# Conner Ives is Building a Business With Instinct | The BoF Podcast

## Метаданные

- **Канал:** The Business of Fashion
- **YouTube:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzN8B28lXqk
- **Дата:** 06.06.2026
- **Длительность:** 56:27
- **Просмотры:** 552
- **Источник:** https://ekstraktznaniy.ru/video/52796

## Описание

Born in the leafy enclave of Bedford, New York, designer Conner Ives, a self-professed “country mouse,” grew up in a household that taught him two things early: that quality is worth protecting, and ambition is worth following.

At 16, a connection through his mother's dental practice landed him an internship with Wes Gordon, and soon after he moved to London and set about becoming a designer.
In his first year on the BA at Central Saint Martins, a garment from a school project — a duchess satin duster coat adorned with swans — was requested and worn by model Adwoa Aboah to the 2017 Met Gala. The moment announced him to the industry before he graduated, but back at school, the reception was rather cool:

Now, almost six years into building his label, the designer is navigating what it takes to turn creative instinct into a functioning business. His label began with one-of-a-kind reworked vintage pieces and deadstock materials — a proposition that gave the clothes their character, but w

## Транскрипт

### Segment 1 (00:00 - 05:00) []

Connor Ice. — Hello. — Welcome to the BF podcast. — Thank you so much for having me. — It's a heat wave in London. Are you keeping cool? — Well, I mean it was supposed to have ended yesterday, but I getting dressed today even. I was like, "Okay, we're not out of it yet. " Um, I am actually. I didn't go into work today because I went yesterday when it was what? — So, you don't have to go into work every day. — I know the beauties of, you know, a founder/director. My god, I have to work every day. — Um, no, seriously, thank you for coming to see us. I know it's really hot out there. — Um, — thank you for having me. This is one of my I mean, you know, longtime listener, first time caller. I feel really. Yeah. — Okay, good. Well, you know the drill then. I'm going to go — deep into your personal history, — examine your journey into fashion, — excavate all the things that you're doing, — and ask you to share some thoughts and feedback for and advice. — It's a it's a pretty standard arc at this stage, but what's amazing for me about having these conversations is — everyone's journey into fashion is different. So, let's start with yours, — Bedford. Mhm. Where the heck is Bedford, New York? Explain to me and our listeners all around the world where Bedford is and what it was like to grow up there. So Bedford, New York is a suburb of New York City. It's about an hour on the dot outside of the city. I always kind of described it as it's the first town when you're going maybe not the first town but maybe the first town in my eyes that gets really rural. Um the Metro North which is kind of the equivalent to like the EMR or something here is a train line and you can do it doortodoor in an hour. So that was maybe what was the saving grace of Bedford for me. Um because cuz it offered some kind of lifeline of escape. Um and this is coming from a person that is like a self-professed country mouse. I think I prefer the country to a city, but as a 16-year-old, you know, kid in the suburbs of New York City, that probably developed some affect that I was not going to be staying here for the rest of my life. It served as a wonderful lifeline to an industry that I at the time kind of felt almost like uh Oz or something. So wait, so — part of you is country mouse, city kid. — Mhm. — And Bedford kind of offers a bit of both cuz you can be in Bedford and near a farm or the country at some stage and in an hour — you can be what is it? Grand Central Station. — Grand Central Station. And you can be right in the heart of like one of the most dynamic cities in the world. — Exactly. — So growing up like how often were you doing that train ride? — So I think like you know as early as I could I mean I remember being on the train I mean my parents shouldn't be listening to this but like in 10th grade the whole thing that you do is you'd take the train into the city to go to concerts or something. So, my first real taste of New York was independently without my parents was that it was like getting drunk on the train and then going to a concert. — I know, I know, I know. Cover your ears, children. Um but I then when I turned maybe 16, um my mom is a pediatric dentist and orthodontist. So she had a lot of patients that ask about your family, ask what you're doing. And I think she must have had a patient that went didn't go to school but shared a flat with Wes Gordon. Wes Gordon um currently the creative director of Carolyn Herrera. um actually gave me my first job in the industry. Yeah. When I was 16 years old. — What were you doing for Wes? — I was an intern. — And where was he at the time? — He was still doing his own aomous label. Um and he was I think I must have been maybe 16, 17 at the time. I interned maybe starting in the summer before my senior year. Um, but then as a senior at my high school, I just went to like a very run-of-the-mill public high school in upstate New York. Um, they had this program, I think it must have called been called Aspire or something where you could part of your senior year could be spent um in industry. So, it's maybe the equivalent of like a year in industry in um you know, design school, something like that. And that was kind

