INTERVIEW #114 PICNICWEAR
Based in: North Carolina, USA
Founded in: 2019
Founded by: Dani Des Roches
Stores: www.picnicwear.com - worldwide shipping. A physical shop in shop in Palm Springs, CA: Mojave Flea Trading Post.
Price range: $10-$372
Instagram: @picnicwear
Hello PICNICWEAR, welcome to A Sustainable Closet! We are so curious to know how you came up with the concept and idea for your brand, what's the story?
The story is a long one, but I'll try to keep it brief! In many ways, I feel that Picnicwear has been bubbling up inside me for decades, but it wasn't until 2019 that it truly surfaced. I grew up in Vancouver, Canada to entrepreneur parents. Before I was born, my dad ran a thrift shop, and my mother sold vintage and upcycled clothing on a rack inside it. Eventually, it grew into a retail store, and ultimately nine different shops within the West Coast of Canada selling women's clothing. It would probably come as no surprise, given that my mother brought me with her to factories when I was just three weeks old, I wanted to pursue fashion design for as long as I can remember. In the early aughts, I had the privilege of attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC where I specialized in knitwear design, and after interning with Opening Ceremony for my senior year, I went on to design for large brands such as Urban Outfitters and Express. At the end of 2018, feeling displeased with the state of the industry, I left my corporate career track to seek out a better place for me in the world of fashion. Soon after, I launched my own BTB design studio, Kismet Concept Studio, but in 2019 I started working through the planning stages of creating my first DTC brand, Picnicwear! When the pandemic hit, Picnicwear manifested itself in such a way that I wasn't expecting. I was home in Brooklyn, with all my consulting work cancelled, and I simply wanted to hand-make something! Since the only materials I had at my disposal were some vintage towels I had collected, I drafted a pattern for what I now call, the Signature hat.
Your designs are truly stunning, how did you learn to sew?
I learned how to sew from my mother in the late 90s, but we also had sewing in my school! I wore a uniform from K-12, and I was constantly trying to find ways to customize it in a manner that I could get away with. Personalization and self-expression were tough with a uniform, but I found ways! Outside of school I would thrift shop, and loved reworking existing garments within my closet. I have always loved clothing - my friends thought it was so weird that I would get home from school and put on an outfit versus just throwing on sweats. Ultimately I started to make clothes from scratch, like my prom dress, and at some point, my teachers just decided to let me hand sew in class!
How and where are the products produced, where do you source the material from?
The materials are sourced in so many places - I consider sourcing an integral part of my creative process! Everything from thrift stores, estate sales, and antique malls to eBay and Instagram. I also have some wild stories of finding fabric and towels in really unexpected places. As far as production goes, we work with a couple of factories in NY, and just recently completed a project with a factory in Asheville, NC. But in addition to that, we operate like a cottage industry, sending "programs" to a couple of home sewists that we work with throughout the country! For example the Mary Mary program (a flouncy tank - we have a dress version now too): we send a box full of fabrics to a gal in Memphis, and tell her which combos go together. Initially, we sent her a step-by-step guide on how to make them, but she's made so many at this point that I'm sure she barely looks at them!
Where on the planet are your customers based?
Mostly in the US and Canada! Shipping costs are high for international customers, so although we are happy to ship abroad, most are within North America.
Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere! Except I really try to get off of social media when I'm developing ideas. It's tempting to see something someone else is making and be inspired by that and end up with a product that doesn't feel my own. While yes, everything has been done in some way or another, it's so much more gratifying when I find inspiration in unexpected places. When it comes to the general aesthetic of my brand though, it's undeniably inspired by the late 60s/early 70s. This has always been my favourite time period! Sometimes I like to consider it 60s/70s through a 90s lense. In other words, what I thought was cool when I was 10 is pretty much the same as what I think is cool now. Quite honestly my personal style hasn't changed much since I was a middle schooler. I do very much get inspiration from my customers though! That's my fave thing about doing markets - getting to interact with old and new customers and seeing how they interact with our product - what they like about it and what I consider improvements!
What have been the major challenges of starting PICNICWEAR and may we ask if this is your full-time job?
Honestly, there are so many challenges I don't know where to begin! While paying living wages to anyone who does work for Picnicwear has been a non-negotiable since day one, being able to pay me living wages has taken quite a bit of time. It has required a lot of thoughtfulness in terms of what is the best use of my skills. I am constantly asking myself if the energy I put into things is really paying me back. It's part of the reason why I've pulled away from social media so much! I don't find that I get the ROI from Instagram that I get from, for example, my email newsletter. To answer your other question, I would say that Picnicwear is about 75% my full-time job. I am fully self-employed, but I split my time between Picnicwear and consulting work. While I grow the brand and find ways to outsource different aspects of it, I hope to increase my work with other brands. I am also working on doing more seminars and educational talks on circularity in fashion!
What have been and are the largest gains?
Getting closer to a place of self-actualization! With Picnicwear I have been able to acknowledge that I wasn't being fulfilled by an industry whose success is contingent on the exploitation of low-wage workers in the global south and redirect that frustration into creating something that I am proud of. Even within my work with Picnicwear I have been told that "I care too much." I appreciate that I now have the privilege to care and to question why it is that so many do not.
What do you think needs to change in the fashion industry to make it more sustainable?
A more sustainable fashion industry is one that prioritizes both the planet and the people who inhabit it, over profits. A more sustainable fashion future requires considering the lifecycle of the garment starting at the design and development stage. The vast majority of brands in today's climate are operating on a linear fashion model, and that line heads straight to landfill. Every brand needs to design for a closed-loop system, versus integrating recycling programs as an afterthought. Within this loop there also needs to be a more even distribution of wealth, in other words, equitable wages for the highly skilled people who make our clothing! The current model is NOT sustainable because it's contingent on selling more and more cheaper and cheaper clothing, and these brands can't possibly pay less to their garment workers than they are now.
What's up next, do you have anything fun to share with our readers?
Yes! I will be partnering with Conscious Fashion Collective to guide a Circular Design Workshop on August 2nd called Finding Creativity in Circularity! I am so excited about it; I am building it such that anyone at any level who has an interest in this subject will find value in it: designers, fashion professionals, students and sustainable fashion advocates. It's an educational and interactive workshop where attendees will be challenged to reimagine fashion through a circular design framework. Through the use of examples and fun activities meant to challenge you to stretch your mind, we will uncover how the aesthetic elements of a design can intersect with its functionality without compromising it!