Rio Uribe Debuts “Rio” After Criticism of Former “Gypsy Sport” Name

Rio Uribe has long prioritized inclusion. His brand, formerly titled “Gyspy Sport,” has always been one of the most inclusive in the industry, championing LGBTQ+ rights, body diversity, and sustainability through his collections since the beginning. But about a year ago, and after more years of criticism from the communities his brand serves, he realized that a part of his work may be contributing to the very thing he’s actively worked against his whole career.

“We started receiving messages from our community on socials about the word g**sy and how it could be seen as offensive or pejorative to certain communities,” Uribe tells Teen Vogue on a Zoom call a few days before the announcement. Historically, g**psy has been used as a racist slur to describe the Roma people, a large group of people who make up Europe’s largest ethnic minority. So, starting with the Spring / Summer 2025 collection, the brand will now be called “Rio.”

“I didn't want to change the brand name, to be honest, but we just knew that it was the right thing to do,” he explains. “My brand and my work are so much about supporting everybody and being very inclusive, especially uplifting oppressed communities.” The word was used by some colloquially to mean free-spirited, but in the last decade especially, many governments and organizations, including the United States, have begun to recognize the word as a slur for the Roma people.

While Uribe admits the change was difficult after building under one name, he’s begun to see it as an opportunity to grow personally and as a brand–he’s also dropped sport from the name. “I felt like I was letting go of 10 years of really hard work and all of the hardships that we went through, but then over the last couple of months, I've started just to be very happy and excited for the relaunch, and I'd see a lot of potential,” he says. “I feel like I can do a lot of the growing up that I've been wanting to do and kind of let go of some aesthetics or styles or brand messaging that I wasn't 100 percent about anymore. And so yeah, I see a lot of potential, and I'm hoping that Rio will last another 10 or 100 years.”

Outside of the rebrand, Rio is now the Creative Director of Chrome Industries, the brand known for its seatbelt buckle messenger bags. “I think that we are very aligned in our community orientation. We both care about sustainability in our own ways and the Chrome company has a lot more street cred and a bigger footprint on the masses. In every city I've been to, you see their bags and the iconic buckle. I felt like as a growing brand like mine, they would be the perfect partner to help us reach a bigger audience.”

Sustainability goes hand in hand with inclusion, but the two ideas are often considered separately. Not for Uribe, though. Being inclusive means thinking about your fabric and your workers outside of what you see on the runway. “Sustainability also means sustainable relationships, work relationships, ethical practices, and being conscious and responsible about the people that you work with, who you bring into these opportunities,” he says. He also admits that he’s working to make products that aren’t just upcycled for the sake of upcycling, but that will last for years.

In the debut of Rio on the runway, Uribe's growth as a designer was solidly on display. According to the show notes, the collection was inspired by his journey, one that “transcends borders and celebrates diverse cultures." It featured mixes of plaid and khaki, with beautiful coquette braids, a nod to his upbringing in Los Angeles. The messenger bags, made in collaboration with Chrome Industries, featured the new Rio logo and coordinated well with some of the preppier styles like a cardigan and collared shirt.

“I want the first collection as Rio to be kind of a transitional collection, not super, I don't know, shocking or different," Uribe says. “It's kind of like an evolution of what it used to be.”

See the debut Rio collection below.

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue

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