The Real-Life Wardrobe of Geese’s Max Bassin, Who Only Wears One Brand of Jeans

The Brooklyn-bred drummer tells GQ all about his childhood style heroes, favorite recent purchases, and the best-dressed bands on the scene right now.Christopher FenimoreAt this stage, Geese’s meteoric rise has been well-documented (and paranoidly scrutinized). The New York rock band was founded in 2016 by a quartet of friends—frontman Cameron Winter, guitarist Emily Green, bassist Dominic DiGiseu, and drummer Max Bassin—who, as the latter puts it, all became friends “as actual children.” As a teen, Bassin, now 24, turned his family’s basement in Brooklyn into a makeshift studio, where Geese made “a bunch of recordings that no one has listened to.” By 2025, the band’s breakout fourth LP Getting Killed landed them on Saturday Night Live and atop The New Yorker’s list of the year’s best albums.But Bassin wasn’t just a musical prodigy—he also grew up with a distinct sense of style, influenced by indie rockers like Mac DeMarco and shopping trips in Paris with his mom. These days, he’s one of the most thrilling dressers in rock, showing up at the BRIT Awards in full Eckhaus Latta and hitting the stage in an eclectic mix of vintage gems and underground labels.Between tours, I caught up with Bassin to discuss his favorite New York bands, the difference in how he dresses onstage and off, and why he only wears one brand of jeans.All clothing and accessories, subject’s own. Vintage T-shirt and boots. Jeans by Nudie. Belt by Saint Laurent. Christopher FenimoreGQ: What’s your first memory of music?Max Bassin: I was at a Bloc Party show in 2006 or ’07? It was the first time they came to the US and they played at the McCarren Park Pool. I remember it was so loud that I had to leave. But that was the first show I ever went to. It was my first conscious music experience. I must have been three years old, maybe four.What are some of your favorite bands coming out of New York right now?I really like Fcukers. Really, really sick, just very danceable. I’m doing a little bit of DJing with my partner, Charlotte, and she put me on really hard with Fcukers. It’s this really good DJ stuff, so I love that shit. Friends of ours called Native Sun just put out a record and they’ve been touring around a bit. It’s very punk, sort of Stooges-pilled. Water From Your Eyes. And in turn, Fantasy of a Broken Heart I think are some of the best. There’s a lot of good shit. YHWH Nailgun’s really good.I was just talking about them.They’re fantastic, man. They’ve got one of the best drummers working. There’s just a lot of weird variety. There’s this kid that is making, I don’t know, I guess it’s experimental rap, called Liim. He’s really sick. It’s a really good time for music in New York. There’s a lot of really good stuff.Which rock bands do you think have the best style?Geese. Water From Your Eyes; Rachel dresses really well. They throw insane fits. Al and Bailey from Fantasy of a Broken Heart, they throw crazy fits.I really like all of the eclectic dress of The Who. Keith Moon was wearing T-shirts in 1968, playing the drums, which I think is really sick. The Led Zeppelin thing was so wack. As I get older, it’s just like, “Dude, that shit just looks so wild, the headbands and shit.” The Beatles tend to be pretty well-dressed towards their later years, when they were able to drop the act a bit. All their rooftop performance fits were fantastic. George’s is amazing.Christopher FenimoreChristopher FenimorePeople sleep on George.I don’t know where that guy was getting his clothes from. He was killing it.I think about that a lot, actually. Where were these people getting their clothes?Exactly. It’s been a challenge trying to find pants. I love British mod shit, and I’m trying to find Chelsea boots that look like the Beatles’ boots, and you just can’t find them.Can you not? I would actually think the opposite, that there would be so many dupes on the market.That’s kind of what these are. These are from a British company that makes these Cuban heel boots. You really just have to actually go to Mexico or Cuba and buy boots.Oh, Joel and Anton from The Brian Jonestown Massacre in the ’90s had some of the most insane clothes. I don’t know where they were finding them. Their doc kind of outlines all of the time that they spent together, and the whole time they were flat broke. They barely can pay for food for themselves. I’m like, “Where are they getting all these clothes, then?” Because it’s all good stuff.How do you guys write new music?It depends. There are bits and bobs that we’ve jammed on that sometimes become