Isaac Robertson

Designer Isaac Robertson graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2022. He gained experience at Area and Proenza Schouler where he developed insight on construction, technicality, and critical thinking. In 2021, Robertson reawakened Brothers Gym as a creative world that incompases the memory his father left behind. The gym sits at the centerpoint of Robertsons work, a sacred space that his father and him once shared. Weight is used within many forms in his work as a way of grounding the body. Brothers Gym incompases the many feelings of being in the gym while also evoking a determination to feel strong. The inner self experiences the gravity of the garment providing an external strength to the wearer. Robertson uses this platform as a therapeutic reflection of his father. Brothers Gym was passed down and interpreted through a modern lens combining functionality, resilience, and memory. 

Email: Burkesr6@gmail.com.

Facing the reality of loss has been a topic that has consumed me. This last year, I unexpectedly lost my father to suicide. I am now met with a new world where pain, anxiety, can take over at any moment. To combat this, I have followed in my fathers footsteps with my love for weightlifting. The strength I work to gain in the gym reflects my desire to get through a difficult situation. The gym is a sacred space I once shared with my father, and now a place I seek comfort in. Looking into fitness coulture, I crafted weight bearing and active based clothing that provoke the memories of my father.

Through weighted construction methods and tight interactions with the body, I provide a sense of protection from the outside world, while also providing the feeling of  grounding that I experience at the gym. Through in depth studies of coping methods, these garments will combat these hopeless feelings. The experience gravity has on the body brings an inner and outer strength to the wearer. The physicality mirrors the weight of loss in my life, which is otherwise a very indescribable feeling.