When you first meet Rob Goldblatt, you can’t help but notice his sense of style. His dedication to clothing is visible through his personal sense of fashion, and also through his passion for sustainable streetwear. Goldblatt is a senior from San Francisco studying Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises (EEE) at the Whitman School of Business who wants to take his education and apply it to his own business.
He has always had a unique and thoughtful view of the world, the way he sees people, culture, clothes, fashion, and most importantly, the representation of everyone. In high school, he spent a lot of his time skateboarding and through this experience, he was able to meet and befriend people from all over the San Francisco Bay Area.
In addition to skateboarding, Goldblatt found a passion for hip-hop. He performed in the Bay Area, in high school, and along his journey made new friendships leading him to collaborate with other artists. He realized very early that his relationships with people were key to succeeding, and through these relationships enabled him bootstrap producing his own videos and implementing various guerilla marketing strategies.
As his interest in music grew, it slowly expanded into a different passion. After interning with music publishing and production companies, Goldblatt realized streetwear and hip-hop were ideas he could creatively bring together. Ultimately this led him to pursue his Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises major to redefine fashion.
Goldblatt isn’t creating just a streetwear brand, he’s adding meaning behind it. With the countless experiences he’s had, and his time abroad in Barcelona, Spain, he was able to see how big the world really is. “I want to make sure I’m keeping my brand authentic and my customers are well represented in the clothes I produce, and content I create.”
He says he cares about an individual’s personalities, not money or looks. He wants people to be able to wear his clothes and feel good about supporting a fashion brand that is in line with their value system, supporting ethical supply chain networks.
He wants to make a sustainable product and upcycle clothes, as well as be affordable for a wide range of customers. “I like street fashion, and growing up I was buying Supreme, but it wasn’t sustainable.” His goal is to use materials that are ethically and environmentally sustainable while making a “cool brand.” To exemplify the uniqueness of his company, he plans to develop a website of his own for his buyers, promoted through digital marketing efforts.
Rob’s business is still under development as he believes it’s important to have an understanding and respect for what you’re investing in because it’s important to the success of yourself as well as the customers. He has spent countless hours conducting research on his topic as well as taking entrepreneur classes to ensure the success of his clothing line. Rob also made sure to communicate that he knows he is only scratching the surface of learning what he needs to succeed in the highly competitive and complex fashion industry. After graduation, he is dedicated to learning through hard work and knows that getting his hands dirty in the daily grind of the business will be invaluable.
Goldblatt understands how important it is to maintain a solid brand identity for the clothing business. He feels, “If people don’t believe in you as an individual, your brand probably won’t make it in this industry. You have to be in tune with who you are and what you bring to the table.”
After college, he plans to work for a fashion brand that upholds the values he believes in and where he can learn about the inner workings of a clothing business. He wants to work for a company in LA or NYC that embraces diversity so one day he can start one for himself.
He says, “We overlook the resources we have the privilege of having” but hopes to make a positive change in the right direction with clothes, culture, fashion, streetwear, and style.
Story by Sydney Grosso, Blackstone LaunchPad Global Fellow; photo supplied