to really feel like that ethos was performed out and I didn’t need to preserve utilizing it, however each time we’d work with somebody on a collab they’d need to do it, which modified my perspective as I noticed it had develop into our “signature.” I’ve acquired to say: I used to be shocked that no person had carried out it with MLB logos, as a result of it appears so proper with a few of the logos and branding, however working with Lids on this undertaking helped me see that the “Misplaced Sequence” is sort of like common branding at this level.
John Geiger
John Geiger
What’s the importance of a Pirates hat to individuals in Pittsburgh? What does it imply to them? What does it signify?
Let me simply say it like this: I haven’t been requested the place I’m from in a very long time, and I believe it’s partially as a result of I’m at all times sporting a Pittsburgh hat. I’ve been sporting Pirates hats virtually completely since 2014 — earlier than that, Don C would ship me numerous Simply Don hats from a bunch of various groups, and after that snapback-first period ended I made a aware resolution to signify Pittsburgh. It began with a bunch of various sports activities groups, however progressively I simply began sporting an increasing number of Pirates hats, particularly as I grew nearer with the group. I at all times joke that I don’t have the keys to the town, however I do have the keys to all of the sports activities stadiums.
The truth that I get to rep three completely different eras of the Pirates on this collaboration, from the Roberto Clemente-era hats to the red-brimmed hats from the early ‘00 — which might be unique to our pop-up in Pittsburgh — and the present caps is likely one of the most significant moments of my profession.
That’s acquired to be a full-circle second.
Completely. One in every of my closets will need to have 800 Pirates hats in it. As quickly as they get somewhat sweaty, I’ll swap to a contemporary one, and it’s loopy to now have my very own Pirates hats in there.
You and your Pirates hats are like Dr. Dre and his Air Pressure 1s.
Precisely [laughs].
John Geiger
John Geiger
One other standout from the gathering is the duo of Marlins hats, which make use of the older emblem that the crew used from its inception in 1993 till they rebranded because the Miami Marlins in 2012. What drove you to selected that historic emblem?
It’s each that that’s a basic emblem and that Miami appears like a second dwelling to me. I lived on the market two instances and return for Artwork Basel yearly. We did two colorways as a result of we wished one, the teal, to be a Miami unique in the identical manner the red-brimmed Pirates hat was for Pittsburgh.
What crew do you suppose has essentially the most underrated hats within the MLB?
Man … I like that outdated Marlins emblem, so I’d both must say the Marlins or the Tampa Bay Rays. Their hats, from their founding to now, have at all times been so stable.
What’s your prediction for the upcoming MLB season?
You would most likely have guessed that I’d say one thing like this, however I do suppose the Pirates are going to make some noise. Paul Skenes is trying like he could be the most effective pitcher in baseball, Mitch Keller is sick too, and we’ve acquired Andrew McCutchen again for an additional 12 months, which implies we’ve acquired loads of veteran management. Don’t be shocked to see them within the postseason.
John Geiger
The John Geiger x MLB x New Period x Lids assortment will launch on April 5 at choose Lids shops in addition to the LidsHD.com. In celebration of the launch, John Geiger will even be internet hosting a pop-up in Pittsburgh April 5, which can embrace an unique black/pink Pirates hat and happen at 20 E Basic Robinson, throughout the road from PNC Park.
