MEMBER FEATURE:

Our monthly Member Feature aims to showcase the talent that occupies our buildings and celebrate their work.

This month, we interviewed Rockella Space Member Mark Bissell to learn more about his fashion label IDNTTY and how queerness drives his designs .

Mark Bissell is a fashion designer and artist based in New York.  With a background in both fashion design and studio art, Mark has worked with many brands including Calvin Klein, American Eagle, and Abercrombie & Fitch.  Mark’s personal work predominately is done under his label, IDNTTY – a queer post-streetwear label the designer established in 2020.  IDNTTY (identity) addresses a lack of queer representation in the streetwear sphere, by pairing advocacy and community with familiar garments such as denim and tee shirts.  As a queer-expansive, genderless label, IDNTTY challenges expectations of what a modern streetwear label can be, while building a community that embraces advocacy and self expression at the intersection of streetwear.

Mark began his work on IDNTTY during his undergraduate studies at Marist College, and used it as the foundation of his 2022 senior thesis collection entitled, “RIOT!”.  The brand’s first collection is a celebration of queer life through the lenses of graphic tees, denim, and leather, and has become the foundation for which the brand has built itself upon.  As brand owner and designer, Mark works in many different mediums including textile design, garment construction, digital designing, illustration, and photography and videography.

Since joining One Eyed Studios in late 2023, Mark has established IDNTTY as an L.L.C., launched his first shopable collection through his website, and is continuing work on the next collection for the brand.

To learn more about the creatives who call Rockella Space home, head over to the People page for a full list of in-depth interviews.

Photo Rocio Segura

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Mark Bissell, I am a 24 year old fashion designer and artist working both in corporate fashion as a designer while also building my own brand, IDNTTY, independently.  I was born and raised in New Haven County in Connecticut, went to school in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York, and moved to Brooklyn 2 years ago to begin my career!

Photo Rocio Segura

How long have you been at Rockella Space and what is your favorite thing about having a studio at One Eyed Studios?

I joined Rockella Space back in December of 2023!  I have lived in the same surrounding area as One Eyed Studios for the past two years, and was reaching a point in my at-home artistry where I needed the ability to separate my personal living space from my work space in order to give my work the attention, tools, and space it needed.  Rockella has offered me a space to grow my artistry and connect with other artists across various mediums who are equally as ambitious and passionate about their craft!

Have you connected and/or created a community with any other artists in the building?

During the Open Studios event this past spring, I was able to meet a lot of my neighbors and also explore other studios in the building!  It was so great to hear about what excites other artists in the building and build community, as we are all on the same journey regardless of what medium we work in!  I’m always eager to connect with other artists – never be shy to say hi or reach out to me through social media!

Tell us about your work. What inspires you to create the work that you do?

My favorite part about working in fashion is that it incorporates a great deal of skill and understanding of various other mediums.  My work involves sewing, of course, but with that there’s a lot of supporting work done with illustration, textile design, graphic design, CAD designing, photography and videography, and web design.

My work is almost exclusively done under my brand, IDNTTY, and centers queerness through a streetwear lens.  I’m inspired heavily by streetwear culture, graphic design (particularly from activist movements, magazines, nightlife fliers, etc.), and the desire to create a “queer-storytelling” narrative through my brand.

How do you start a collection? Tell us about your process.

The beginning point of my creative process is establishing the messaging or relevance of a collection.  Anyone can sew, anyone can have a brand – I think the most important thing for young designers like myself is to offer a new perspective and focus on what needs aren’t being addressed by the fashion industry.  For my first collection I completed during my undergraduate degree, this looked like telling the story of queer history through the lenses of graphic tees, denim, and leather, all garments that held a significant value to counter culture and activist movements (see “RIOT!”.)

More recently, I’ve been internally beginning the process of designing my second collection and have been inspired by nightlife, the duality of exclusivity vs. inclusivity, and the feelings of sensuality, empowerment, and community that come with it.  Once establishing the narrative of a collection, I dive deep into research mode – I think the best thing you can do as a fashion designer is to get out and experience the tangible.

Social media and literature can be great assets in supporting your research, but I find it very helpful to go out to retail stores, vintage shops, museums, etc. and get your hands (or eyes) on what’s out there in the world and create a mosaic of references that inform the concept you’re working into.

What inspired you to create IDNTTY, and what does the brand name signify for you?

