Iluvise – The real style
November 30th, 2011 by admin received Comments Off Tweet
Nowadays there’s a great number of brands around the world and some of them really deserve to be known. Ilusive stands out for its sick style, innovative products and unique designs. We’re pleased to have a talk with the founder, Grant Abbett!
When was Ilusive born, and how did you come to the idea?
I came up with the idea in 2007 while working at a print shop in Portland. I was always doing very repetitive tasks at that shop, so I used to listen to my I-pod and daydream about creating my own apparel and accessories. I started putting my ideas on paper and eventually started the Ilusive project in 2008.
Behind a name there’s often a story or a lot of thinking. Why did you choose the name Ilusive?
I thought of the name Illusive and typed it into Google search. One of the definition examples listed, “Illusive hopes of finding a better job” and right then I decided to stick with the name Illusive. When creating the logo I dropped one of the L’s for graphic design reasons. That’s where I got Ilusive!
Where are Ilusive products made? And how are they manufactured?
All the clothing is made USA made by American Apparel and is screen printed at a local print shop in Bend Oregon. The casual beanies and the gilbert masks are all assembled in the USA as well. As far as the eyewear and the standard masks, they’re all outsourced manufacturing. I plan to someday have all the products USA made just to support jobs in our economy. The only products I will continue to outsource will be the eyewear; I hear the best eyewear manufacturing comes from Italy actually!
What’s the concept behind the brand? What are your sources of inspiration besides snowboarding? I mean, is there anything – for example music, arts, other action sports like skateboarding… – that influences the brand design?
I want people to feel like they’re purchasing a product that not everyone have. I created the products in order to stand out with interesting designs instead of just bright obnoxious colors. My inspiration comes from many different things but the main motivator for me is music.
Ilusive has a sick snowboard crew and also a ski and a skate one. How should a rider be to represent Ilusive at its best?
The people that represent Ilusive all have different things to offer. Many of these people are artists, musicians, photographers and videographers. All of the people contribute footage, product ideas, art and design to the brand. Ilusive started out focused mainly on snowboarding but the brand has attracted skateboarders and skiers so it kind of is what it is. I don’t really try to label it anymore because it gets confusing for me haha.
And who’s working at the brand instead? Are there creative minds behind it, a team of people that brainstorm on the project, or maybe you’re doing it all mostly by yourself?
The only other person working at Ilusive is my good friend Cameron Weeg. Cameron takes care of all the NW sales, Videography of the team, and promoting. Right now Ilusive is only available in shops around Oregon and on the web, but we are brainstorming for our expansion. Other than Cameron it’s just me doing the Investing, graphic/product design, video editing, and managing web sales.
Where can we buy Ilusive products? And where can we always be updated with the latest news on the products and the team?
All the Ilusive news updates and products are available on the website www.IlusiveSnowWear.com . Plus Ilusive is carried at several shops around the Mt Hood area. To name a few Hillcrest sports, Mt. Hood 26 board shop, and Mt Hood Ski Bowl. Although It might be a little easier for friends in Italy to order through our website haha : )
Nowadays trends and fashion are gaining more and more importance in the world of board sports. Probably too much, if I can say that. What kind of relation does Ilusive have with nowadays trends? Following them, launching new ones, or refusing them in a punk attitude?
Hmm.. We don’t refuse the latest trends, but we don’t really focus too much on them. I like to listen to customers and friends for ideas, and then I add my own design into the mix. Many of the products do fit into today’s trend as far as fashion fit, but I like to try different ideas for the colorations and designs.
And still talking about attitude…where do you place yourself, on the tight \punk side or on the super baggy gangsta one? 
Ilusive is both punk influenced and thug influenced. Our team has a wide diversity of personalities and styles. For example Cory Larro wears baggy pants down at his knees, and Matt Kratzer wears jeans while riding. We even have one kid on our team named Jay Hergart with his 1980s influenced style. Think Its very boring when all snowboarders have the same looks and style.
In which way is Ilusive for the individual and not for the mass?
Well for example; I remember when each year of high school started, tons of kids would come to the first day of school rocking the same sweatshirt. Kids thought they were buying the latest and greatest, but so did their friends. Ilusive is a very small company and the products aren’t mass produced. People are basically getting a limited item each time they make a purchase. We obviously plan to grow, but we don’t want to get to the point of having tons of reps and employees. I want to keep the demand high but the quantity of production lower than the demand. Hope that makes sense haha…
You also release a great number of vids on the net. What are your project for the next season? Are you planning to shoot a full lenght vid with the crew in the future?
Yea Cameron and I both just upgraded our video equipment this season so we plan to get a lot of filming done. I have a lot of ideas for filming this season so hopefully it works out as planned! Keep up on our website because we will have video posts just about every other week. No real plans for a team video, but I’m sure we will come out with something fun this next fall!
Thank you Grant! Ilusive is great. Last line is yours, feel free to add whatever you want!
Be sure to keep up on our website, check out our 2011/12 products, and request some free stickers! Thanks so much for your time Candies Magazine!
Pictures: (c)Ilusive
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