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ROBERT SPANGLE
Photojournalist & Menswear Designer
Raised in Malibu, California, Robert's journey has taken him across multiple disciplines to now using photojournalism as a means to focus specifically on men’s spiritual relationship to conflict. From joining the Marine Corps in 2007, to studying fashion design, completing a bespoke tailoring apprenticeship on Savile Row in London, and contributing to British GQ as their roving photographer for 5 years, Robert has also explored many independent projects. He launched fashion brand Observer Collection in 2018, and released his first book "Afghan Style" in 2022.
Contributor: Adam Katz Sinding
Can you talk to us about your transition from the Marine Corps into fashion?
Reading Tumblrs, blogs, and fashion magazines while I was in the Marines gave me a creative outlet and got me interested in fashion broadly. I think a large part of why I joined the Marines was to become a man, and after joining I realized I still had a lot to figure out. Menswear was a guide of sorts. It gave me a canon to study and inevitably I started to understand all the topical style elements that emanated from character, spirit, and experiences.
What projects are you working on at the moment?
I’m currently working on expanding the designs I offer to include more clothing, especially tailoring. Observer launched a little over 5 years ago with one tote bag and a wallet, we now offer a full collection of bags, denim, anoraks, perfume, hand-engraved belts, and bespoke tailoring.
I’ve seen the double-breasted suit you designed and wore. Can you tell me a little bit about the concept behind it? It’s really an exceptional set!
The STRO (Sartorial Tactical Reconnaissance Operations) suit was on my mind before I ever started Observer, and it’s taken all that time since to work out. To me, the STRO suit is what a suit should be for the 21st century- one built for how we live work, and travel now, simplified to the point of exponential utility. I've been wearing prototypes since 2020, and we have just started offering tailoring to private customers over the last 5 months. I hope by September [2024] we can offer it to a wider audience as bespoke, made-to-measure, and ready-to-wear.
What potential opportunities or challenges do you see in your field?
I believe there are many ways culture can be used to address larger issues in the world. Likewise, I think fashion can play a strong and positive role in both individual and group identity in the future something that is going to be critical in bringing the world from crisis to stability. Often fashion gets written off as topical consumerism, but in that, I think the latent power of the identities that stem from it, and bridge to the future, are being ignored rather than harnessed.
Transitioning slightly to the state of the industry, what things are you seeing happening/emerging within European fashion culture you'd like to see pick up in the US?
In Europe I see more new designers emerging from, or as a part of, new/renewed manufacturing abilities. There is real innovation there and I would love to see more of this in the US, where there is both less innovation and declining domestic manufacturing.
From your vantage point in the industry, do you feel it has evolved?
In the 10 years I’ve been a part of the industry, it seems to have evolved a few times, and at a rate that I think will take us another decade to really understand precisely what’s happened. I think mass consumption has hit a critical speed. Things are going to slow down, and I think brands will succeed or fail based on storytelling. Access to manufacturing is going to be increasingly difficult going forward.
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