If you stitch our label on a garment we haven't made, has it been gospelized?
Initiation sistema
All of our products are sealed. There must be a moment of pause, recognition, and opening to spark the beginning of their useful life. Prepare yourself; you’ll need time and some kind of tool—the ritual has begun.
Seals originated in ancient times to safeguard sacred and significant aspects of society. They were used to secure documents, ensuring that their content remained unaltered and their sanctity preserved. Carved stone cylinders, ivory stamps, bronze signet rings... seals have changed a lot throughout history, but they all work pretty much the same way: their force doesn’t lie in being hard to remove, but in their symbolic power to convey authenticity and trust. The presence of a seal can be unsettling; it means that something important is at stake, something hidden that waits to be revealed.
At the same time, the mundane is also sealed. Seals are a common sight in ordinary settings—cigarette packs, cereal boxes, cosmetic products, coffee bags. Everyday seals may not protect holy manuscripts, but they serve as a guarantee of product integrity, authenticity and safety.
Gospel Estudios garments arrive inside out, and sealed with a tack stitch that needs to be removed before wearing.
This ritual certifies the product’s origin and plays a symbolic role: it encourages the owner to approach the product differently from the outset. It also marks a significant moment in the garment’s journey from something we’ve crafted with time and amor to something we hope you’ll value and keep for a long time. It’s only right that you take a moment to get acquainted with it.
The scar left by the needle and thread isn’t a flaw but another part of the ritual. It is the birthmark of the garment, which transitioned to another stage the moment the seal was opened. Gospel Estudios is a collective effort. By opening the seal, you’ve accepted that you are a part of it, and you’ve become part of our community.
The INITIATION SISTEMA is there to make you stop and reflect un poco. It suggests a different way of consuming, one where you take the time to get to know the product. Because in contemporary culture clothing is often regarded as little more than a disposable consumer item, but, en realidad, it’s much more than that.
Fashion is a language: dressing we express our agreement with what others expect of us, or our desire to break away from those expectations. Garments integrate us in a group or separate us from it; the styles, materials, and the ways we wear them help us build our identity, express ourselves, and point towards what we want to become. It goes beyond something we can frame within throwaway culture.
THE SEAL HOLDS THE TAG THAT PROTECTS THE GOSPEL ESTUDIOS BRAND LABEL
This tag builds upon traditional composition labels—the small tags inside our garments that are frequently cut and discarded without a second thought. It provides useful information about the material traits of our apparel, and it acts as an envelope that safeguards our brand label, which comes attached by the seal instead of being sewn in its usual place.
What makes something belong to a brand? What real value do labels hold? If you stitch our label to a garment we haven’t made, has it been gospelized?
If not, what has it become?
If fashion is a language, then labels are its key words. Brand labels can communicate complex things about class, identity, and culture on a surface smaller than the palm of your hand. A lot of importance and power is placed on these small objects because they are used to define ourselves, fit in with some, and distance ourselves from others. We want to question that.
When the product reaches you and you unstitch the seal, you’ll find yourself in the unexpected position of figuring out what to do with the GOSPEL ESTUDIOS brand label. But you can do whatever you want. Lo que quieras, really: sew it on our product, sew it elsewhere, staple it, pin it, glue it. Dispose of it, collect it, give it to a friend. There are no rules. Well, there is one: whatever you decide, por favor do it yourself. We want you to be part of the process. And we’re excited to see how you make it your own.
Every time we buy something, we start a relationship with it. If we can make those relationships meaningful and intentional, we will have taken an important step towards a more responsible approach to consumption. The INITIATION SISTEMA exists for this reason. We believe that getting you involved in the process, taking a moment to appreciate the garment from the inside—the seams, the stitches, the construction—and deciding what happens with the label, can help cultivate a different relationship with the product—one that may lead you to rethink the ways we produce and consume.
Traditionally, seals protect the sacred. Ours is more like a door that points where we could go.
YOU NEED A NEEDLE
A SEAL CAN SAFEGUARD SACRED OR SENSITIVE CONTENT
A LABEL CAN TELL A STORY
A SEAL CAN SYMBOLIZE A RITE OF PASSAGE
A LABEL CAN TELL A DIFFERENT STORY WHEN REMOVED OR PLACE ELSEWHERE
A SEAL CAN REPRESENT AUTHORITY AND POWER
A LABEL CAN MEAN A LOT
A SEAL CAN SUBVERT AUTHORITY AND POWER
A LABEL CAN MEAN NOTHING
A SEAL CAN SECURE AN AGREEMENT OF SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
A LABEL CAN BECOME A POWERFUL CULTURAL ARTIFACT
A SEAL CAN PROTECT YOUR SECRECY
A LABEL CAN FRAME WHAT WE THINK
A SEAL CAN MARK A TRANSITION BETWEEN TWO STATES
A LABEL CAN BLIND US
A SEAL CAN BE BROKEN
A LABEL CAN START A CONVERSATION