with Erik Brunetti
Despite being faced with obstacles from the Patent and Trademark Office, in 2019 you won the supreme court case which allowed you to trademark FUCT. What was this experience like? How has the verdict impacted your own brand? How does it impact other brands?
Erik Brunetti – The experience wasn't very eventful. It hasn't impacted FUCT in any way really. The only advantage is we can now shut down FUCT counterfeits very easily. As for helping other brands? Yes, it has absolutely helped other brands with profane names, especially brand names with some variation of the word “fuck” in them.
How does your personal taste influence your brand? Do you think your brand reflects your personal taste? Do you wear the merch you put out?
EB – My personal taste maybe influenced the brand years ago, but not so much now. I don't really wear streetwear, I wear certain items at times. I guess the brand reflects my ideology more than my personal fashion taste.
What role do you play today in the designing of FUCT clothing? How do you realize a design that starts out as an idea? Who are the people you consult with during the design process?
EB – FUCT has always been small. Currently, it is my assistant and myself. I am involved in all designing and running of the business. I don't consult with anyone, we work very fast and proficiently. I have some friends from Italy and UK that occasionally submit very good designs. Overall, I go by feel and gut instinct. I had a strict policy about never bringing in interns (for hundreds of reasons), then a couple of years ago I went against those gut instincts and brought one in. Needless to say, I will never do it again. From my experience, I find the fewer people involved with not only the design process but the entire brand, the better. In house employees and interns are a huge liability.
FUCT has put out a lot of ads that are shocking and sometimes confusing. Where do these ideas come from? Do you have a favorite?
EB – We did lots of print advertising in the 90s and tapered off in the beginning of 2000 (due to the internet becoming the dominating force) A lot of the advertisements were a type of warfare against other brands that we were competing with at the time. Brands were very competitive with each other in the 90s, being we all wanted to dominate this new retail industry we had just created.
Erik Brunetti – The experience wasn't very eventful. It hasn't impacted FUCT in any way really. The only advantage is we can now shut down FUCT counterfeits very easily. As for helping other brands? Yes, it has absolutely helped other brands with profane names, especially brand names with some variation of the word “fuck” in them.
How does your personal taste influence your brand? Do you think your brand reflects your personal taste? Do you wear the merch you put out?
EB – My personal taste maybe influenced the brand years ago, but not so much now. I don't really wear streetwear, I wear certain items at times. I guess the brand reflects my ideology more than my personal fashion taste.
What role do you play today in the designing of FUCT clothing? How do you realize a design that starts out as an idea? Who are the people you consult with during the design process?
EB – FUCT has always been small. Currently, it is my assistant and myself. I am involved in all designing and running of the business. I don't consult with anyone, we work very fast and proficiently. I have some friends from Italy and UK that occasionally submit very good designs. Overall, I go by feel and gut instinct. I had a strict policy about never bringing in interns (for hundreds of reasons), then a couple of years ago I went against those gut instincts and brought one in. Needless to say, I will never do it again. From my experience, I find the fewer people involved with not only the design process but the entire brand, the better. In house employees and interns are a huge liability.
FUCT has put out a lot of ads that are shocking and sometimes confusing. Where do these ideas come from? Do you have a favorite?
EB – We did lots of print advertising in the 90s and tapered off in the beginning of 2000 (due to the internet becoming the dominating force) A lot of the advertisements were a type of warfare against other brands that we were competing with at the time. Brands were very competitive with each other in the 90s, being we all wanted to dominate this new retail industry we had just created.
Interview by Elizabeth Tomter
Photography by Alessandro Barthlow
Excerpt from Issue No. 4 (2023). Read the full interview by ordering your copy here.