Civil Ape isn’t your typical apparel brand. It began as an artists’ collective, then morphed into a fashion project by the same name, led by creative director Lenard Blair, whose line has gained interest online and at pop-ups. Today, Civil Ape produces T-shirts with vibrant graphic designs. The brand’s slogan—“streetwear by art kids”—is an apt description of Blair, a St. Louis native who majored in fine arts at Saint Louis University and whose brand continues to evolve as he transitions into the fashion world.
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How have your designs changed? When we first started, I was into screen-printing; then I moved into a dye-sublimation process, which allows you to do vivid prints. But now that I’ve set my sights on retail, I’ve taken apparel design more seriously, and I’m taming back some of our bolder prints and making the concepts bolder, with bolder cuts and smaller details.
Do fashion and art overlap? I always respect that there’s a vision and a designer behind everything, even in things I see when I’m in Marshalls.
Are you collaborating with other local artists? Right now, I’m inspired by the local music scene: Mastermind from EME, Black Spade, Hawthorne Headhunters, Nappy DJ Needles—each artist has a black futurist theme going on.
The fashion scene seems more diverse than in the past. Part of it has been the social climate. And the barrier to enter the industry is almost gone… The love of fashion has always been in the black community, and now we don’t need other people to allow black artists to come in—black people can start their own thing.
How does the city inspire your designs? Almost all of my work is a replica of city life… It also represents who I am as a city kid from St. Louis. My clothes are always going to be an emblem of that.
Note: We’ve updated this post to correct that Blair says he’s inspired by local artists, not collaborating with them. We apologize for the error.
