What’s your background? How did the brand all come about

We started back in 2009, with the focus to bridge the gap between high-end footwear and street-footwear. There was really no such brand back in 2009 and we felt that with all that was going on such as Kanye West wearing Dior denim and Jordans, Pharrell wearing Chanel and BBC. There wasn't really a footwear brand that was serving this niche and we felt the urge to create a silhouette that had the lux look & feel and athletic details and fit. I designed the Low Top, which is still one of our core products and started approaching stores to buy into the brand. That quickly turned into a wider range of silhouettes and we started to be picked up by Kith, Selfridges, Mr Porter and more. Our entire approach was always on finding the balance between these 2 segments ( high-end/streetwear) and serving this niche. 

Explain the brand name: “Filling Pieces”

Our products are the ‘Filling Pieces’ in the gap between high-end and streetwear, Now the brand has a bigger goal and mission to be the connecting piece between different people and disciplines within art and beliefs. The two strips in our logo also refer to the 2 segments we are trying to function as the bridge. High-end fashion has always been a very white and exclusive world, while streetwear has its roots within black-culture and a deeply-rooted, more authentic and inclusive world. Me, Guillaume, with Surinamese and black roots felt the need to connect these different people and worlds and celebrate diversity.

You guys started as strictly footwear and over the years have grown your ‘Ready to Wear’ collection - what instructed this process and why the development?

That’s correct, we decided to tap into RTW/apparel in 2018. We got approached by one of our bigger partners, Barneys NY. Unfortunately, they closed their doors last year but for those who know Barneys understand it was a great chance and honour. 

Jay Bell, back then VP of Men’s asked us if we wanted to release a RTW collection exclusively with them. We worked for 6 months on the first collection and then released it at the end of 2018. From there we started to grow the offering and collections and offer it through our other retailers and website.

I must say that it was and still is a very very very different process of development, production and design. We learned a lot and are still learning how to make the collections and pieces better but very happy that we made this decision. We are still focusing on growing the awareness of this RTW collection and side of the company as people really still see us as a footwear brand. It’s definitely not easy but we strongly believe that this will become a big part of our brand's business.

In this current landscape of high-end sneakers, how do you differentiate from your competitors?

I must say that the landscape has completely changed in the years we have been around. Back in 2009, just after the global economic crisis, people wanted more for less. The majority was quite done with overly expensive high-end brands and were a bit tired of the athletic footwear offering. Then in 2015/2016 Adidas and Nike came back extremely strong with the Boost technology etc. Whilst the athletic footwear brands upgraded their price point, luxury brands started to make more accessible priced good products, and the market became very competitive for us. Now the same consumer that buys a pair of the latest Jordan or Nike collab also buys a Balenciaga Triple S or the latest Dior trainer. I think what distinguishes us from other brands is that we have always focused on this bridging the gap aesthetic and quality. Our price point has not changed and we still strive to offer great quality for an affordable price whilst continuing to surprise people with our designs and innovation, never forgetting the lux feel and athletic comfort.

Have you experienced any Brand milestones yet?

We recently opened our first n retail store. That really felt a huge milestone as we have been waiting for this moment for years. Finally, our own store where our community can experience the brand first hand. Listening to the brand’s playlist, smelling the brand’s scent, trying on the latest pieces and learning more about everything we do.

Other than that, we are about to release a documentary about the past 1 years of building the brand and all the challenges we faced, the lessons we learned and success we achieved. The main goal is to inspire the viewer to one day start something for themselves.

What is a weird fact about the brand that not many people know?

 A weird fact about the brand is that probably 20% of the collection is good for about 70% of the brand’s turnover. That means that a lot of the styles we are doing are less performative than others, but we strongly believe that each shoe or product has its essence and that not each piece has a commercial purpose but often important for the brand’s image.

Your new SS21 collection ‘The Support’ has received some huge coverage already, can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind this collection.

Within Filling Pieces each collection has its own theme, that is the story and concept, the red thread in color, material, silhouettes and from there the art direction and marketing story. We always try to use this theme to talk about the brand’s values and vision. There is this informative but also strong low-key messaging of positive change that we are sewing into each piece.

SS21 is about Support and how important it is to support your friends, family and like-minded individuals surrounding you. It comes from the feeling of ‘ support each other because all we got is us’. There is the ‘hand-shake’ logo that stands for supporting each other and the connection between people, we incorporated this also in one of our mule loafers as the horse-bit bridge (such as a Surinamese friendship ring) and graphics printed on our t-shirt and hoodies. On a more direct level, the collection takes inspiration from fan-sport culture where we made soccer jerseys and sport anoraks but in a lux material such as leather.

We’ve obviously been sharing the loafers on the page, but what’s you guys’ favourite pieces from the new collection?

I think the leather anorak and shorts in a beige soft lambskin leather and the resort shirt that shows a crowd of a soccer game.

You guys are doing sunglasses now, what other products can we expect to see from you all soon?

We are working on a line of leather goods and bags.  We are exploring home goods as we feel there is a big market and interest for that!

What are 3 key pieces of information which consumers should take away from this interview?

1. That our brand is not only making products but that we are trying to use the brand, the platform, and company to unite through diversity and creative positive change

2. We really have a strong focus on innovate design and high quality products for a noble and honest price point

3. That fashion can be fun and is not necessarily this stuck up industry.

Where do you see Filling Pieces in 5 years?

Hopefully a globally known fashion house from Amsterdam with flagship stores in important cities such as New York, L.A, Paris, Tokyo etc, but most importantly a brand that succeeded in making this world and society a safer, nicer and more happy place.

Any new collabs on the horizon?

We are working on a very cool collaboration with an upcoming artist that recently had a major hit with his feature on Drake’s latest album, so fingers crossed that will be released before the end of the year!

Take a look at the SS21 Ready to wear collection below: