Off-Brand: When Obsession Becomes Distraction

My mind is a constant scroll of ideas. Some urgent, some fleeting, some obsessive. I’ll fixate on something until the next idea sweeps in and replaces it.

A current obsession...the rabbit warren of limited edition drops. KAWS, Cactus Jack, Nike x Off-White. The thrill of the hunt. At first it was about the design and what I loved. But then...something shifted.

I started chasing what might go up in value, not what I genuinely valued myself. I found myself filtering choices through resale predictions, not personal taste. My eye for design was being replaced by an eye for investment.

And don’t get me wrong...there’s nothing wrong with that. But something felt off. I was no longer choosing from a place of passion, but from a place of perceived return.

I was going off-brand.

Not in the aesthetic sense. In the personal sense. The version of me obsessed with the energy behind design was being drowned out by hype and metrics.

And that got me thinking...if I’m so meticulous about crafting brands with thier own vision, values, tone...should I be doing the same for myself?

“I wanted to create my own personal style guide. Not just how I dress. But how I decide.”

Creating my own personal style guide.
Not just how I dress. But how I decide.
A framework. A filter. A manifesto.
What I say yes too.
What aligns with my values.
What makes me feel something.
What adds depth, not just noise.

I am definetly not the first to think of this, but it sounded interesting and we do it for brands all the time. Creating systems to stop them from getting lost.

And so...another project begins.
Not for profit. Not for resale. Not for anyone else.
Sounds stupid, but just for me.
Living on-brand.