Joshua Moore and Odini Gogo, two lawyers turned fashion designers.
Res Ipsa is a unique clothing brand, everything about it is unique from its name, to its founders, down to the products sold. Founded in 2013 by Joshua Moore and Odini Gogo, two lawyers turned clothing brand connoisseurs, who originally planned Res Ipsa to be a neckwear brand. But travel turned their hearts and opened their horizon to expand. Now, a decade later the duo has opened a new store in New York City today. Hometextiles Fabric Chiffon
“We launched Res Ipsa because we could not find the kind of ties that we wanted to wear to our business-attire law jobs,” says Moore. “Specifically, we could not find a 3-inch wide necktie, so we decided to make our own. Our ties were made in Manhattan by the same tie maker who made Ralph Lauren’s first tie in 1967. We read Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist together, and one of the messages of the book is that when you are doing the thing that you are uniquely here to do, the universe conspires in your favor. Travels to Istanbul and Marrakech created marvelous kismet connections that propelled us forward, and eventually, inevitably away from our full-time law jobs within a few short years. But we did not quit the practice of law. We started our own law firm in 2015, Gogo & Moore, and we continue to practice law.”
As with many fashion designers, fashion wasn’t their first job. One uniqueness that those with law degrees have is their ability to think differently, to think analytically. So, law has been a good foundation for Moore and Gogo to build on with Res Ipsa. “Being a lawyer is essentially problem solving,” says Gogo. “The “counselor” part of “attorney and counselor” is the strategic process of identifying an ultimate goal or objective and figuring out how to reach that goal or achieve that objective.”
“On a surface level, our legal skills are employed daily acting as our own general counsel: negotiating leases, defending our trademark, etc.,” he continues. “On a deeper level, the complex problem solving we engage in as lawyers is the same process that constantly leads us to think critically about our business model. It’s three-dimensional chess. What do we want? What is working? What isn’t working? Plus, we’ve already done very hard things professionally on other people’s behalf, so we know that we can figure hard things out for ourselves.”
The word res ipsa is Latin, taken from the word res ipsa loquitur, meaning “the thing speaks for itself.” When Moore and Gogo walk into a room they have a presence about them. They’re unique in their style, wearing Res Ipsa when they go out. And, in a city like Aspen, Colorado where they live full time, they are especially unique in their styles. That uniqueness is seen in their featured products like their Crocheted Hoodie. “We created a co-op of thirty women (and growing) in the outskirts of Marrakech, who crochet the granny squares the use to make our hooded bomber jackets and other products. This enables the women to generate an income working from home, and reliably supplies us with the crocheted materials we need to keep up with demand,” they say.
The Res Ipsa "Don't Be A Little Bitch" jacket.
Our Don’t Be A Little Bitch jacket, “we introduced in late January and it has already become a best-seller. It’s a satin zip-up jacket and chain-stitched embroidery on the back and a winged chenille letter R on the front,” says Gogo. Our Kilim Clog was inspired by a visit to Istanbul. Each clog is handmade, crafted from vintage hand-woven Turkish rugs, and finished with a durable leather sole and rubber heel. Because each Turkish rug is unique and asymmetrical, no two pairs will ever be identical. This is a one-of-a-kind product with an international flair.
Their Camp Shirts and Camp Shorts are repurposed from hand-selected, deadstock silk fabrics, they explain. “Each shirt is cut and tailored by hand in our Marrakech atelier. The camp collar shirt style dates back to the 19th century, but it wasn’t until the 1950s & 60s that it became a staple in Northern American style from Cape Cod to LA.
And, their Cactus Silk Jacket is made by hand in their Marrakech atelier from natural cactus silk fabric woven from fibers of a plant from the agave family, explains Moore. “After the silk fibers are taken from the plants, they are washed, dyed, dried and then hand-spun.” Traditionally, the threads are hand-woven together by the Berber Tribe in the Atlas Mountain region- a long and delicate process. And the hand-weaving process blends other natural fabrics in addition to the agave plant fibers, including chenille, cotton and yarn, and camel wool.
They have an array of men's and women's products that are eclectic and unique.
