Common threads Designer building following making models of everyone from celebs to ordinary Winnipeggers By: Aileen Goos Posted: 5:04 PM CDT Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026

Kevin Takatch was getting groceries in Los Angeles when he stumbled into an art sale celebrating 25 years of Jackass.

The Winnipeg designer behind BeLove suddenly found himself surrounded by famous faces, carrying one of his own jackets and wondering who he could get to wear it.

Then he spotted comedian Eric André, who appears as himself in the reality stunt/prank franchise, and asked him to model the jacket.

“I knew I couldn’t (wimp) out, like I did with the first celebrity I saw,” says Takatch, who declined to give his age.

André was in.

It was the kind of unexpected encounter that has come to define BeLove — find someone interesting, take a chance and see what happens.

That off-the-cuff feel is part of what’s helped the brand get noticed. Lately, it’s also become a bigger part of the story.

Instagram deleted BeLove’s original account, wiping out years of posts, followers and connections. For a small label built mostly online, it was a major setback.

So Takatch started over and brought people along for the ride.

The new account has become a window into the brand as he rebuilds it: samples arriving, strangers modelling jackets, chance encounters and the occasional celebrity.

There’s also more of Takatch himself figuring things out as he goes and sharing what happens along the way.

“It’s reminded me that the actual story and the people behind the brand are more important than the follower count,” he says.

Before starting BeLove, Takatch worked as an educational assistant in Winnipeg. He had no fashion training or industry connections. He just liked clothes and wanted to make something of his own.

His own style is “pretty eccentric,” mixing vintage pieces with newer ones and avoiding anything that looks like it came straight off a mannequin.

“I’ve always been drawn to clothes that have a bit of personality to them,” he says.

That carries over into the brand. The clothes are colourful, nostalgic and a little weird. And he looks for that same sense of personality in the people who wear them.

Back in Winnipeg, he takes much the same approach with people who aren’t famous.

“Excuse me, sir, would you be down to model this jacket?” Takatch asks one man. “You can keep it after.”

The man agrees.

That’s pretty much how he finds his models. He approaches people around the city based on whatever catches his attention — an outfit, a face or just someone’s general energy.

At the Winnipeg Folk Festival, he handed jackets to strangers and asked to take their photos. One of them, dubbed “the Colonel,” left with a Folk 75 jacket.

Another subject, Joe, was having a rough day when Takatch stopped him. They talked, Joe modelled the jacket and Takatch gave it to him afterward.

Not everyone is immediately sure what to make of a stranger asking them to model a jacket on a Winnipeg sidewalk. But once he explains that he just likes their style, people are often game.

“It’s made me realize how much people appreciate being seen. Seeing them gain a little confidence during the shoot has probably been the most meaningful part for me,” Takatch says.

The people in his street shoots show up with their own shirts, hats, jewelry, wrinkles, hair and ways of standing. He gives them a jacket and lets them be themselves.

“I realized I didn’t necessarily need professional models,” he says.

“There are so many interesting people walking around Winnipeg, and I thought, why not just approach them and see what happens?”

That same instinct shows up in the clothes.

The Vampire jacket is heavy blue denim covered in shadowy figures.

Other pieces feature cowboys, horses, flames, praying hands, cigarettes and wooded landscapes.

The jackets have names such as Fire, Horse, Prayer, Woods and White Smoking.

There are wide-legged pants, hoodies and a blue cowboy jacket that feels like it could have come from a roadside gift shop in the 1970s.

The ideas can come from almost anywhere. Takatch might see an old photograph, a piece of art, a pattern in a movie or simply a combination of colours he likes, and start building from there.

He starts playing with the image digitally, then works with manufacturers to make a sample. From there, it’s a lot of trial and error — tweaking the fit, fabric, print or whatever else isn’t quite right.

“A lot of what I know about clothing, manufacturing, photography, marketing and running a business has been learned through trial and error. I’m still learning constantly, honestly,” he says.

The clothes mix ’70s nostalgia with darker touches, from vampires and cigarettes to faded denim and black faux suede.

In the summer, Takatch leans into psychedelic colours and festival-inspired pieces.

Come fall, things get darker, with horror movies creeping into the mix.

“I’d describe BeLove as very expressive, nostalgic and kind of carefree,” he says.

The whole thing started with a simple idea: make clothes he wanted to wear.

Now, as he rebuilds the brand, Takatch is finding that people are just as interested in the world around the clothes: the strangers, friends and unexpected encounters that have become part of the label.

That brings the story back to Los Angeles. Takatch almost didn’t go into the Jackass event.

Had he gone for groceries at another time or decided the whole thing looked too weird, he might never have approached André.

“A lot of the opportunities I’ve had with BeLove have come from just putting myself out there and being willing to do something that feels a little ridiculous.

“You can spend forever trying to plan the perfect opportunity,” he says, “but sometimes you just have to walk up to someone and ask.”

arts@freepress.mb.ca