Every Pauzewear piece starts long before it becomes a finished product. There’s no fixed formula or schedule behind it. Most ideas begin quietly, often without any clear plan for where they’ll end up.
Sometimes it’s a visual that sticks. Sometimes it’s a phrase, a feeling, or a moment pulled from music, art, or everyday life. Not everything becomes a design, and that’s intentional. Letting ideas sit is part of the process.
Letting Ideas Settle
One of the most important parts of designing for Pauzewear happens before anything is made. Ideas are left alone for a while. If something still feels relevant after time has passed, it’s usually worth exploring further. If it fades, that’s fine too.
This helps avoid rushing things just to have something new. Designs that make it through this stage tend to feel more grounded, and more honest, because they haven’t been forced.
Testing Before Committing
When an idea feels ready, it moves into testing. That usually means small runs or sample garments to see how the design actually works once it’s on a real piece.
If it's a new range, like introducing beanie hats, the process starts even earlier. I’ll source blank pieces first, purely to check quality. I need to be able to see it, feel it, and hold it before anything else happens.
If the blank passes that stage, only then do I start thinking about what design suits that specific piece. That usually leads to a single test print, often in my own size. I’ll live with it for a while — wearing it properly, seeing how it wears over time, how it washes, and whether it’s the kind of quality I’d wear myself.
From there, I pay attention to how it’s received. Sometimes that’s just wearing it out and noticing reactions. Other times, it’s sharing short videos with regular customers whose opinions I trust. Those unprompted responses are often more useful than any data or assumptions.
When I’m working with Pascal, I like to give him creative freedom. That’s something I value across all my creative work. The same approach shaped my work with a publisher on my poetry book, Pauze For Thought. I’ve found collaboration only really works when there’s space to collaborate.
We’ll bounce ideas back and forth, often starting from images or references he’s collected, and let things build naturally. There’s no fixed brief, and no pressure to force ideas into shape too quickly.
It’s not a process that can be rushed.
Testing keeps production considered. Rather than committing to large quantities upfront, designs are allowed to prove themselves first.
Turning Tests Into Collections
If a design survives testing and still feels right, it becomes part of a wider collection. Even then, it’s never treated as finished. There’s always room to refine, improve, or rethink how it sits alongside other pieces.
Collections aren’t built around trends or release calendars. They grow naturally, shaped by what works, what connects, and what feels aligned at the time. Some designs stay longer. Others come and go. Both outcomes are valid.
Why the Process Matters
Taking this slower route gives each piece weight. It keeps the connection between idea and outcome intact and avoids treating clothing as disposable. It also allows Pauzewear to stay flexible, adapting without losing its identity.
Designing this way has been a learning curve, especially moving from creative work in music and writing into physical products. But the core idea remains the same: make things with intention, and give them the time they need.
From idea to wear, every step is deliberate. Not perfect, not rushed — just considered.
