Much of what Barriers Worldwide does is tied to time: how it passes, what it changes, and how our knowledge is intrinsically tied to it. When the Brooklyn-born founder Steven Barter started the brand, he was a new arrival in Los Angeles, touring clothes markets and stores, fascinated by how iconic vintage graphic tees bearing the faces of legends like Tupac and Bob Marley were so coveted. But the figures on them had stories of their own. That revelation inspired Barriers’ ethos: fashion as a non-didactic form of education, creating garments and accessories that elevate legends of Black history.
Figures that have been crafted through the lens of Barriers Worldwide include James Brown and Malcolm X. Now, Barter has turned to symbols to sum up the brand, in particular the Cowrie shell that plays a part in the new collection, arriving online on 24 January. That was the starting point in the fashion film made to accompany it. To make it, Barter called upon the director Onda – a past collaborator of Brockhampton, Julia Fox and Kidsuper – to plot out how it would look and feel. The result is a gorgeously geometric and abstract film that feels steeped in the history of the brand and Black heritage. Here, Barter and Onda discuss how the project came together.
Barter, what about this collection lent itself to being represented in a fashion film?
The Cowrie shell is interwoven throughout the collection. It has historically held cultural significance across races, and represents wealth, protection, and interconnectedness. I chose the Cowrie Shell as the motif of Barriers because it reflects our commitment to reclaiming and celebrating heritage while fostering conversation about the ongoing struggle for equality and representation in the fashion industry and beyond. Launching this collection with a fashion film was the perfect transition into the next phase of the brand as we dive deeper into the luxury space with our core collection and 1 of 1 pieces. This is the first of many films. I’m excited to keep paving the way with art of all mediums!
Were you aware of each other’s work before collaborating on this?
Barter: Yes! Onda and I have some mutual friends, and I have always been aware of and loved his vision. I’ve had my eye on working with him for a while now, but it had to be the right project. This was the perfect time because I knew he would bring this vision to life. He always goes above and beyond and we got nothing less than greatness from his side.
Onda: Yes, I definitely knew who Barter was! I actually owned a few Barriers pieces already. We have so much mutual respect for each other’s work, I was excited to finally find a story to tell for the brand this season.
Onda, talk to me about your encounters with the design, and how they help shift and shape a narrative for your work. From your first conversations with Barter regarding the work, what did you feel? Did the narrative come to you instantly?
The first time I saw the collection was definitely a learning experience. Barter invited me to his studio where I got to see the pieces for the first time, and I had to ask what everything meant. He spent time explaining the symbolism and meaning behind each design choice and what story the collection was meant to tell. The narrative came to me instantly – I felt that it was a story that hasn’t been told yet. There was an opportunity to create a piece that was more than just culturally relevant for the brand, but ancestrally relevant and can be translated through time and space. We chose to shoot the film in the desert to represent this. It could have been shot 20 years ago, or 10 years from now. Much like the meaning of the collection, the essence of the desert and narrative stay the same throughout time. It transcends generations.
What movies do you both love? And what specifically were the ones you wanted to riff upon or nod to in the making of the Barrera short?
Barter: I love Quentin Tarantino films like Kill Bill, and Japanese films. For Barrera we wanted to step outside of the way most companies do their releases. We decided to come different which meant not riffing anything off, but rather presenting the brand in a more high level way and setting the tone for other companies and future releases.
Onda: I love horror films and 1950s black and white foreign films. There weren’t any movies we wanted to riff upon since we had a very clear and unique vision for the Barrera Film. We were inspired by the portrait style of the 1960s Eastern European approach to filmmaking.
Check out the new Barriers Worldwide collection here from 24 January.