Modern Fashion: Ryan Wood Of Coney Island Picnic On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today
An Interview With Candice Georgiadice
It’s a bit cliché, but passion, passion, passion. Building a brand is not for the faint of heart, so in those moments when everything seems to be going wrong, it’s the pure love of the craft that gets you through those difficult times. Having an eye for good design is something that can certainly be refined, but for the most part, you have it, or you don’t. In my case, I’ve always had the ability to identify what “looks right” in terms of design. Empathy is also something that we don’t give enough praise to in business. I can’t say that I’m the benchmark for empathy, but I certainly do my best to connect and care about people on a deeper level.
Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?
In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ryan Wood.
Ryan Wood is the Co-founder and Creative Director of Coney Island Picnic, an emerging streetwear brand for the progressive Gen-Z consumer. Ryan comes from a retail buying & merchandising background. He previously held leadership roles for brands such as Urban Outfitters and The North Face; he is a Boston native currently living in Los Angeles.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I was a bit of an outcast growing up, a quiet kid that really didn’t fit into any particular group. So the way I would express myself was through clothing. The internet wasn’t as prevalent at the time, so I would find myself buying from mall brands and then altering the clothes to how I felt they should have been designed in the first place. As I got older, my passion for clothing grew, but I didn’t actually connect the dots until much later that this was somewhat of a calling.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
It’s a bit cliché, but passion, passion, passion. Building a brand is not for the faint of heart, so in those moments when everything seems to be going wrong, it’s the pure love of the craft that gets you through those difficult times. Having an eye for good design is something that can certainly be refined, but for the most part, you have it, or you don’t. In my case, I’ve always had the ability to identify what “looks right” in terms of design. Empathy is also something that we don’t give enough praise to in business. I can’t say that I’m the benchmark for empathy, but I certainly do my best to connect and care about people on a deeper level.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
With most streetwear brands, you typically have to choose between two of the following four pillars: Good price, Good Quality, Good design, Sustainable. There are very few companies achieving all four of these pillars in a meaningful way, and the fact we have figured out how to hit all four simultaneously has been the key reason for our early success.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. I grew up in an environment where it’s normal to ‘settle’. Mediocrity is contagious, and to live a fulfilled life; you need to surround yourself with people that make you better. Not just in business (especially not just in business), but also in empathy, creativity, adventure, and curiosity.
Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?
We are currently in the gold-rush era of NFTs and the Metaverse. There is no doubt that NFT will cause a massive industry shift in fashion, especially in the graphic-led apparel & streetwear space. You could easily see NFT holders having the power to actually own the digital rights to the art they choose to wear on a T-shirt, and it’s also a chance to provide residual royalties back to the original designer.
Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?
Starting in Summer 2022, we made the decision to shift all Tees and Fleece to sustainable materials. More notably, we decided not to raise prices, which is the industry norm in shifting to sustainable fabrics. While this is just one small step towards becoming a more sustainable brand overall, we are excited by this major shift towards reducing our environmental impact.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.
Experience is crucial — every decision made is based on the recollection of past experiences. The more past experiences, the better-informed the decision will be. Having support will help you remain focused and prevent burnout; for one or two people to juggle design, production, importing, sales, marketing, etc., is not impossible, but it doesn’t allow you to be great at any one thing. At least one Achilles heel or superpower is an important hedge to cut through the noise. It could be your designer, your connections, an existing audience/platform, etc.; But just having a good-looking brand isn’t enough. Strong brand identity or message is important to connect with customers on a deeper level. Design something cool, and a customer will buy something you make. Create a brand that connects with customers, and they will buy everything you make. Good design is the end-all-be-all. It doesn’t matter if you excel in all of the above traits’ you need to have an exceptional-looking product.
Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?
There are only a handful of retailers and department stores that control most of the fashion commerce. Those retailers have a lot of buying power to start demanding more sustainability from their brand & private label partners; however, sometimes raising retail prices by only a few dollars is a scary decision when dealing with so much volume. There is an opportunity to build a “United Nations” of retail, so all retail competitors can hold hands in shifting the industry together for the greater good of the environment.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can follow me on Instagram at @TeakAndTides, or more importantly, follow Coney Island Picnic on social at @ConeyIslandPicnic or visit our website at Coneyislandpicnic.com
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Modern Fashion: Ryan Wood Of Coney Island Picnic On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.