songs, and then sometimes we have a little riff that we really like that sits around for a while that becomes a song. But it’s really just about getting in a room together and playing stuff to see what works. We’ve realized, over a lot of time, there was playing time where making a song felt almost like a studio project, where it was like, record just this section, and then we record this section, and just stitch it all together. But we’ve been moving towards playing together a lot and seeing what happens if we demo something. If there’s something that we really like, we can keep doing it.During practice, do you set different times for different things?Yeah, sort of. Times like right now, if we were to all get into a room together, we would probably want to practice and dial in some of the songs that we already have. But most of the time it is pretty intentional. If we’re going somewhere to do something, the plan is laid out, like, “We’re going to practice the songs for five hours.” Or, “We need to record this one song.” Or, “We need to write 15 songs.” So, it just depends, but I feel like everyone’s always thinking about what may happen. And everyone, in the interim between records, listens to a lot of music and gets inspired by different shit.Christopher FenimoreWas there a seminal moment in which you first became interested in clothing and style?Kind of. Someone who was really big for me when I was a child, and just figuring out like, “Oh, I can wear clothes that fit me a certain way,” was Mac DeMarco. He was really big on wearing a beat-up pair of Vans, a big oversized hoodie, and a nice pair of jeans. That was super easy. It felt like an attainable thing for me to do.I had a homie who introduced me to KidSuper right at the beginning of high school, around 2016, and he was in his small studio space under the train on Broadway or Myrtle. Everything you could get in the store was printed pretty much to order. That got me into the idea that clothes could be used for some sort of expression in an interesting way, that wasn’t just like, “This shirt looks cool. I’ll wear it.”Then I got a little older, and we lost my dad, and my mom had her "I’m going to do a bunch of shit for myself” moment. So we traveled a bunch, and we’d go to a city like Paris, and we would just go walk around and look at shit. So she’d grab me a pair of shoes or grab some jeans.How old were you then?From probably 12 to 15. I traveled with my mom a decent amount. She was very big on, like, “Let’s go to Dover Street and look at clothes.” And it wasn’t even that it was like, “I’m going to go buy you a bunch of shit.” It was just like, “Let’s go look.” And a place like here [in New York], too, I was just walking around and seeing people wearing clothes that I was interested in or I thought looked good. And in my head it was like, “I guess I can probably find that here somewhere.”That’s the magic of New York, especially with style. Can you remember your first significant purchase?It must have been that KidSuper shirt, because I dropped like 60 bucks on a heavyweight T-shirt. The shirt’s weird, because it’s printed on this insanely heavy, almost robe material.Terrycloth?Yeah, yeah, kind of. My arms don’t go above here [raises to about shoulder height] because the stitching is so tight, and I’ve tried to play basketball in it and shit. “My jumper’s off? Why?”It’s got a bunch of rappers from Brooklyn on it—Flatbush Zombies, Joey Badass, the Underachievers. I love that shirt so much. But then I wore it to school on the worst day for me to wear it. One of my teachers was like, “I couldn’t wear the shirt that Max is wearing, but it’s very like him.” And every single person was like, “No, it’s not.” I was like, “Jesus Christ.”They roasted you.Yeah. It was terrible. I couldn’t do anything. Under the microscope.Christopher FenimoreWhat’s your most recent pickup?I got an Aleister Crowley shirt very recently. There’s this shirt that I wore at Gov Ball, this “E is for Evil” shirt. Some dude did these prints where he did every letter of the alphabet, but I wear it a lot and it’s like the only one that never got reprinted. So I had to spend a bag on it, but I love it and I’ll wear it forever. I’ll trash that shirt. If you’re reading this, please [make more], because I’m already fucking that shirt up really bad and I really need another one.You wore full Eckhaus Latta to the Brit Awards. Are you being sent clothes from brands now?Well, I did have to pay for the Eckhaus stuff at a discounted rate, but I do own it still. I love that sweater.That’s actually cool for people to know, because sometimes they