### Segment 2 (05:00 - 10:00) [5:00]

of my light at the end of the tunnel for — Did you always know you were more like a creative kid? You just told me you weren't good at math. Like was that something that was obvious? — It was written in the stars, I think, in the most cliche way possible. I mean, the story kind of ticks every cliche box of, you know, I was 3 years old making dresses out of blankets, you know, and kind of running around the house in either nothing, you know, with like kind of a blanket over one shoulder. Um, understanding the bias, you know, working on the bias here. Um, I created my own world for myself. Um, I had really supportive parents that were my joke is what I'd always say to my friends is like I could tell my parents I, you know, would want to jump off like a cliff and they'd be there like with the parachute, you know, stropping me into it. Um, which I was so grateful for and even to this day kind of like number one fan club, it's mom and dad. So, — it's that's a treasure. — It is. And I think I always tried to cherish that even in my kind of uh teenage rebellion years. I think I could understand that, you know, as long as I come home at the end of every night, you know, I could make it to the next step of whatever life has in store for me. — So many of the stories I hear of people who come into our industry are people who struggled — when they were younger. People who felt like outsiders. People who didn't feel comfortable in their own skin, people who were in environments where there were racism or prejudice or misogyny, and people who didn't have access to New York City. — Yeah. — Do you think the absence of struggle in your early years has given you a different kind of creative confidence? Yeah, I do think so. Um, my friend from St. Martins's always made fun of me because he was like, you know, for someone that loves their job so much, you really lack uh, you know, adversity or you lack this kind of struggle, as you said. — Um, and I think everyone struggles in their own ways. I mean, I come from a very privileged uh, town. Um but simultaneously I kind of was raised by two parents that everything that they had they worked very hard for. So I always try to counter that with a bit of like you know I as kind of you know daisies and roses as my childhood may seem. I mean everyone goes through their own kind of self-discovery. I think even maybe my struggle came later. I think I got like you know I got into St. Martins. I came here. — Did you always know you wanted to go to St. Martins? — Since like 12 or 13. And I mean — because I was like a, you know, chronically online um fashion kid that would just read style. com as if it was kind of like my New York Times or something. Um I would look at every collection, every single collection. Even if I didn't know the designer, if I didn't like the clothes, if I knew that I didn't like what they did the previous season, I would always go back. It was my kind of fantasy draft or something. — Rest in peace. com. — I know we lost a good one there. — I miss it. Um, okay. So, you came to St. Martins's. — Mhm. American in London. — Yeah. — And you said your struggle didn't happen till later. What was it like when you got here? It was a very uh eye-opening experience and I feel like I've spent so much time maybe talking about how humbling that whole early arc at St. Martins was that I'll spare you a lot of this but — no don't spare me because I don't know about it. So you might have talked about it elsewhere but you know the reason I ask is cuz you know I I taught at St. Martins for 10 years in the BA program. — Yeah. — And I've seen the inside of that school. — Yeah. — Both in Chairing Crossroad and then later — Yeah. — in King's Cross. — That's not an easy place. No. And I think especially if you are coming into it, I mean this is going to sound terrible, but as an international student, I think CSM has this like wet dream of like a British student kind of coming you know from like uh you know East London background like a pencil to their name. — Alexander McQueen story. — Exactly. And I think, you know, the professors were really, you know, there

