“I grew up watching the NFL and now star players from the League are DMing me for upcycling fashion jerseys. That’s pretty crazy.”
Tyson Gibson’s unique take on turning his passion into personalized pieces is winning fans in some of North America’s most high-profile locker rooms. NFL stars like Cameron Jordan, Joe Haden and Tee Higgins have personally requested and rocked Tyson’s cut-and-paste upcycled fashion football jerseys, paving the way for opportunities across the sports world and beyond, including designing the latest looks for the Toronto Raptors’ dance squad, the Northside Crew.
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He’s currently splitting his professional time between crafting couture garments for clients as Tyson Gibson Design and flexing his creative and managerial muscles as a Jersey Rework Designer and Warehouse Leader for Vancouver’s Frankie Collective. In both roles, Tyson’s ability to channel his unique voice as an athlete and fan is at the beating heart of his success.
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“We were looking for inspirations for our debut collections at Blanche's Fashion Design Program. Sara Armstrong, the Fashion Design Program Director at the time, pointed me in the right direction. Since then that’s what I’ve been doing. I chop up jerseys into what I call ‘organized chaos’ and build them into an upcycling fashion piece.”
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“We were looking for inspirations for our debut collections at Blanche’s Fashion Design Program,” he recalls. “I was struggling. I’d played football my whole life, and my brother and I collected football jerseys. I had a plethora of them at home, so that seemed like an obvious option. Sara Armstrong, the Fashion Design Program Director at the time, pointed me in the right direction. She liked the looks and told me to go for it. Since then that’s what I’ve been doing. I chop up jerseys into what I call ‘organized chaos’ and build them into an upcycling fashion piece. I like to use their natural elements; the trims on the arms and necklines, the logos and numbers. I spread everything out and place the pieces where I think they’d look good.”
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“I knew I wanted to do something different within the sports and music worlds. Fashion is a connector. The more I looked into it, the more I thought Blanche Macdonald was right for me.”
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Football was Tyson’s first love. He was a good player too, spending two years after high school as a wide receiver for the Langley Rams of the Canadian Junior Football League, a developmental league focussed on turning young talents into professional calibre players.
“Like any young person playing sport, turning pro was the dream. By Grade 11 I’d figured that I could make it to the CFL if I dedicated my life to it. But I was realistic too. It’s a very small percentage that makes it so I was looking for other avenues.”
Tyson’s passion for sneakers (big ones; he wears Size 14) translated into exploring opportunities in upcycling fashion.
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“The Raptors saw some upcycling fashion jersey reworks that we’d put together at Frankie. They sent over some jerseys, I chopped them up and made a sample of the shorts and the corsets. They loved it and the Frankie team put together the entire collection!”
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“I knew I wanted to do something different and I’ve always been creative. I also wanted to stay connected with the sports and music worlds. Fashion is a connector with those realms. The more I looked into it, the more I thought Blanche Macdonald was right for me. It was a leap of faith. I had no sewing experience at all, so I took a two-month sewing course at Blanche before I started the Fashion Design program. It turned out that I enjoy working on the sewing machine!”
The change from the locker room to the classroom could have been daunting, but like all great football players, Tyson was adept at improvisation.
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“I grew up watching the NFL and now star players from the League are DMing me for upcycling fashion jerseys. That’s pretty crazy.”
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“It was a huge adjustment at first. I had no base to build on with all the technical terms. It was like learning a new language. The first couple of months I was adapting but I liked figuring it all out. I knew I was in deep but I don’t let a lot get to me. I told myself I was going to keep trying and get through it. I kept getting better on the sewing machine and loved completing my first little projects. I enjoyed all my teachers. They were all so passionate and interesting.
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“The grad Fashion Show was awesome. That was the first taste of the industry and I knew it was something I wanted more of. Looking back at my first collection I can see things I would change, but who wouldn’t? The whole experience was awesome, having my girlfriend and family there and seeing the year pay off with all my friends at Blanche.”
Tyson was unsure of where to take his newfound skills after graduation until a fellow Blanche Macdonald grad showed him what was possible.
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“I’ve started pieces at 11am and finished them at 8am the next day. In December I was making a pair of pants for Beau Clark. Then the comedian Joe Avery reached out saying that he had a sold-out show in his hometown of San Jose and wanted a Sharks piece... I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
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“Leila Bani reached out to me a month after the grad Fashion Show. She said she loved my stuff and wanted to use a few of my pieces. I knew how legit she was. That inspired me to think that maybe I could start making more of my own things. If Leila thinks my stuff is cool, maybe other people will too.
“Leila took the clothes, and a year later I saw that they’d been used on a Marcus Eriksson shoot. That was really dope.”
The fashion world was starting to take notice. So was the sports world.
“I played football with Chase Claypool growing up and kept in touch. He was playing at Notre Dame so I made him a piece. Then he got drafted by the Steelers so I made him a Steelers piece. That helped me get noticed. Big respect to Chase!
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“The Raptors connection came through Frankie Collection. They’re big on sustainability, and a lot of brands and teams want to support that. The Raptors saw some upcycling fashion jersey reworks that we’d put together at Frankie. They reached out explaining that they wanted some pieces for the Northside Crew. They sent over some jerseys, I chopped them up and made a sample of the shorts and the corsets. They loved it and the Frankie team put together the entire collection!”
Football taught Tyson mental and physical toughness. Fashion has honed them.
“I’ve started pieces at 11am and finished them at 8am the next day. In December I was making a pair of pants for Beau Clark. Then the comedian Joe Avery reached out saying that he had a sold-out show in his hometown of San Jose and wanted a Sharks piece. I had three weeks to do it – while working with Frankie almost full time – but there was no other option but to get it done. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
