Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory De Anda.
Hi Gregory, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
MANNISH started in thrift stores and hand me downs and understanding quality through secondhand clothing. There I found a passion for finding quality and my journey into understanding it began at Goodwill at eight years old. It began with my mom dragging me to secondhand stores to go dress shopping and having to give my opinion on what looks good or not, and obviously, you don’t want to anger a Mexican mother, so you’d better choose well. As I grew older, I started understanding how fashion can communicate things to people. Being mixed race and navigating America, clothing became a way for me to communicate, and disarm or defend myself. I became fascinated with that concept, but I still was developing my eye, finding my voice and understanding my message. Once I heard the song Mannish Boy for the first time, a lot of those things I was searching for were answered. A deep dive into the artists from that generation kickstarted MANNISH into a homage brand to those artists. That has now evolved to where we are now, where MANNISH is a reflection of what’s happening in society today.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve learned that anything you want, any dream you’re chasing is going to be a hard road, but on the other side of hard is everything that you want. The best thing you can do for yourself is to be more resourceful, get comfortable with being uncomfortable, and understand that good work only begets more work. The faster you embrace these things, the easier the journey becomes. It’s not a smooth road by any means, but you’ll enjoy the journey – which is honestly the most important part of it all.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in curation – I specialize in bridging gaps between past, present and future. Taking our past to learn from, to do better for our present, to influence our future in a better direction. Clothing is just my preferred medium. I’m most proud of my resilience, my ability to take nos or what people would call negativity and turn it into fuel to go after what I truly want with more tenacity. I was taught that by my immigrant family and mother who instilled in me the character needed to go after and chase my dreams. My perspective sets me apart from everybody. At a young age, my parents made sure I heard stories from people from all walks of life – sheep herders in the middle of Montana to missionaries, to championship rodeo cowboys, no one’s perspective was more important than anyone else’s and that has always resonated with me and something I’ve used to guide myself through life and creatively as well.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
One of my favorite childhood memories was doing a sheep drive every year for a family that had 2,000 sheep. We had to move them from one pasture to another and my job was to ride a horse to find the lost sheep. It taught me patience and to be very aware of my surroundings because I had to listen to their cries and search for them. There was no other feeling that I can describe as I can to help rescue a poor animal that wanted to be reunited with its family. Those lessons always stayed with me.
Pricing:
- $70-$200
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mannishco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mannishboyco