### Segment 3 (10:00 - 15:00) [10:00]

to encourage that kind of story. So I think when you're grouped into an international section, even if you're paying for school yourself, you know, taking out copious student loans to put yourself through this program, um, you know, your explaining of your backstory and how, you know, hey guys, I have a hard doesn't really land there. And arguably, I don't think it should. Um, I think that struggle made me a better designer. It made me also have to kind of defend what I did so much more. So, do you think some of the faculty at CSM took you less seriously cuz you were kind of in quotation marks rich American international student that you know cuz there is that kind of attitude about that? — Yeah, absolutely. I don't think it was even based on my like socioeconomic background. It was more so based on the clothes and the work I was putting in front of them. I — always was you they do that white project at the beginning. — Yes. — What was your white project? — So my white project was a um it was a duster coat that I somewhat deconstructed, put straps on, wrapped around my model's body, and then put like a 12ft train on. And it was based on like American debuton balls because what I felt was that the White Show was kind of my debuton Paul. This was my introduction into society. Um, and I think I got the closing slot. I like had made friends with the FCP kids. I really kind of like, you know, got everyone on my side. Um, and I think there was some jealous that put like almost held their model back and then had her walk right behind my model and stepped on the long train. Yeah, exactly. So, — it carries every kind of, as I said before, the story carries every cliche in the book. Um, but I mean, my white show went to the Met Gala. So, tell what do you mean it went to the Met Gala? — So, in my first year at St. Martins. Um, I had a friend, uh, Maline Ostley who, um, kind of saw my work very early. I think I went to a goce at her house. I was, you know, um, double timing as a part-time model, you know, in the early days when there wasn't much money on the books here. Um, and I remember going to this goi and her kind of being like, yeah, I don't know if this is really it. And then I think she asked for my Instagram and I must have asked something awful like, "Oh, do you want my professional one or personal one? " And she was like, "What are you talking about? " And then she started looking at my work and she was like, "Oh, honey, you are not a model. " She was like, "You should really stick to this. " Um, and she was really good friends with um she is Adoa. Um, who I was introduced to at that time and — Ada Boa the model. Ada Boa, the model, the uh model of the year 2017, which is when we met. Ada was kind of on her stratospheric rise, um — about to be put on like Edward Enul's first Vogue issue, — which came out I think the day that she came over to my student plat for the fitting, which I mean, you can imagine the kind of like parallel worlds I was living in at that time. Um and I remember her writing to me and saying, "Well, I want to wear this to the Met Gala. Like, can I borrow it? " And I said, "Well, honey, this is cotton. You know, we we've got to do a nicer version of this. " But the we same premise. I think we did, you know, a Duchess satin duster coat adorned with swans then cut on the cross grain so they reflected the satin on different kind of like uh um grains. I did a fully hand embroidered mini dress from vintage sequins. I really like I put everything into it and all of my friends helped me with it. I mean like it is like such a beautiful story in that it was really kind of realized by a group of people that kind of believed in me and really kind of shared their time with me as charity work basically. — So what's the reaction amongst your peers and faculty at St. Martins that you're swanning around with like models and — you doing stuff the Met Gala while everyone else is like trudging away in King's Cross like working on their projects. — Yeah, exactly. I will preface this story with like I would have hated me too, you know. Um but I remember coming back so I took I think I went to New York because I was you know I had never done this before. My parents live in upstate. I was like I just have to buy a plane ticket. I can I wasn't even staying in the city. I stayed at my parents and they drove me into the city to drop off the dress the night before. Um, I remember coming back. I took maybe like part of it was during

