Spotlight: RiverIsWild
I love watching brands evolve. I've been following the Philly/DC based menswear brand, RiverIsWild for some time now, and and they continue to create better pieces and visuals with the release of each capsule collection. Let me show you what I'm talking about:
Those overalls from the fourth capsule are fire. I got the chance to talk to RiversIsWild's brand manager, Thomas Davis, and asked him what RiverIsWild is all about. Here's what he had say:
Riveriswild is a reminder to be fluid and malleable. Life is intrinsically difficult, be free and fear not of contradictions, learn and burn. It is so much more than a clothing line. FLOW. There is no one meaning behind the name nor the brand, simply because it’s for and about the people. The brand consist of myself, and my very good friend and business partner, Wale Akinbiyi. The idea of the brand was enlisted within my business partner, initially, for quite a few years. I was personally presented with the proposition literally hours before The Roots Picnic of 2014. Wale was in town helping out another friend shooting backstage at the popular event; before he left for the venue, we discussed the idea of having a four man team comprising of ourselves and two other mutual friends. During this meeting, he gave me a pair of shorts he had done up as a pair of samples, which later became to be a part of our first capsule collection. I wore the shorts twice that Summer. Once to work, and again to the annual Odunde Festival held down South Street in Philly. I received great responses at both places from all ages and both genders. I relayed the news back to Wale and he was excited. At this point, I started to think he was testing me with new product to see how I would market it [laughs]. Briefly after that, he then presented the idea of the brand being just a two man team. After some deep thinking about it, I agreed. We released our very first capsule collection Labor Day of last year and we’re now looking at our one anniversary. Of course with a lot of our cut and sewn pieces featuring beautiful prints, comes questions of whether or not we make or plan on making options for the ladies. As I mentioned beforehand, Riveriswild is for everyone. In my our opinion, no one item is too masculine or feminine for just one sex. Through our social media handles, you will see we almost always use both the “menswear” and “womenswear” hashtags, meaning everyone can cop up! [laughs]. Now, with Wale being from Nigeria, and Africa being the Motherland of all, every capsule collection up to this point has been heavily inspired by some part of the continent. Upon each capsule being inspired by Africa, we also pull inspiration and stories from friends and life experiences. Whether it be our own, friends, etc. Around this time next year, Riveriswild will definitely be at one of the top trade shows displaying a a full collection for all to see and love. That’s a fact. As for above and beyond that, we have plans that are HUGE, but we wish keep them as a surprise for our fans and customers alike.
RiverIsWild just released their latest capsule collection entitled Anansi Dreams: Part 2 yesterday and it's flames. Follow RiverIsWild on Instagram to stay up to date on new product, and visit riveriswild.com to cop that fire before you get left (meaning, before they're sold out).
Stay Beautiful.