written & curated by: Batong-apog

How does it feel to wear your older brother’s clothes? Wearing something that isn’t originally yours. Thanks for the cool shirt, bro – but . . . ‘Ye feel me? At your young age there was a desire to earn good cash and buy your own shirt.

But the extremist brothers, Vince and Emil didn’t just want to buy. They wanted to produce they’re own. As starters in 2012, they got into producing printed graphics on blank tees with customized labels. Not long after, they ventured in pocket tees wherein Vince himself did the picking of the right fabric – it’s texture, thickness, color, and pattern. 

As simple as giving the shirt a new identity, the instinct to build a brand was already there. And lemme tell you a secret: they did not know they’re already diving into the cut and sew business.

Emil and Vince made it clear that there’s nothing wrong with branded blank tees, just that they did not want DBTK to be mediocre to its own growth. That’s why in 2015, more than self-produced labels, self-produced shirts also came into the scene. 

Designing graphic prints is absolutely a major deal in streetwear, but crafting the perfect base shirt is quite another. The exact fabric type, thickness, texture, and composition definitely affects the totality of the shirt. This is where they also did sizing chart that is appropriate for both Filipinos and Americans as the brand was envisioned to expand.

A little throwback when Kanye released Pablo shirts printed on heavy cotton Gildan with the brand label included, Emil believed that Kanye is the brand itself – no doubt. And DBTK could have settled. But he was very specific about taking pride in the their brand. 

“Iba ‘yung reputation at pride na kaya namin gumawa ng sarili namin,” he said.

And more than that, the brothers were strict about the brand identity, it’s total quality, and how it communicates to the market. Truly, they were “JUST FILLIN THE NEEDS.”

This is me talking about just the shirts. DBTK also crafts bags, hoodies, jackets and pants. Cut and Saw was a milestone, a step-up game. For now we can ask what’s next for DBTK and watch them give surprising response through upcoming releases. 

DBTK consistently wanted to set the standards. And so they made the cut.