Between punk graphics, folkloric references, weed-shop visuals and the ghost of the 2010 swag era, GATTO is reclaiming everything fashion once deemed tacky. Founded by creative duo Olivia Lottersberger and Floyd Rorije after meeting at ArtEZ University of the Arts, the Vienna and Amsterdam-based label blends fashion, music and image-making into a chaotic but deeply intentional world of nostalgia, rebellion and cultural remixing. Their loud, collage-like aesthetic has already caught the attention of artists including SZA, Wet Leg and Tommy Cash, while their growing community stretches far beyond one city or scene. Speaking over a video call from Vienna, the pair opened up about subcultures, “ugly” fashion, Dutch tourist-shop graphics and why GATTO feels more like a lifestyle than a label.
You both took part in Lichting, a platform known for spotlighting the Netherlands’ most promising fashion graduates. What was that experience like for each of you, and why did it become the moment to join forces and start GATTO?
Olivia: “I only did the first round of Lichting, but I also modelled in Floyd’s presentation. It was such a nice way to meet everyone and present your work to a jury straight after graduating. It was a really fun experience.”
Floyd: “We both got through the first round. Olivia didn’t make the final show, but I did, and that became the moment where we really started working as a team. Olivia immediately helped shape the styling and overall vision of the collection. Around the same time, she reached the final four of a design competition in Prague, while I didn’t get selected there, so then the roles reversed and I helped her with styling and pulling everything together.”
Olivia: “It was funny how naturally that happened. I wouldn’t say GATTO was directly born out of Lichting, but it was definitely the first step towards styling together. I worked a lot with tights in my graduation collection and then Floyd wore my tights and shoes in his final presentation, so we were already mixing our worlds back then.”
You’re both creative partners and collaborators. How does this shape the way you work?
Floyd: “Even during our studies we were constantly involved in each other’s creative process. We gave each other feedback all the time. Back then we still had our own collections and full control over them individually, whereas now we really share that responsibility.”
Olivia: “During Covid, we suddenly lost the feedback structure that school gave us, so we became each other’s coaches in a way and got even more involved in one another’s work.”
Floyd: “At first we imagined finding separate jobs in fashion and just doing our own thing as a couple. But at some point we realised that, as freshly graduated designers, we’d probably end up putting enormous amounts of energy into jobs that weren’t creatively fulfilling and barely paid. We thought: if we’re going to work this hard, why not do it for ourselves?”
Olivia: “Starting a brand alone is absolutely crazy. Starting one with someone makes it feel doable. It just made sense for us. We trust each other and we really have complementary skills. It’s such a good match.”
Floyd: “Olivia is really good at silhouettes, collaging and making these big gestures, while I’m more focused on print design and production. She takes my mock-ups and pushes them into a new design.”
You both have ties to the Netherlands. How has the Dutch creative community shaped you?
Olivia: “I actually really like the Netherlands. One of my favourite objects at home is this pair of wooden clogs,” she says while holding them up to the camera. “I’m obsessed with folkloric pieces, and Dutch folklore is so interesting to me because there are so many different regional identities within it.”
Floyd: “One very Dutch thing that inspires GATTO is tourist-shop culture. The ‘I Amsterdam’ logos, weed graphics, souvenir aesthetics; there’s really nothing like it anywhere else. The city centre is overflowing with it. It’s fascinating.”
A lot of your references are things traditionally considered ugly, tacky or over- the-top. What attracts you to that aesthetic?
Floyd: “One of our teachers once gave us an assignment where we had to pick ten ugly things and make something out of them. Everyone else struggled with it, but we immediately saw it as cultural commentary because these things carry such strong connotations.”
Olivia: “We work a lot with military elements and folkloric references and then try to fuck it up a bit. Everyone should wear whatever they want. We want to show that ‘normal’ dressing isn’t actually the norm. We design with a critical eye and we like making people think about the prints and references they’re wearing.”
You’re heavily inspired by subcultures, but many people argue that digital culture killed the idea of subculture altogether. Is that something you’re trying to bring back in your own way?
Floyd: “I move from subculture to subculture and get invested really fast. It’s true that those huge subcultures don’t really exist anymore in the same way. But the way we build GATTO — through fashion, music, events and even how we communicate online — kind of mimics the feeling that subcultures in the 2000s used to give people. That feeling of belonging.”
You also create mixtapes and music yourselves. Does making music unlock something that fashion cannot?
Floyd: “I think everything actually started with music. We always listened to music together while working on collections. Before we even made music ourselves, I was already posting visuals on Instagram and matching a song to every image. There was never really a separation between music and fashion for me. At one point we met this artist who wanted to borrow some pieces for a performance. We clicked creatively and he eventually helped us make our first song.”
Olivia: “It made so much sense for us to start making music. Our song TTHiNGS i LiKE is literally based on the Things I like Things I Love store in Amsterdam. Everything is intertwined. The music inspires the clothes and the clothes inspire the music.”
Floyd: “Both come from the same references: punk, the 2010 swag era, internet culture. We just translate those influences into different media. Neither of us really grew up playing instruments though. Honestly, the first instrument I ever owned was probably a DJ controller.”
Olivia: “I can play the flute! But that’s it.”
GATTO feels more like a community than a label. Who are your people?
Olivia: “A lot of our audience consists of young people who love fashion but don’t necessarily feel represented by the industry. People who don’t want to dress ‘normally’ or aspire to some polished luxury ideal. There’s definitely frustration with the system there too. I think our younger audience is drawn to the freedom in it, while people in their late twenties or thirties often connect to the nostalgia of the references because they actually grew up with those subcultures.”
Floyd: “The cool thing is that our customers are literally everywhere. It’s not tied to one city or one scene. We’ve shipped garments to the weirdest places. Because of the internet, people find our clothes and then connect with us and with each other through that. I think that’s really special.”
Olivia: “We’ve also built a really nice network of stylists who approach us for custom looks for artists. What’s interesting is that those artists don’t necessarily make music that fits our world aesthetically, but GATTO still somehow resonates with them. We’re very open when it comes to who wears the clothes and get a lot of inspiration from the people wearing them. During lookbook shoots we often ask models to style the pieces however they naturally would themselves.”
GATTO already stretches across fashion, music and image-making. Where do you want to take the universe next?
Olivia: “We already create so many visuals around GATTO, and Floyd is incredibly good with cameras, so we definitely want to expand further into visual storytelling and music videos. At the same time, we’re currently really focused on growing internationally.”
Floyd: “I’m also getting more serious about producing music and learning new software.
Olivia: “I want to take singing lessons to push the music side even further.”
So: music videos, crazy fashion and even crazier vocals?
Olivia: “Exactly!”
Floyd: “Selling out the big room at Melkweg would be insane. We realised after our first catwalk show that we’re actually less interested in traditional runway formats. We prefer performance.”
Olivia: “At our first show at Melkweg, we had our models perform on stage with us. Dressed in the new collection and dancing to our first song “Sexdreams”, we turned the whole thing into a performance piece. That felt much more like us.”