State Of Flux Navigates 2020 with Grace and Agility

Herbert Gracia's and Johnny Travis' SF streetwear brand/store is inspired by that uncertain space in between

Photographer & Creative Direction: Alon Reuveni, By: Gail Goldberg

Everyone knows going into business with a friend is a risky venture. State Of Flux co-founders Herbert Gracia and Johnny Travis, it was a vice-versa situation: business brought them together, the friendship part followed.  

Their meet-cute took place more than a dozen years ago when SF State student Gracia answered a Craigslist ad posted by SF State student Travis; he was seeking a graphic designer for a business-class project.

Turns out that project became Faze, the duo's previous streetwear brand, which they sold in March 2019. But that was then, 2019 was a previous era. Now? The partners recently celebrated the first anniversary of the opening of their Valencia Street storefront. The Mission shop/studio carries a sharply edited group of cool, global and not-found-everywhere menswear labels like Blkwd Denim, Coursework, NoHours, Pas de Mer, Mitchell & Ness and Karhu—all of which seamlessly mingle with State Of Flux's own brand of tees, hats, hoodies, pants and one-of-a-kind creations.  

It goes without saying that State Of Flux's first year did not go according to plan. In mid March when Covid-19 and stay-at-home orders swept through the Bay Area, all non-essential retailers were forced to close. Feelings of uncertainty and fear gripped small and indie shop owners everywhere.

Here's the thing, though: Gracia and Travis were probably better equipped than most to handle the ambiguity. After all, their brand is called State Of Flux. The mantra they abide by and the one that adorns their popular knit beanies is as follows:

"Life is full of uncertainties and how we respond defines our character. Never break. Never settle. Never fold."

"Johnny came up with the name State Of Flux because it reflected what we were going through at the time: We were closing Faze and we had been doing it for so long and, then, all of a sudden, we weren't. We were personally at the point of deciding if we continue in the fashion business or do something else," says Gracia.

"Of course, we couldn't predict where we are now in the world. But, clearly, the name is very, very relevant for everyone these days. Plus, it's applicable to the ups and downs of everyday life, and how you move forward. You have to recognize the situation and figure out how you're going to adapt," Travis adds.

When the shutdown arrived, adapt they did.

In fact, State Of Flux was ahead of the game, as the team had begun making prototypes for cloth masks in February. Once the design was settled, the masks were loaded onto the store's website. "We figured, let's just try it," Travis says.

They sold out in a few minutes. Mask production ramped up. "However, we didn't want to take advantage of the situation. We wanted to figure out how we could help instead of just taking," adds Travis.

The answer they landed on: give away a mask for each one sold. "We focused on giving masks to people in our neighborhood, like the drivers, the coffee people, the food deliverers, anyone who needed one," Travis says.

Mask and additional online sales along with help from the government's Paycheck Protection Program kept State Of Flux afloat. But last spring with the killing of George Floyd and the strength of the Black Lives Matter movement, another pivot was in order. The co-founders put their planned clothing release on hold to develop a line featuring tees and hoodies with supportive social messages (i.e. we need to change, we're tired, we need to keep fighting). Speaking up and communicating with the community was crucial.

"With everything going on and us being a black and brown business [Gracia is of Mexican heritage Travis is African American]—and probably one of the only ones with a retail store on Valencia Street—we needed to be leaders.

It's important for kids that look like us to see that people that look like them can run a business or be a designer. Plus, us also having kids, we wanted to make sure we were the ones saying this is not right, or how can we fix it," explains Travis.

Another way State Of Flux plans to build relationships with the community: offer sewing, design, screen-printing and photography classes. Hands-on, in-store learning was part of the concept from the beginning, and the store/studio space was constructed to accommodate it.

Yes, coronavirus put the kibosh on classes for now; but Garcia and Travis just received approval to hold an outdoor screen-printing workshop on Saturday, November 21. Get all the details and reserve your spot.

//State Of Flux is located at 1176 Valencia Street, stateofflux.shop