Introducing Christian Gonzalez of Mauvais Garcon
1.20.2021
One of the many delights of the Bleach Gift Shop pop-up at ROW, is that it’s a portal to discover a whole new creative class of artists and designers, working in LA and beyond.
We chatted with designer Christian Gonzalez, who puts out his own undeniably cool clothing releases and illustrated posters under his brand Mauvais Garcon, now available at Bleach Gift Shop.
Read the full interview to learn about his unique approach to working with vintage, the mental health message at the heart of his brand, and even, what it’s like to create a limited merch drop for the Childish Gambino x Andrew Yang collaboration.
Visit Bleach Gift Shop to check out his original releases while they’re still here!
Of course! My name is Christian Gonzalez and I’m a creative director / designer. I was born in Bogota, Colombia and moved to Florida when I was nine years old. About a year ago I took the plunge and moved out here to LA to be with my partner and pursue more work. I have been enjoying it as much as I’ve been able to, since COVID hit as soon as I settled here.
While living in Orlando about three years ago, I began having mild depression episodes. At the time I was trying to figure what my goal in life was and was just beginning to find my voice in design. I had picked up some online attention from making mental health advocate posters so I wanted to try and see if it could translate to clothes. Designs that expressed mental health advocate messages, positivity and most importantly, rawness.
Our mental health is a constant battle we have and the last thing I wanted to push was a “Live Laugh Love” false promise. So I taught myself to screen print and started to do designs on some garments. Every shirt was imperfect since I didn’t really know what I was doing, and people loved that. My best friend Matthew Barrios and I realized that this could be a way we could make a brand that’s unique. One out of one garments, just like us human beings.
The “It’s Okay To Feel Not Good Enough” design on a white tee and hoodie. It made a bit of a splash within my Orlando homies since I was selling it via instagram. But it wasn’t until one of my clients and friends SoSuperSam shared a picture of her wearing it that it became a bit of a hit. I found myself working long hours trying to fulfill orders by myself in my Orlando apartment. It was a nightmare.
The most recent thing I’ve got insanely pumped on has been the liner jackets (which are actually available at Bleach right now). I’ve been having a blast chain stitching and puff printing on them. Has given me a fresh new perspective on them. Viewing them more like a blank canvas now.
Getting comfortable on the chain stitching machine has me excited as well! Have only been doing it for 6 months now.
That being imperfect is totally normal and awesome. We live in a society that pushes us to be cookie cutter perfect, and social media enhances that. We want people to know that being yourself is beautiful - and that you are loved.
The flower will always be our symbol. If you view your mental health as a plant, you’d start to see the need to water it. nurture it. That’s the message we want to evoke through our brand. Take care of your mind!
I met Daniel from Bleach Gift Shop through my close homie Jarand from A Bad Village. They were chatting about the pop up at the ROW around November and we hit it off. It’s been super chill. The Bleach Gift Shop team has been nothing short of amazing.
The inspiration. Everywhere you look in this city could inspire you to do anything. I love LA not only because of the community I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by but also because it’s the biggest playground. I’m here to have fun!