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Sarah: We tried to make functional, interesting clothes that you could be active in, but weren’t cheesy. I don’t think we ever intended to start a clothing line. We just kind of started, and it kind of grew. We were in Olympia and then in Seattle, we had no concept of what it was to start a clothing line.RHLS is often considered a streetwear brand; I haven’t heard you describe it as that, do you guys consider RHLS streetwear?
Mackswell: I am this feminist MC and I am very interested in street culture and hip-hop, but I am kind of against commercial hip-hop. I think in a sense, we were trying to create a style we wanted—but I wouldn’t call it “streetwear.”So who are you trying to reach with your clothes?
Sarah: We are trying to promote a universal subculture, an aesthetic that is for everyone and no one. It is extremely inclusive by not targeting anybody.Mackswell: We are outsiders to everything. No one really thinks we are cool. We don’t have a demographic, we aren’t fucking hip. Our audience ranges from cute old ladies to a lot of professional women in their 30s and a lot of thugged-out dudes.
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Sarah: We have always put on events, which is one reason we have a store. We have a clothing line, we host shows, we do lectures, we sponsor artists, and we give workshops. For us, only producing clothes is not satisfying.You guys sponsor some amazing artists, including Le1f. How do you guys pick musicians to get behind?
Sarah: We like to collaborate with people who inspire us and we think are doing cool stuff.Mackswell: We have some of the most amazing bands in the world. It is so nice to be a part of a thriving community in Brooklyn, who are wearing our clothes in music videos and on tour constantly. Prince Rama just toured wearing our entire Spring ’13 collection with Animal Collective. And Guardian Alien, the new band on Thrill Jockey. And Le1f is just the homie. Honestly, I feel like they sponsor us.What is it like sponsoring LE1f, an openly gay rapper, when the fashion in the hip-hop scene can be pretty homophobic?
Mackswell: I feel like that is not even true, I feel like that is just record-industry bullshit. All the guys I know who hang out and smoke blunts in my hallway don’t seem to have a problem with homosexuality.

Mackswell: MOVES is actually short for movement, so we would like to inspire other small design firms or different manufacturing communities to bring it back locally. We would like to spearhead a movement for ethically made anything and kind of take away the stigma of the crafty, rough-around-the-edges look. It’s not really about us, we just make hot shit.
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