IDNTTY is a queer expansive fashion label based in NYC, engineering a new frontier of genderless fashion for the post-streetwear consumer.  I began conceptualizing IDNTTY during the 2020 lockdown, used it as the basis of my undergraduate thesis in 2022, and formally established IDNTTY as a New York L.L.C. in 2024.  Growing up, I was particularly fascinated with streetwear, as it was the center of culture; however, within the streetwear community exists a sense of toxic masculinity, the result of a guarded hypebeast culture that fuels streetwear.

I remember one particular instance of the brand Supreme collaborating with a well-known photographer Nan Goldin, whose work often centered queer people.  As a young, closeted queer kid, this was so cool to me – one of the most influential streetwear brands sharing queer art through their product!  Unfortunately the public response was very negative, I remember reading through comment sections with the cult-like following of Supreme customers rejecting the collection and saying some horrible things.

Looking back now, this was when I identified the need for IDNTTY – to create streetwear that celebrates queerness unapologetically.  The beauty of streetwear is in the universalness of the garments. Tee shirts, underwear, and quality denim are garments that can be found in wardrobes internationally and are often overlooked as mere basics. IDNTTY aims to challenge the sense of hyper-masculinity associated with streetwear by injecting a sense of queerness into otherwise familiar garments.

How do you define "genderless fashion," and why is it important in today's fashion landscape?

Genderless fashion can be a vague term that takes on different meanings for different people or brands.  For my own brand, genderless fashion is the idea that my garments are not created with the intention of being worn by a particular gender.  While this may sound very simple, a lot of the work that needs to be done when creating genderless fashion begins with the intention of the product.

If a garment is meant to be “genderless”, it should be fit on multiple body types during the prototyping stage, as well as photographed on various genders during the final marketing stage.  I believe half of the work is in establishing the fit of a garment with a multi-gender customer in mind, and the other half is listening to feedback and being agile in your ability to adapt your design intention to the needs of various wearers.

In today’s fashion landscape, consumers shop in a predominately gendered market, which limits the ability to find clothing that reflects your own identity.  Oftentimes, existing “genderless” collections from fast fashion labels compromise design integrity by watering down designs with the intention of appealing to a wider audience (picture baggy hoodies, neutral color palettes, etc.).  IDNTTY goes directly against this by saying that genderless clothing can and should be expressive and unapologetically queer.

Can you tell us more about the Core Capsule Collection and what makes it special compared to other collections?

During my undergraduate studies, there was a big emphasis on building full collections composed of head-to-toe looks, with my final thesis totaling to a 6-look, 20+ piece collection.  After graduating, I carried this same pressure for myself to think in a “collection” mindset, and found myself hitting a wall, I really was not ready to dive back in and manage an entirely new collection while also beginning my corporate fashion journey, situating myself in a new environment, and trying to establish some sense of social life.

Feeling somewhat stuck, I began to ask myself, what specific garments defined my brand – to which the answer was denim and cut-and-sew knits (t-shirts.)  Instead of creating an entirely new collection based on a concept, I shifted my focus towards establishing IDNTTY’s unique perspective on these specific product categories, looking at both pieces from my existing collections, old samples and sketches, and in some cases, creating new items that all merged together into a capsule.

The idea of the Core Capsule Collection was to use my first public product launch as an opportunity to clearly and thoughtfully define what IDNTTY is to consumers, with the intention of layering atop of this capsule with pieces from future collections.

How do you balance incorporating archival pieces with new product developments in your collections?

Although I only established IDNTTY as an L.L.C. in January 2024, I have been creating garments under the idea-umbrella of IDNTTY since 2020, and have accumulated a sizable internal archive of previous samples and old collections previously just kept in storage.  When I began developing the Core Capsule Collection as an opportunity to clearly define what IDNTTY is to consumers, this work did not go to waste as many of my existing pieces became a crucial part of building the story of IDNTTY.

There is a lot of trial and error in fashion, sometimes it’s important to look back at your old ideas and apply them to your current project, breathing new life into them if you will.  Sometimes we have the right idea but for the wrong time (or collection in this case.)

Offering, 2020

In what ways do you hope to impact the fashion industry and the broader culture with IDNTTY?

For me, IDNTTY the singular brand as it exists today, is just the foundation of growing a bigger community of queer fashion brands.  I want to grow IDNTTY into a collective boutique with a physical retail space in New York City, that serves as a home to multiple queer designers/brands, as well as a community center that can host design workshops, social events, etc.  Community building has always been the purpose-driver of my work, and I’m really hopeful that as IDNTTY grows, the outreach and influence can also similarly increase.