The man or woman that wears Res Ipsa doesn’t take themselves too seriously both Moore and Gogo state. “Certain consumers take themselves very seriously, and only think they did it “right” if they look like everyone else. With respect, that person is not our customer. Our customer is not looking for external validation—if they like it that’s enough. Wearing what you love with confidence is a power move. People on the street may compliment what you’re wearing, but what they are really responding to is the energy you’re giving off,” says Gogo.
“Our motto is “Our Brand is Travel,” says Gogo. “We say that because travel informs our design process. Travel opens your eyes. Not only do you experience new things, you see familiar things in a different way. We want people to experience familiar items in new ways by sourcing interesting vintage and dead stock fabrics from our travels around the world that we interpret as closet staples.”
“We use vintage Nigerian aso-oke fabric to make Japanese-inspired kimono tops and Western-inspired work shirts. And, we use a lot of deadstock velvet fabrics that we source in Morocco to make bomber jackets, zip-hoodies, and overnight bags. One of the reasons we like to use vintage and dead stock fabrics is because repurposing beautiful raw materials with love yields an end product that literally has soul,” he says.”
You’ll find Res Ipsa stores in Aspen, Nantucket, Malibu, Los Angeles, Culver City, Vail (Colorado), and in Marrakech. But now there is a new store in Manhattan. Located in Nolita, on Elizabeth Street between Prince and Houston, both Moore and Gogo knew that this was the location for them. “We’ve been shopping on this street for years. It may well be one of the best blocks of retail in America. You could say we manifested it, or in the Alchemist parlance, the universe conspired to give us this space.”
The outside of their NYC store.
“We have always known that this market connects with our products," says Res Ipsa cofounder Joshua ... [+] Moore.
Because New York is the style capital, Manhattan and Brooklyn have been on their list of places to expand to. “We have always known that this market connects with our products. Digging a little deeper, we like to distinguish between fashion and style. The former is what other people think is cool, and the latter is what you think is cool. The capital-F Fashion crowd is fickle and many brands are trying to get their attention. But New York has a high concentration of stylish people who respond to sustainably-made, small batch, one-of-a-kind products. Many of them are already buying from us online, or in Nantucket or Aspen when they travel,” says Moore.
But New York City has plenty of stores and plenty of stores with unique products. Still, Moore and Gogo believe Res Ipsa still has something unique to offer. “Virtually every product is one-of-a-kind, so we do not believe there are any similar brands. As for brands we’ve inspired, we like to say that no one can be you better than you. (Anything else is the bootleg version of you.),” says Moore.
The style of the store flows in line with the spirit of other Res Ipsa stores.
“We are offering a point of view and a philosophy. We encourage conscious consumerism—knowing what you’re buying, how it’s made, and what it stands for. We feature Res Ipsa’s ten core beliefs on the front glass of every store. Plus, we are constantly evolving. We want every visit to our store to inspire wonder and delight, so we are constantly developing new products,” muses Gogo.
“Albert Einstein said “In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity.” That describes our pandemic experience well. It was a very scary and we also opened four stores!,” they say. “The beginning was hugely uncertain, we slashed spending all the way down to the bone—but we did not lay off anyone in the US or in Marrakech. We looked at every dollar, giving us greater insight into how we were spending and how we could be more efficient. Our Nantucket and Aspen stores are located in areas that experienced enormous growth during the pandemic when people were fleeing congested metropolitan areas in search of more space. That inspired us to look at other resort markets, which lead us to opening stores in Malibu, Vail, a home accessories store in Aspen, plus Larchmont Village in Los Angeles.”
While a lot of retail brands are bracing themselves for 2023 and preparing to close, Moore and Odini still believe retail is not dead. “We love creating intimate, impactful spaces that give customers an opportunity to discovery things they did not know they were looking for,” they say. “The internet is a great tool to purchase items with which you’re already familiar, but it’s impossible to feel the weight of a garment, the quality of a textile, or the try something on that pushes you out of your comfort zone a little bit. We are excited for customers in this important market to have the opportunity to discover something whimsical and wonderful.”
Plain Velvet Fabric You can find the new Res Ipsa New York City location at 259 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10012.