Gavin Rossdale on His New Clothing Line, Making Music and Being a ‘Soft Touch’ Dad
Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale has admittedly entered a new phase of life — both personally after his split with Gwen Stefani, and professionally with the launch of his new lifestyle brand Sea of Sound. WWD caught up with the rocker during an AKID Brand event in Los Angeles, where he discussed his upcoming 12-piece clothing collection, how his latest album was inspired by “new beginnings,” and why he told his son he should become a coder instead of a singer.
WWD: What projects you been working on in 2017?
Gavin Rossdale: I have a new label called Sea of Sound. The samples are all done, so now I’m going to retail. It’s so fun to talk to you because it’s the first ever moment I’ve had to talk to someone from the fashion industry about it. I wanted to wait until the samples were done. It’s a 12-piece collection with some color swaps, all made in Los Angeles and designed by me. The first collection is called Broken because it takes more than two elements of fabric to make one, so it’s all cut off pieces and my MacGregor tartan because I’m a MacGregor. It’s tricked out. It’s cool — it’s just like how I dress, which is like a Japanese architect on a weekend.
WWD: What made you want to get into designing?
G.R.: My friends opened a retail store Nice Collective up in San Francisco, so I asked, “Can I have one corner?” And it grew from there. They’re friends of mine and we designed a merch line for Bush. We called the company Wolf Three, but I renamed it Sea of Sound. It should be out in August.
WWD: Will it be available anywhere else?
G.R.: Maxfield and Saks. I don’t really know what I’m doing right now, but I have a good team of people helping me with that on the creative side. We’re going to go to war with it, in a nice way. That’s a terrible phrase. We’re going to go to business with it, I mean.
WWD: Do you plan to expand the collection beyond 12 pieces?
G.R.: I’m doing a cooking show as well, so it’s a lifestyle thing. So between the record, the clothes, and the cooking show, it’s building a whole brand, Sea of Sound. Basically it’s a design company.
WWD: You also released a new album last month. What inspired it?
G.R.: My album “Black and White Rainbows” is a nice new start, a new fresh life, new chapters, new beginnings.
WWD: How did the cooking show come about?
G.R.: I love to cook. People have said that I should do that for years. I do “The Voice” in England, so before I did that, I thought it was a good way of doing the record and then being a 3-D person outside of the two-dimensional record. [It’s an opportunity to] be myself. Everything is blossoming right now. I’ve been commuting between London [and Los Angeles] to do “The Voice,” so when I don’t have [the kids], I’ve been going to London.
WWD: Are your three boys into music?
G.R.: Yeah. We all have the same guitar teacher — me.
WWD: Do they play your music?
G.R.: The older one learned my new single, but mainly he’s playing AC/DC and Metallica and they listen to hip-hop which is a cool balance. When we drive to school, we listen to hip-hop radio, so when I made my new record, I had to make sure that I’d have songs they’d want to sing along to. I do everything to impress my kids. They just think I’m the guy that makes them food and takes them to school.
WWD: Musical talent obviously runs in the family.
G.R.: I didn’t have any musical history in my family, so I think they’ll find what they want. One boy wants to be a singer. I told him he’s crazy. He should learn how to write code. I want a boat. I don’t want a dinghy.
WWD: What type of a parent are you?
G.R.: I’m a bit of a soft touch. We just bought a fish this morning for no reason. So I’m a soft touch except with manners and how they interact with people. Time is everything with them. It’s not really about the big gestures. When they’re with me half the time, I’m with them all the time, so that counts more than anything. Kids spell love T-I-M-E.
More on Gavin Rossdale from WWD:
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