Welcome Back: Daily Bread brings Steel City style to streetwear

Walking into Daily Bread’s store feels a lot like wearing its clothing. The local streetwear brand is known for its use of rare fabrics — some dating back as far as the 1800s — and its store, which opened in Garfield the week of July 4, feels like a rare view into a lifestyle that, up to this point, has been relatively quiet in the city of Pittsburgh.

Locales such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco have long been hubs for the streetwear industry, serving as the birthplace for brands such as Huf, Supreme and Diamond Supply.

“Pittsburgh never fit into that. That’s exactly why I wanted to start Daily Bread. All the brands in Pittsburgh are great, but nobody had that edge, nobody had people like Mac Miller and A$AP Rocky wearing their stuff,” said Bill Niels, the company’s founder.

Born out of Niels’ eponymous photo journal, Daily Bread, the clothing brand grew from a South Oakland house where Neils, Mac Miller, and Miller’s managers stayed during the summer of 2010. That same summer, Miller’s breakthrough mixtape K.I.D.S was released — the iconic cover shot by Neils himself.

“One of the first shirts we made were those Most Dope tees, and we would just throw those out at Mac’s shows,” Niels said. “After he blew up that summer, we printed a bunch more to get them out there.”

Those original T-shirts, a reimagining of the “Do The Right Thing” movie poster, exist in limited quantities and mark a turning point for Niels and his vision for his brand.

Daily Bread is a company steeped in that sense of authenticity, and its new store is a testament to the company’s local roots. Aside from the brand’s signature collection, customers can find local lines, including Streetheart and Vrnaqlr, on the store’s shelves. 

“We just try to show love to all the brands coming up out here,” Niels said.

Daily Bread has appeared at a time in which street culture grows louder and louder in Pittsburgh and more local designers strive to carve out a portion of the coastally dominated streetwear industry for the steel city. 

But Pittsburgh’s clothing lines aren’t just emulating their coastal counterparts. 

“Pittsburgh is our perspective. Every hill and valley is a different neighborhood with its own character, which is what makes this city great. There is a little something for everyone.  Our clothing takes that philosophy and combines it with the idea of what it means to be creative in our times,” Vrnaqlr owner Peter Sorek said.

Part of Pittsburgh’s distinct perspective is the marriage between street culture and art. The Daily Bread store shares its space with 54/50, an antique furniture gallery that reappropriates antique furniture into modern designs.

“Our buddy Nico collects midcentury modern furniture and does basically what I do with streetwear with furniture,” Niels said.

Nico, or Nicholas Hartkopf, runs the 54/50 gallery. Daily Bread co-owner and Pitt alum Alex Avakian says that because the new store space is part gallery, the company will work in tandem with the surrounding Garfield arts community, which plays host to numerous events

Daily Bread hosts parties as part of Garfield’s First Friday event series, which takes place the first Friday of every month. Avakian says that a featured artists series is in the works.

“We’re gonna have all sorts of art events coming through the space,” Avakian said. “We just confirmed an event with Refresh. That’s a group that takes old Jordans and collectible sneakers and rehabs them.”

Avakian says they plan to invite everyone from barbers to graffiti artists to exhibit at  their First Friday parties.

“This is also a way to work within the community and culture that already exists here. We want this to be a community space for artists to come and do their thing,” Avakian continued.

Daily Bread’s clothing makes sense alongside the elegant furniture in its shared gallery space. The current line features garments that look and feel worthy of a museum.

“How many companies you know making five-panels with fabric from the 1800s?” Bill Neils asks.

Daily Bread’s very rare five-panel hats and the rest of the brand’s collection are available for purchase online at www.dailybreadpa.com or in-store at 5450 Penn Ave.