via: ttsmag 

In a world filled with market saturation, world issues and economic problems there isn’t as much being done as it should be, or as it needs to be. But there are some who try no matter if its a whole new ball game to them, they’re the ones who can recognize what issues are out there just lying in the wind, and they’re the ones who aren’t afraid to be proactive instead of just reactive. A certain individual who fits this profile is David Gensler who is notably more recognized by his work in the fashion/marketing/branding worlds, even lending a push for the street wear culture to open the door to. But now he’s stretched his reach out further, he’s amped up his consulting, put together one of the largest creative collectives in the world, the KDU (Keystone Design Union), and has a new focus on tackling economic and world issues, one step at time. In a world full of people running around thinking of just ‘me, me’ all the time, there are those who are thinking of ‘others’.

It’s been some time Dave, how have you been?

Hello Manny, I am doing great. Thanks for asking.

You’re one of the founders of the KDU (Keystone Design Union) a massive creative collective, can you get us up to date on what has been going on within the KDU and what the future plans are for the collective?

We recently opened our formal headquarters in Brooklyn. The space is broken into showrooms, design studios and an outdoor space. It’s also set up with apartment space for visiting KDU members. We have also been focusing a lot more on longer term projects over the short term rush set by fashion calendars. Our goal is what it has always been – to simply unite the best talent in the world under one flag. We share resources, help each other grow, expand and come together to launch new projects, what is new is our expanded point of view on what the function of design and brands are in our modern world. While I am at the helm, I need to guide the main agenda to be both competitive as well as, innovative and purposeful. I have been focusing on the ‘purpose’ lately. I think that if the world has become a sea of products and brands then the responsibility of social growth and care needs to shift to those responsible for creating the objects and brands. We have only begun to develop the framework of what this means, but we have already begun to shift great amounts of energy into more socially aware endeavors.

What is going on with the new consulting division you’ve been working on?

We just opened doors to the public about 3 months ago. We have actually been fine tuning the new division for the last year and have been actively working with clients all over the world, but we wanted to have things perfect before publicly promoting. We have already built full brands, like G13 from Los Angeles for NBA star Kevin Garnett, www.g13brand.com – as well as full campaigns for Triple 5 Soul and global strategies and designs for brands like Samsung, General Motors, Hershey’s…. most of the work was done in conjunction with Steve Stoute’s Translation Marketing. We will be showcasing much of the new work on the main KDU consulting site that will launch shortly.

Lex (my KDU partner) is about to launch a few serious personal projects you should keep your eyes open for. Von, from London is planning his first American show in NYC this fall. We have a new lead designer for SVSV, which we are very excited about. We have also brought onboard some amazing new members like Sruli Recht from Iceland and Chris Bevans from NYC. We are currently searching for new key relationships in South America, the Middle East and India. They are the three regions that we will be focusing a great deal of energy on in 2008. Several members have also done some amazing collaborations with new German KDU members Kinky Form. We are also getting ready to launch the RETREAT at Magic. We have teamed up with KDU member Proof 7 and Newborn to do something bigger this year. Oh, I almost forgot, we will be in Singapore this September for a global youth culture lecture. Keep your eyes open… this is only the tip of the iceberg, we have so much going on it’s not possible to list it all or even begin to remember it all.

You were one of the leaders in the fashion industry that helped spur this growth in street wear, you did coin the term mash culture. But, since then its taken off crazily, with brands popping up everyday, how do you feel about the industry now, and how it’s moving so fast?

I would not actually take credit for starting anything… I just add to the gravity when and where I can. We did however at least attempt to add a new dimension of luxury and refinement at a point in time when the majority of the brands were all just getting started. Since then, many ’street luxury’ brands have flooded the market, and we reacted by removing ourselves again, now focusing on many non garment based projects for SVSV. I think the market is too crowded and it makes little sense to make or sell anything in this landscape. We’re not pulling back, just adjusting to best preserve our brand. I am not going to keep selling orange juice while standing in the middle of an orange grove. I want to push the envelope and challenge things, it’s important to go places that aren’t so crowded with the same ideas. I’m personally moving away from brands and more towards politics, economics and philosophy. I think I need to paint with a broader brush to reach more people.

How do you feel about the ever so growing technology sector, and its ability to increasingly make globalization such an ease, are you a fan of this or do you have mixed feelings on the subject?

I have mixed feelings for sure. On one side, I am able to grow the KDU into every nook of every city on earth, there are no borders, or boundaries. I am in love with the ease of interaction. I do business every day with people in Singapore, Hungary, London, Australia and I have no real sense of distance between us. On the other hand, I have seen the technology create such a state of cultural ubiquity, that it is hard to see how it will ever be defeated. I was recently in Korea and the youth culture I encountered were hardly ‘Korean’, they were mutations of New York and Tokyo cultures, carefully placed in another land. In the future cultural, ethnic and national identity needs to regain importance over brand identity to ensure proper balance and social growth. If the youth generations are raised on manufactured brand values compared to traditional values, then what will the future look like? Will the future be written by the agency copywriters and brand strategist? I hope not.

I know you’re a candid and outspoken individual, so with this question I’m looking for pure honesty, how do you feel about the some what boom in the area of designer/strategist’s coming out and claiming to be, but really aren’t.