How do you approach the design process for cut-and-sew knits and denim, and what sets your techniques apart from other designers?

If I want to make a quality product, I surround myself with quality products!  Sometimes as designers, we can get hung up on the idea of creating something entirely from scratch.  While yes, the idea itself needs to be your own, the tools and resources you can use to help execute your idea are truly infinite.  I find that if I want to make a quality tee-shirt, I’ll try on a lot of what’s already in my wardrobe and study how it fits, how it drapes on me, how heavy or light it is – the same goes for denim.  You can learn a lot from existing garments (the fit of a style, how a luxury brand finishes their seams, the weight of a fabric), absorb what you need, and apply it to your own work.

I think my ability to create a hybrid business model in which I pair these skills to create garments both through global manufacturing and in-house / by-hand sets me apart from other designers – it allows me to share the very hands on influence I have in my product while also providing the quality of what seems like a larger–scale business.  I’ve found that a lot of the answers that you’re looking for are already out there in the world, you just need to know where to look!

How does being based in NYC influence your designs and the overall aesthetic of IDNTTY?

Being based in New York City has given me more validation of my work – I get to physically see my customer first hand out in the world and also connect with other designers in the community who have become supportive of me and my vision.  When I first had the idea for IDNTTY, I was living at home with my parents, while the world was on pause with the COVID-19 pandemic upturning our lives.  To be here in the present, I feel very hopeful about all of the opportunities that are ahead!

What role does sustainability play in your design and production processes?

Sustainability looks different for every brand and should always be on the minds of an up-and-coming label.  For IDNTTY, sustainability plays a significant role during the conceptualization phase in which I use CLO3D – a digital design software that allows users to virtually draft size-accurate garments made to fit a body of any size.  This practice helps me to reduce the amount of waste typically found during the development stage of the fashion design cycle, and be more accurate with my final product! As previously mentioned, IDNTTY also employs a hybrid business model where only a fraction of the product is manufactured in bulk, while the rest is all made on-demand and by-hand.

I also take inspiration from existing clothing, and strive to include some element of upcycling within each collection (see DISTORTED JEAN.)  Slow fashion practices allow for a business to minimize waste, stabilize the costs that go into making a garment, and connect with the customer by offering a hand-made product.

What advice would you give to aspiring fashion designers who want to create inclusive and genderless fashion?

My favorite piece of advice to offer to anyone is to be willing to learn from peers, but to also accept your journey as your own.  Especially with social media, it can be very easy to fall into the habit of comparing yourself to others, and benchmarking at what age you should have accomplished what goal by, when comparing yourself to someone else’s success.  Particularly with genderless and inclusive fashion, I think it’s up to the young visionaries to keep our foot on the gas and continue driving the industry to a more inclusive and accessible nature.  Find community in others who share the same goals as you, but also don’t be afraid to carve out your own space!

If you were to invite anyone alive or dead to a dinner party, who would be on your guest list?

I would love to have dinner with Virgil Abloh, the late founder of Off-White.  During my undergraduate studies, I had won a few case study competitions through an organization called the Fashion Scholarship Fund, who currently help in operating Virgil’s own fund, the Post Modern Scholarship Fund.  I had the opportunity to hear from Virgil during a town hall event the scholarship hosted, and was just in awe.  His work in-part drove me towards fashion, I really looked up to him as a kid, and he really cared about taking care of the next generation of creatives.  Virgil is truly a visionary and an unstoppable force that is still felt in the industry – I wish I could have more moments to learn from him.

What projects/shows have you got coming up?

I’m coming off of the second product release of the year, a Pride graphic tee collection made in collaboration with artist Adam Rolston!  I’ll be spending the summer marketing these tees, continuing to grow my social media presence, and beginning the work on my next collection and future product releases for the end of the year.  I’m also hoping to connect with local boutiques and find an in-person home for IDNTTY garments!

Where can people see your work in IRL or online, and how can people contact you for a studio visit?

I’m always open to studio appointments and am hoping to find a home to begin my in-store presence in New York City soon.  For studio visits, customers can contact me at markbissell@idntty.co and for all other virtual browsing, https://idntty.co has all of my portfolio work and products for sale.  Also feel free to follow along on Instagram @IDNTTYNY and on TikTok @IDNTTY.MB for behind the scenes content!