How Chris Gibbs’ Love of Vintage Inspired Union’s Next Big Air Jordan 1

There are streetwear OGs and then there is Chris Gibbs. In a culture whose beginnings are documented in short interview snippets and grainy analogue photos, his resume reads like a Wikipedia entry for streetwear and style writ large.

Growing up in Ottawa, Canada, Gibbs moved to NYC for university, soon landing a job at James Jebbia’s Union. Working his way up from store assistant to merchandiser, buyer and stylist, he absorbed the era’s mood, immersing himself in all aspects of mid-’90s New York. His personal network ballooned, leading to lifelong friendships with people like Brendon Babenzien and Luke and Lucie Meier, whose own portfolios fill literal Rizzoli books. While Jebbia’s Supreme continued to blur the lines between skate shop, clothing store and gallery space, Gibbs took on more and more responsibility at Union before ultimately relocating to Los Angeles to open Union’s West Coast outpost in 2003 with his wife, Co-Creative Director Beth Birkett Gibbs.