Pronounced “galaxy boy”, the street wear brand stands by the phrase “SMART-RETARDED-AMBISIOUS” coined by the 23-year-old designer Thatiso “Vuittots” Dube.  Established in 2008 while Thatiso was in High School the brand started as a t-shirt brand called “cheese boy” and is now a reformed version of his ambitious take on “what girls do because of boys and what boys do because of girls.” Live Mag picks Thatiso’s brain with a hand full of questions.

What do girls do because of boys and boys do because of girls?
Boys workout, wear certain clothes or a style, and talk a certain way to impress girls. Girls do some things for boys’ attention – they wear short clothes and certain hairstyles. The list is endless and my experience of all these efforts contributes to GALXBOY.

It seems that you sell more than clothes, but a lifestyle. Do you agree?
Not exactly, the brand only accentuates and describes how young people already coexist, and doesn’t try to sell dreams.

What sets your brand apart from other street wear brands?
D.E.S.I.G.N. I think the other brands play it safe in terms of design, they don’t create WOW!! Streetwear does not have to be safe.

Do you make any references or take inspiration from any fashion designers? If so, which ones?
I am often inspired by high fashion designers, like Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Balmain, Givenchy and Phillip Lim. I like breaking down their designs and creating the GALXBOY street version of it. Other street brands I am inspired by include 2bop, Supreme, Stussy and Bape.

Which media platforms have covered your brand?
Hype Magazine’s website, Cheka Digital, Ice Cream mag and many other blogs and websites. I have also been on SABC 1, Vuzu and participated in STR.CRD 2012.

You have a loyal following, inspired by the lifestyle and fashion sense you show in much of the photography marketing your band. Do you think of yourself as inspirational?
Aaaaah! Not yet. I’m just putting in hard work, so that I don’t disappoint the people that support me.

What have you studied?
I studied internal auditing for a little while; it was boring so I moved on to retail management. I only really liked one subject, illustration, so I dropped out in 2012 to focus on GALXBOY. I plan on going back to school once I have my own store.

Do you do your own animations?
YES! I do all my designs and creative work. I don’t think anyone can bring life to your ideas better than you can. It is generally harder for someone to understand what you can’t explain in words.

You often ask for feedback on new designs (on Twitter). Why?
That happens when I go in too deep with design and end up drowning. The comments I get back help me “breathe”. I also normally need feedback on the female designs because I am still learning how to design for females.

Where do you see the brand in 10 years?
I only plan a year ahead, so in a year’s time I’ll have our own store in Pretoria, more female clothes as well as a GALXBOY kids range.

Photography courtesy of galxboy.tumblr.com

Follow @galxboy and visit galxboy.com for more info.