A Slice of Cultural Capital
Following World Famous Gordo’s vindicating capsule collection with workwear giants Dickies, I interviewed owner and operator Jesse Elias. This piece centres on the interview during which we discussed a range of topics with reference to Gordo’s branding ethos. The piece gives an insight into how World Famous Gordo’s became one of the biggest branding and marketing success stories in the British restaurant industry. Beneath is an excerpt and a link to the original article on Substack.
“I THINK WE SOLD A SHIRT IN BASICALLY EVERY COUNTRY BESIDES NORTH KOREA. EVERY CONTINENT FOR SURE. SINCE WE’VE HAD THE DEAL WITH EVERPRESS IT'S BEEN HISTORICALLY THEIR BEST SELLER. THE NUMBERS IT WAS PULLING WERE JUST CRAZY. I WOKE UP ONE DAY AND CHECKED THE DASHBOARD, 160 UNITS HAD SOLD AND I THOUGHT THERE’S NO WAY THAT’S GOING TO KEEP UP AND THE NEXT DAY WE HAD DOUBLED THE NUMBERS, THEN THEY TRIPLED AND I WAS JUST LIKE, OH FUCK.”
THE SUCCESS OF THE MERCH, THE SINGULAR STYLE OF THEIR DESIGN AND THE FACT THAT IT CLEARLY RESONATED WITH PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THEIR CUSTOMER BASE AT THE PIZZERIA, GAVE GORDO’S A LEGITIMACY IN THE DESIGN, FASHION AND STREETWEAR SCENES, THAT LITTLE TO NO RESTAURANT HAS HAD IN THE UK BEFORE: PAVING THE WAY FOR THE “DREAM PARTNERSHIP” WITH DICKIES.