CONVO WITH TYLER, PREVIOUSLY FROM SE7EN

CONVO WITH TYLER FROM SE7EN TOXIN - a brand to keep an eye on from Melbourne, Australia.

“I started experimenting with my first-ever SE7EN designs when I was 15. The first official product launch happened when I was 17,” says Tyler.

Is age and experience a valid excuse? Tyler’s been creating and designing since high school and was part of the reason for the existence of the Melbourne-based fashion brand, SE7EN. The new age of young entrepreneurs is driven by obsession - the obsession to not work for someone but to work for yourself. From my convo with Tyler, it felt like an early, almost restless need to translate personal taste into something tangible.

"SE7EN's SE7EN’S first official product launch was just hand screen-printed tees I made in my shed. At this point, I was still figuring things out, mainly just making stuff I thought was cool for fun. By the time I was 20, we released our first-ever fully custom manufactured product. That was our first batch of caps.”

This era is crowded with new fashion brands popping up by the month. You know, chasing quick cash and that. Authenticity and sincerity are lacking, but I think this is what sets Tyler’s current successes apart from others. What began as experimentation slowly evolved into intention, with each creation and release marking a clearer sense of direction. And I know we can expect to see more continuous successes for Tyler.

The Future For Tyler After Departing From SE7EN?

“My next step is launching my new brand TOXIN (@toxin.ltd). I’m already deep into the sampling and development process, pumping out new designs pretty much daily at this point. I hope to have some pieces ready to show soon."

"Having a few years experience in running a clothing brand has definitely helped speed things up this time around. I’m also planning to document the process on the brand’s second Instagram account (@toxinful) too. I think it would be interesting for people to watch what goes into building something from the ground up."

"I feel like I’ve got a clear understanding of what needs to be done, now it’s just about executing and letting it unfold.”

Life Before SE7EN For Tyler?

With the inescapability of social media, it’s continuously forging a defining role in the lives of many young adults and youths, evidently shaping Tyler’s relationship with fashion and culture.

“Before SE7EN, I was constantly seeing all these cool clothes and brands that I wanted, but I had no way of getting. I was still a kid with no money and I also hated wearing anything that felt common. If someone else had it, I didn’t want it.”

“So, I started making my own t-shirts. At first, it was super DIY – designing graphics in Photoshop and using iron-on transfer paper just so I could wear what I actually wanted. The compliments and interest from others combined with my IG archive page starting to gain traction, that gave me the confidence to eventually release them publicly, and by this time it’d become a team effort.”

“So, I guess in a nutshell for me, what made me start SE7EN was basically an obsession with wanting to express my taste in clothing and style.”

Long before the brand, SE7EN existed publicly, its foundations were already being laid. Brick by brick.

“SE7EN originally started in March 2019, that’s when the Instagram account was created. I was obsessed with sneakers, fashion and other pop-culture. Even running an Instagram page where I’d post about that stuff all the time (@modern.museum and also later on @7multi). My plan was to grow these fashion/culture/aesthetic archive pages as much as possible in order to eventually promote something of my own.”

“The design learning and creation stemmed from very early in high school. A couple of years prior to starting SE7EN, I was about 13 at the time, I think. I had an obsession where I was constantly messing around in Photoshop during class, creating parody-style Supreme logos.”

In three words, how would you describe your new brand, TOXIN’s vision?

“Distinct. Reincarnated. Connected.”

What are some of your biggest influences?

“A lot of my early influence came from spending so much time online, diving into different styles and subcultures. From underground American designers to Japanese pop-culture, cartoons, videogames, almost everything I consumed back then had a big impact on me. A designer, Asspizza, had a huge influence on the first-ever screen-printed tees I made.”

“Sneakers have always been a big one too, especially Nike TNs. The colourways, patterns and the culture around them often bleed into a lot of what I do. I’ve got like 50 pairs in my room, so I’m literally surrounded by that influence every day while I work on things.”

If you could only own one shoe, what would it be?

“I’ll name two here. One that I have and one that I don’t have."

"My holy grail for a long time has been the Nike TNs ‘Pink PFW’, which I recently managed to acquire. Ever since I first got into shoes, I’ve wanted a pair. I just always loved the bold colours and unique pattern, along with that good Viet quality."

"A grail that I don’t have and probably won’t stumble across is the 2000 China Silver Diamonds. A more lowkey colourway but they’re extremely clean, along with the rarity. They’re almost perfect in my opinion."

"I like pairs that I’m not gonna see anybody else wearing.”

 

What’s something people don’t know about you that you would like them to know?

“In a design and brand sense, people probably don’t realise how obsessive I am behind the scenes. Whether it’s small details or even something like sending somebody the wrong order. If something is even slightly off, I’ll notice it, and it will quite literally keep me up at night until it’s fixed.”

Thanks for checking out our full article with Tyler. If you enjoyed the read, here's what our Instagram post looked like!