Austin Jensen and Jacob Mosner are making waves with their vibrant rave fashion line VibeWire, which offers fits perfect for men and women in the scene.
While the ravers have donned outlandish looks at events for decades, many fashion brands in the scene have focused primarily on women, with men often relegated to graphic tees and unisex accessories. After years of struggling to find fits for themselves, Austin Jensen and Jacob Mosner took matters into their own hands by launching VibeWire, a brand defined by its unique fits for men and women.
VibeWire was launched as the dust of the pandemic settled in 2021. Austin and Jacob started small by creating unique fits that they themselves would rock at a festival. Soon enough, the brand caught fire on social media as ravers looking for something fresh and exciting to wear at their next event began to flock to their store to make a purchase.
Since then, VibeWire has scaled up to meet the demand, but that hasn’t stopped them from pressing on with their mission to celebrate dance music culture and its values of love and acceptance with looks that are perfect for men and women alike. They have also continued to show off their commitment to the community that they’ve fostered over the past few years with meetups at festivals like EDC Las Vegas and more.
Fresh off the release of their latest collection, Vice, which is centered on the vibe of Miami, we caught up with Austin and Jacob to dive into the brand’s history and where they plan to take VibeWire next.
Hey Austin and Jacob, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us today. Rave fashion has typically underserved men for quite a long time, but VibeWire has helped change that. Can you share your experience as a raver and what led you to launch this company?
When we first started going to festivals, it was nearly impossible to find men’s rave outfits. There were always plenty of options for women but no rave outfits for men. Men’s rave clothing just wasn’t a big part of the EDM culture, and because of that, we think brands didn’t focus their efforts on that side of the industry. We would spend weeks, even months, going thrift shopping and trying to assemble a rave outfit for guys. Dressing up and being a part of the vibe was always something we wanted to participate in. We wanted to give guys the ability to do so as well and have options they would be confident in.
What has it felt like to see the progression of VibeWire over the past few years with more ravers rocking your fits?
It is nothing short of amazing to see the progression of VibeWire and our community. When we first started it was challenging to get guys to even wear a rave outfit. It took some time, but we rapidly saw more guys wearing our outfits. To not only watch men’s rave clothing become a bigger part of the EDM culture but to help be a driving force with men’s rave outfits means the world to us.
One of the big aspects of VibeWire is the community you’ve been building, which has been bolstered by festival meetups and even an app, VIBRNT! What does this community mean to you?
This community is everything to us. Without our community and the people who support our brand, we are nothing. It is the people who make up the brand. Due to that, we try to provide the best possible experience and outfits for our community. We want to continue to build a festival community that inspires not only confidence but love and acceptance of all.
The buzz around your latest summer Vice drop is huge. Could you shed some light on the unique design process that went into creating these pieces?
The theme around the Vice drop was to create festival and rave outfits centered around Miami Vice—a colorful, Miami-vibe drop that would be fun to wear in the summer. When thinking about the designs, we incorporated our first-ever overalls called raveralls. We added some cargo pants and utility vests, some women’s outfits, and our classic hood and shorts. The thought behind some of these designs was to create some new outfits that we’ve never created before and add some rave flare to them.
Where do you typically find inspiration when deciding on designs as a whole?
When thinking about designs, we like to think about upcoming EDM festivals and events. We like to look at color schemes that fit that type of festival or time of the year. When we first started making men’s festival clothes, it was primarily focused on designs we loved to wear—things like vests, short-sleeve vests, kimonos, hoods, shorts, etc. We create rave outfits for guys that we would wear ourselves, only outfits we fully believe in.
While some fashion brands opt for signature items that can be bought anytime, others, like you, have decided to pursue limited-run drops instead. What led to your decision to be drop-centric?
The main driving factor behind this was always to be improving. That is one of our missions. We are constantly coming out with new innovative designs and pushing the boundaries of how we can be creative. We love the drop model and will continue to come out with the new, latest, cutting-edge designs, but we will also have signature items that can be bought anytime later this month. Not everybody can wait for a drop, so we want to make sure that if somebody needs an outfit right away, we can get them one.
What advice would you give to other fashion designers thinking about launching a new brand in the current era of the scene?
Our biggest advice for anybody thinking about creating men’s rave clothing or festival clothing, in general, would be to focus on the art and passion of what you are creating—attention to detail matters. When you create something that you are passionate about, people can feel that. If you put something out there that is just a money grab, people can also feel that. Create outfits you are proud of. It’ll make it a lot easier to market the outfits as well if you believe in the festival outfits you are releasing.
Finally, looking toward the future, what plans do you have for VibeWire in the coming months?
We have a lot of exciting things in the works when it comes to men’s rave clothing. As mentioned before, we always want to be innovative when coming out with new designs. We don’t want to give everything away with the new rave outfits for guys we are releasing. What we can tell you is there are some things like button-ups and t-shirts that are different from anything we’ve created before.