assume that stuff is free.I mean, I kind of assumed. I got my clothes and I was like, “This is really sick. Can I keep this stuff?” And it was like, “Yeah…”In exchange for money.There is a bunch of free stuff that’s come our way. I wear a lot of clothes that I’ve gotten for free, but I also spend a really unreasonable amount on clothes. Because I like a lot of vintage clothes. Most of the stuff that I wear is vintage, so no one will hook me up for it. I’m never going to get any of the T-shirts that I like for free, but it’s fine.Are there any brands you’re particularly into?I really like Basketcase’s stuff. Eckhaus Latta stuff is really good. They have a lot of really good blanks, and they dropped a bunch of bags that were really crazy. There’s a Y-3 pinstripe suit that just came out. It is so fucking insane. It’s like an Adidas track suit, but a little nicer. I don’t know how to describe it.The only jeans I wear are Nudie jeans. I love Nudie jeans and they’re everywhere. I have so many fits for men’s jeans. I only like women’s jeans, mostly—I have to find a pretty big lady to take her jeans. So it’s nice to find a place that I can go to that has the exact fit that I’m looking for. And they do repairs forever, so if you buy them, you don’t need a receipt. A little hack: If you thrift Nudie jeans, you can get them fixed or hemmed [for free].Hoodie by Basketcase. Vintage T-shirt. Jeans by Nudie. As the band has become more popular, have you changed how you dress on and off-stage?There have been tours where I wore sweatpants the entire time and it was a little easier to hide [on stage]. Now, I force myself to wear boots all the time so I have to at least wear nice pants. So if I’m wearing a shitty T-shirt or a hoodie, it’s like, "This is a good fit. That looks kind of cool." I slowly made it so any of the comfortable fits that I have are at least able to be photographed.Do you ever try to dress cohesively as a band, or do you each do your own thing?Read MoreFive Days with Geese, America’s Most Thrilling Young Rock BandFive years ago, they were were high-school indie rockers on the verge of breaking up and going to college. But between the solo debut of singer Cameron Winter and their stunning new album, Getting Killed, Geese have quickly become a band on a potentially historic run.I was maybe the one at the beginning who was the most like, “If we’re going to be a band, we all have to dress well and dress with some cohesion.” But as we’ve gone on, everyone’s personality shines through in how they dress. It makes it easier to understand everybody. I’ve put everyone in shit that they’re not happy with. There have been times where it’s like, “We’re going to do a shoot. Max, you want to just style everybody?” And everyone’s just like, “What the fuck? We’re going to fucking do this? I’m not going to get styled by you.” We all dress the way we dress. It’s everyone’s individual journey.You touched on this a second ago, but how do you get dressed to go on stage, from a practical standpoint? Do you dress differently on- and offstage?Not really. I’m a really sweaty dude, though. I think it’s my genetics. I’m Chinese, so I sweat a lot. It’s fucked. Even when I’m not playing the drums. I’ve done DJ sets where I’ll be just standing there, profusely sweating. There are a couple shirts that I’m willing to ruin for the sake of a show, and if it’s going to be sweaty, it’s going to be sweaty. Most of these places have laundry or at least a hair dryer or something.Do you shop for gear before a tour? If so, what are some of your favorite places or things to pick up?No. I like to have a nice array of new everything. Some new shirts, some new sticks, new heads, some new cymbals. It’s nice to have something that I haven’t used before. I think it gives each tour its own feel. I’m very weird about everything. I have weird fixations. If I really like an outfit, I’ll wear it five times in a row. And then we’re touring and it’ll be like, “Well, these last five shows, you wore the same fucking thing.”When you go thrifting, what do you look for?Pants, jackets, sometimes shirts. Shirts are a little harder to come by. If I’m going thrifting, I’m looking for blanks—long-sleeve blanks and short-sleeve white T-shirts and shit—that look like they fit well. Hats are big. I love fuzzy hats. I love a good Maoist China hat, so I’m looking for those, but my head is also massive so I can’t find them. Every hat I get looks gigantic. It’s my struggle. I look and I can’t find.When did you start rocking jewelry? What’s that journey been like? Because you’re wearing a ton right now.I make a lot of