James Ford, Rowena Social Club

💭 Thoughts on excuting bucket list ideas with new clients, Suay Sew Shop, and the power of DMing a good meme.

James Ford is a trailblazing fashion designer, celebrated for his vibrant, refreshing, and playful aesthetic. He gained widespread recognition as a standout contestant on Netflix's Next In Fashion, where he showcased his talent and captured the hearts of fashion luminaries like Gigi Hadid and Donatella Versace. He describes his brand, Rowena Social Club, as,“7-Eleven gas station meets Ralph Lauren Purple Label.” He has designed and styled for Andrew McMahon of Something Corporate, Fortune Feimster, Beth Dover, Melissa Fumero, and many others. 

🎯 Current focus

I’m excited to introduce a new way to Shop Rowena, my customers want to see what I’m making and buy something highly personalized. I’ve been prepping my operations and supply chain to support smaller runs, frequent production, with highly unique materials. It’s a really tricky thing to pull off in fashion. Think 1-of-1’s: like a matching Hoodie and Dolphin cut shorts made from a single vintage quilt with your name chain stitched on. Factories are like: we are not doing that. But I’m forging a path. I’m not beholden to the seasonal fashion calendar so I’m trying to make the most of this era by getting as weird and freaky with the designs while I can, and making sure every single person who gets their gear is *stoked*. This is a big project that leads to my even bigger ideas: I want to own a Country Club, run a Smoothie Cart, and sponsor a Chess or Badminton Team, there’s more nonsense where that came from. These are huge marketing initiatives that come from a desire to build an entire world for my clothes to live in. So yeah, I’m so excited my fabric inventory is up to date so I can iterate on ideas as fast as they come. Hopefully this all builds up to the various Rowena Worlds™️, smoothies coming to a corner near you soon. 

🎧 On the Cutting Room Floor Podcast

Hmm I would say the podcast called “On the Cutting Room Floor,” by @omndi This host is absolutely spectacular. She's extremely composed, really great interviewer. I’ve followed her for awhile, but since January she has exploded. Every major fashion person has come on her podcast: Law Roach, Kid Super, Todd Snyder, Karla Welch…. I think she’s running the best fashion podcast out there right now. 

📺 Carving out your own spot in the greater pantheon

I’m a pretty big reader, nothing feels better than smashing that “Read” button on goodreads. Currently, I’m reading a Fitting and Alterations textbook though, so I’ll spare you the details. But my favorite TV shows are Fleabag, Killing Eve, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. I find Curb inspiring because the production value of S1E1 is so comically low, and then it did 12 seasons and carved a spot in the pantheon of comedy shows. And Phoebe-Waller Bridge might be a genius. She is fearlessly herself. 

🕉️ Mantra of the moment

“Done is better than perfect.” 

💅 The epitome of grace

I look up to Gigi Hadid, when I met her I was like: that’s how it’s done. She’s a total professional, completely grounded and authentic, the epitome of grace. She is wise beyond her years and the most encouraging person I’ve met. She was the person who looked me dead in the eyes and was like: I get this vision, keep going, there is a place for you in the fashion industry. 

👔 Working on bucket list ideas with new clients

In any given week I’ve got a new client with a really fun idea. I’m working on a wedding cape for my client, yes wedding cape, made out of their mother’s wedding dress. And later this week my client is shooting a documentary about fulfilling his late brother’s bucket list. On the list was,  “get a custom Armani suit.” I’m not Armani but somehow they settled for a James Ford custom suit. It’s an honor and extremely flattering so I’m stoked to see what we come up with on Friday.

🤳 The power of DMing a good meme

I mostly consume my internet content via a DM I have with my best friend from college, where we exclusively send memes. Our thread goes back years and there’s no conversation, it's only memes. We have a specific sense of humor. She’s got a huge audience in a totally unrelated industry, we’ve joked that we should start a meme account. I think people would be so baffled and ultimately delighted if they knew A.) That we were even friends, and B.) Our side project was memes. We got enough content to schedule posts out for the next couple years, easy. Pro tip: if you want to get someone’s attention on IG, DM a good meme. The more famous, the better. Works every time. 

👗 Suay Sew Shop

Suay Sew Shop is a brand to keep an eye on. Lindsay Medoff has been repurposing textiles into *extremely* cool new product since before any of us even heard of this concept. She’s doing it at scale too. Suay is the expert and leader in making the fashion industry equitable to human and natural resources. Check them out, too many cool ways to get involved with that brand to even list out. Excellent design aesthetic too. 

⛳️ Golfing on a Tuesday night

I can't live without my golf clubs. I love playing, I’ve slowly given up on basketball and baseball, my knees are getting old and it’s tough to coordinate enough people. But it’s easy to go stripe a few at the driving range. I go to a really obscure local club near the studio, people have recognized me there and been surprised that I’m at the driving range alone on a Tuesday night. I would argue that you shouldn't be surprised *at all*.

🎁 Brand gifting meets anonymity and absurdity

Well recently I was sent some (really great) sunscreen anonymously. I posted about it to find the culprit, and tagged all my friends who I thought did it. They all reposted it. It became a thing, and about 15 different brands have now sent me sunscreen. I had to stop posting about it because I am at a huge surplus.  It definitely wasn’t on purpose, but at it’s core, it’s gifting, which is played out. But what made this work was getting friends involved, the anonymity of it, the absurdity of it, and the light insinuation that I need to take better care of my skin. Hilarity is king. 

Follow James on Instagram & Linkedin and check out his fashion brand here.

💭 Share your thoughts ➡️ DM on IG or Email us.

✅ Make Thought Enthusiast better by filling out a quick reader survey here.