THE BRAND
TO BE US is a newly established fashion brand that emerged from DESIGNED_BY_TOBiAS [graphic and product design].
The brand focuses on elevating traditional garments, combining the styles of the 70s and 80s with modern interpretations
and a subtle touch of rebellious punk aesthetics.
Each piece incorporates unique and interesting details, bringing creativity and individuality to everyday casual wear.
The brand is built on a unisex style, offering multiple styling options for all types and generations.
THE DESIGNER
TOBiAS RÚČKA is a young fashion designer from Liptov, a small town in the heart of the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia. He inherited his love for fashion from his parents, who both studied tailoring and fashion design in the Czech Republic.
As a young boy, he spent time in his grandfather’s workshop, cutting, hammering, gluing, and sewing a variety of creations. This early hands-on experience sparked his lifelong passion for craft.
Growing up in a creative environment encouraged him to study art. He first attended a private design school in Žilina, where he studied Graphic and Spatial Design, and later moved to Rotterdam to pursue two years of Illustration. However, none of these fields felt like the right fit. He ultimately returned to his first passion—fashion—despite initially resisting following in his parents’ footsteps.
He began learning from his mother, a professional tailor with three decades of experience, who became his first mentor. She taught him the fundamentals of craft: taking measurements, drafting and constructing patterns, sewing garments, and maintaining the highest quality. In her words: “If you want to do this, you either do it the proper way or you don’t do it at all.” Tobias embraced this challenge wholeheartedly.
Tailoring craftsmanship became his main focus, allowing him to master pattern and fabric construction. This rigorous training has also shaped his personal style and presentation, forming the foundation of his fashion identity.
THE COLLECTION
This project started as a very personal exploration of my heritage and where I come from.
By this I went back in time to an era where the world was a very different place. Exploring and finding out about the life my parents had to live through during the Russian occupation in Czechoslovakia. Realising that life we have now was incomparable to the one they had. Imagining not being able to do what you want, to eat what you want, to wear what you want.
This brought me to Burda magazine. A tool that helped a whole generation to wear something else, to rebel against the socialist system. Being different was unacceptable. Being an artist is about challenging and questioning the system. I inherited this from my family.
I always like to stand out from the masses, to dress and look different. But the older I got, I started to realise that a lot of people don’t do it. As I inherited my rebellious spirit from my parents, I also inherited the craft. I see it as my legacy that I want to carry on. I see it as a power of freedom to make what I want to make, to show people new ways of how designers think about clothes. That there are more crazy and outgoing ideas than just something that is “trendy” now. To revive the spirit and meaning it had for my parents back then.
By using their past lives as a guide in aesthetic, style, and design, I wanted to create a unique line of casual wear clothing that feels familiar but brings new interesting takes. To merge and morph it with my personal take and create my own design language. It is a conclusion of who I am, of who each and every one of you are.
You are a reflection of those around you, those who shaped you as a person—the culture, the people, the environment. You are all of them combined in one; all of them create us. The people, the individuals, and through them we present ourselves.
So explore, rebel, and challenge who you are. TO BE YOU. TO BE US.