noise when I walk around. My girlfriend got me into it. I wore a chain and a bracelet for a while, because when I was in high school, I thought, “I should get a chain. That would be sick.” And then it evolved to a place where I realized that I liked chunky silver bracelets, so I started wearing those. And it was like, “I can’t wear rings because I can’t play the drums in rings,” and then got a bunch of rings that actually fit my fingers. I just accepted that I have to take my rings off when I want to play the drums.But it’s just nice. It’s like when I got a bunch of tattoos—it can make the most basic outfit look like not a super basic outfit. You have something to accessorize a bit. It feels really personal. I really like all this stuff. I have memories associated with all of the pieces of jewelry I wear. It’s another thing to look for somewhere. It’s like a, “Hey, I was here” T-shirt.What’s the best shopping city you’ve been to?Oh man, Paris. Because my parents just moved out there, I’ve spent a lot of time there, and it is such a walkable city. Tokyo’s a bit the same. They have a similar vibe in that way, where everyone really gives a fuck about what they’re doing and you can really tell. I’ve gotten so many pairs of pants and so many sweaters in France, tons of jewelry.Same thing in Japan. I’ve only been once, and it was like, “This is insane,” because there’s just so much shit. There’s a store in Japan that is just white shirts. The guy that owns it is like, “Anyone who walks in here will find a shirt that fits perfectly.” I bought most of my rings over there, actually. It’s either France or there, and then my bracelets are all from Japan. I would say New York has really good stuff though, too.Vintage T-shirt, sunglasses, and belt. Pants by Basketcase. Geese had a meteoric 2025. Do you feel any pressure to top Getting Killed?Yes and no. There’s a part of us that really wants to do it up and have it be something that’s way bigger and more bold, but we have a lot more time to figure it out than we usually do, which is really nice, because the cycle of touring is still growing. I feel like people still feel like they haven’t gotten to see us on tour.Yeah, I haven’t seen you guys yet.We’re taking our time. I think we’re seeing what sticks, what we’re all really into. We all need some time to not think about it, because I still love playing these songs and love doing these shows, so my head’s still very in it, but we’re going to do some more stuff soon.In your interview with Zane Lowe, you guys said you play stuff a little differently every night, otherwise you’d lose your minds.Yeah, pretty much. Some of the songs in the set can’t change very much, but at least the instrument that I play and the way that I play the shows... I guess maybe this is also something that the rest of the band has just accepted over time, but I can never really do the same thing twice. I’m just not really thinking about it. There are spots where I’m filling space when I don’t necessarily need to and I’m doing something that’s kind of on the fly.I used to play in bands and we’d freak it a little from show to show. I remember going to shows and expecting post-hardcore bands to do something differently in the middle of their set, like change the lyrics before the breakdown. Sometimes they just play it exactly as it sounds on the record, and it’s great and it’s super tight, but it’s like every night they’re doing it identically.And if that’s the vibe, then that’s the vibe. If I went to see Tame Impala and homeboy on the drums was just going nuts, it’d be like, “This is not correct. There’s something wrong here.” I think we’ve conditioned our fans a decent amount to expect something different, which is cool. It feels in line with the music we really love, and we really loved growing up, and the ethos around music that we built up for ourselves. Going to see the King Gizzard show when we were kids and having it be like, “Oh man, they just played that four-minute song for 15 minutes. How the fuck did they do that?” I feel like rules in music are meant to be broken. It can apply to everything, with album art, shows, show visuals, music videos, whatever. I don’t know. Not to say we’re doing a lot of rule breaking, because we are just getting up there and playing songs, but I don’t know. I like to think that I am.Sign up for Show Notes to get news on the latest runway shows, parties, and insider events on the international fashion circuit.Christopher Fenimore writes and photographs GQ’s Real-Life Wardrobe column. He currently splits time between Cutchogue and Brooklyn, NY. ... Read More