I saw this happen during the dot com boom, you had everyone calling themselves CEO’s and CMO’s… (mostly of LLCs, if you don’t get the humor in that, God help you) these were people that were right out of school. I honestly held the title of Creative Director long before I should have. This was before I went to business school and before I even knew the first thing about business… I just had a lot of creative ideas and could ’sell’ well. But looking back, the ethics were a bit shaky. We would provide solutions to global companies, some publicly traded and I and most of the team were simply unqualified to do so. The agency that gave me the title did so a form of ego compensation instead of actual capital compensation. Since then I have placed knowledge as the core foundation of everything we do. If I am not versed on the skill sets required to solve a particular problem, I will most likely pass on the project. I think our generation needs to recapture ethics to ensure we actually have a future worth pursuing. Now days, I see a lot of people claiming to be ‘designers’ and ’strategist’ that don’t actually ‘design’ anything or know the difference between a ’strategy’ a ‘tactic’ or a ‘program’. I think it’s allowed because for the most part the youth culture markets and brands are self governed – basically closed circle economies. I see a lot of ’stylist’ that are basically thieves, being allowed to exist amongst the true brands and true innovators. There are so many independent brands in the footwear industry that have made careers on stealing designs from Nike, it’s sickening. There are three major brands completely based on Nike designs – that simply change colors and materials and call themselves ‘original’. I call Fraud! and think the youth culture should do so as well. I think that if Nike is respected as such an innovative leader and supporter of the street wear and youth cultures, then we should collectively make sure we do not allow people to steal from our leaders. I think this is just logical and healthy for the future of youth culture, fashion and design.

What do you see as a new way to use and perceive design, in this evolving world one can only imagine it will grow past just being a tool for branding or to make things look prettier?

I think we are going to quickly move back to a place where design is valued for its ability to change things, invention and creation over decoration. The value of the visual will be reduced as too many images and brands based solely on hollow aesthetics saturate the landscape. Also, the word ‘design’ should be both narrowed and expanded… we need to apply it to how we behave and live our lives, a consciousness if you will – we will also need to expand the definition to incorporate more than art and consumerism. We need to get back to building ourselves socially, creating better and bigger stories, not just more brands and brand extensions.

Now to switch gears a little, tell me about your trip you’re planning to Africa?

We have teamed up with a truly innovative company named Otabo that builds state of the art bespoke shoes and another partner that focuses on rebuilding Africa (they need to remain anonymous for now). We are going to Malawi South Africa and building a sustainable factory and launching a brand that helps redefine what a luxury product should be. Developing special objects that are valuable because of the time, energy, thought, skill and craft that goes into their construction. We are also going to develop an innovation campus – a concept to allow the best minds to interact with to help develop solutions not only for the brand, but also the surrounding community. Currently we are calling the new endeavor Future Craft. This language is derived from the ideology we used to create SVSV. It’s focused on taking the traditional and sometimes ancient hand crafts and colliding them with state of the art technology and techniques. The results of the Future Craft ideology are objects that stand out in a sea of mass produced clutter. They are modern, but contain a higher level of quality. Ultimately the goal is to use consumerism and brands to help people, to rebuild communities and strengthen fractured economies. I am not looking to win designer or industry awards, I want my work to actually help people, for that to happen in the current marketplace you need to truly abandon almost all you know. I have already made the decision and already taken the first steps.

You’ve taken a real interest in world issues and third world economies, how did all this arise from being a designer/strategist, and how does this new passion mix with your business?

I’ve been lucky, I actually feel blessed. I was able to get the best education, have the best clients and biggest projects and I still want more. What I realized is ‘more’ does not always mean more power or more money or more stuff – ‘more’ can mean a lot of things… for me it became the desire to use my skills and the KDU for something more than consumerism. I am not abandoning corporate work, I just think this new dimension gives me an advantage… on the strategy side I am always looking for new angles to attack, new ways of seeing a problem from unique perspectives. I am not a tree hugger or environmental extremist – I believe in balance and diversity. I believe sometimes you have to burn yourself to the ground and rebuild everything to truly evolve and grow…. bottom line, when this is over, I don’t want to be known for creating landfills and pollution (both literally and figuratively).

With so much time and devotion dedicated to your business’ does it make it more difficult to find time for your personal life?

I have learned that without the balance of friends and loved ones, you just become run down and less productive. I use to work holidays and all night, never taking vacations or taking breaks… I was a ‘work monk’, completely obsessed with work, now I am overly mindful of the importance of balance. Luckily though, all my true friends and loved ones and my girlfriend are all designers or creators… so, even when I am resting I can still work a little.

What’s the future for David Gensler, where do you see yourself or what possibilities lay for your taking?

I see myself evolving more into a philosopher and activist. I just know how much personal pleasure I can find in only creating more ’stuff’, I want to affect larger solutions. I think we need to truly go back to move forward especially in the context of the current state of the world. I want to ‘design’ systems, full systems and the only place that can happen is in politics, media and economics. I wake up every day with an oddly burning obsession to actually accomplish and also learn. I will pursue post graduate studies in media and critical theory early next year. I feel no rush about this next step; it feels like the beginning of something that will take the rest of my life to accomplish. I am searching for something that creates longer lasting effects… I think affecting the way people think or improving quality of peoples lives is the last noble pursuit. I’m blessed that I have so many opportunities each day, I have the entire world sitting before me, I am just trying to figure out the best path and make decisions that will have the biggest impact.

You mention seeing yourself as more of an activist and philosopher in the future, does this mean that you see one day leaving the consulting and corporate world all together? Do you ever foresee yourself pursuing politics by getting involved with the government in amore traditional form, like a lobbyist or possibly trying for a seat in a political office?

I would love to get involved in formal politics, but not now. I am only 33 and have many years of learning and forming a deeper understanding of the world before I can even begin to think about being involved in creating policy. The same goes with writing, I love writing, but I think you have to live a deep and rich life before you begin to throw things into the market. Hopefully one day both writing, politics, education and activism become new ways I can create and contribute. One day at a time… eyes always on the horizon.

www.thekdu.com

www.svsv.net

www.davidgensler.com

www.theroyalmagazine.com