### Segment 4 (15:00 - 20:00) [15:00]

spring break and then I think I maybe missed like 3 or 4 days of school to be in New York. And I remember going into the faculty office to pick up the work that I had missed. And I went in kind of like not expecting anything, but I didn't want to have to be the person that spoke first. So, I kind of went in and I was like, "Hi. " You know, no one looks at me and I'm like, "I'm just here. I'm going to pick up some of my work. " Again, no response. No one really stirs or anything. And then I think I was like, I was in New York for a bit. Like I I'm like really trying to, you know, get it across the line. And I think finally I was like, I just did the Met. And I remember one of my tutors looking up and saying, "We saw. " and then just like sliding something across the table and like you know me walking out of there. And I don't want to do this to like badmouth them or anything like that. It wasn't even one of my main tutors who was really lovely. I think at the time it was like a guest tutor or something like that. But I remember then my next tutorial after that being sat down and told it's nice that you can make dresses for people quote unquote reducing like doing the mech gala as a 20-year-old first year BA student to that um but school has to come first and I remember just like almost like the blood draining out of my face and I think I very clearly was like well that's really unfair because like I've been here every single day I've submitted my work early. You know, I've missed like not a single critique. You know, there are people in my class that you still read off of the register every day that I've never once seen in this classroom. You know, and I have to say, — did you defend yourself? — I did. I said all this to their face. I think at that point, like that experience maybe gave me the confidence that I was maybe lacking in London. You know, I think I hadn't really found my footing yet. I mean, even for the BA, I did I got here and I did foundation year and I didn't get in to the BA the first time around. And I remember I mean my friends were like worried for my, you know, mental sanity at the time there. I didn't leave my room, I think, for 2 weeks. I was so destroyed by this. I think my parents even debated kind of like, do we have to like go pick him up or something? Like I had never experienced depression in that way where it was like there it felt like the color was drained out of the world and I lost like as dramatic as this sounds like a will to live. I think I had dialed everything in my life up to that point in like going to St. Martins and I think even getting there realizing that I wasn't even on the BA yet was enough of shock and then for that to be followed up by also all the signs being there the whole time I remember my tutors in like my you know fifth sixth week there of kind of saying like well maybe you just need a year and me having no idea what that meant and just being like okay whatever that means you know like can we go back to looking at my I mean I was putting like spaghetti strap dresses like very similar style to what I'm now doing in front of them and they just wanted no — I mean I guess have you ever met Zach Posen? — Yes. He's a he's been a mentor. — I think he's an incredible mentor for you cuz there's — there's a few elements of your story that feel really — Yes. — similar — happening 20 years apart. — Yes. Exactly. And there's some lessons, you know, I did a long chat with Zach about his for this podcast. I don't know if you've listened to that. — I did listen to that episode. — Um, about the lessons he's learned because like this thing of almost becoming — first of all being an American fish out of water person in this like UK education system, — one of the most famous fashion schools in the world. this like incredible legacy in history — surrounded by very talented by competitive students. — Yeah. — And then not being like the edgy creative pushing the envelope kind of designer but doing the spaghetti dresses like all of that — makes you really different. — Mhm. — You know. — Yeah. — And I think you get a lot of attention early on. Mhm. — And I think one of the lessons that I think, you know, things I talked to Zach about was like, well, how do you allow not how do you ensure that all of that stuff doesn't become its own narrative? Exactly. — And that you're still focused on school comes first because now looking back years later, like you can understand why that was the feedback for you, right? — Yeah, absolutely. And I think it was probably what I needed to hear in that moment. As much as it felt, you know, kind of skewed in some way of like had I been British and I came back, probably would have been like a victory

### Segment 5 (20:00 - 25:00) [20:00]

march or something, you know, like through the streets of uh um one granary square. But I didn't mind that being my, you know, story of adversity, my story of overcoming, you I mean, as you've put it, like there are people that work in our industry that have gone up against such bigger and greater obstacles. You know, if someone wants to be a little bit naff to me, you know, to really get into the British vernacular, um, I'm fine with that. And I mean it I think it's par for the course because it really did teach me that it taught me a very important lesson in fashion of you know just surrounding yourself with a really solid foundation. And I think everything that I've built since then has probably been in reaction and reflection of those moments. — Okay. So eventually you get on the BA — eventually you graduate. Did you always know you were going to do your own thing? — Um, I think I knew it up until the very last second. I think I I graduated and I think at like the 11th hour I applied for the master's course and I remember even someone else saying like what the hell are you doing? You know, like you've just made it out of the school and you're like asking for more. I mean, it becomes this very like I forget what the complex is, but you know, it's like Stockholm syndrome. um you kind of crave the like, you know, getting your head done and stuff. Um and I mean I learned my best. I learned so much at that school and I think for the whole time I was at that school, I was so jealous of my friends who, as you said, were these kind of like uh European cultured students that would make the weirdest things in the world. And I like, you know, I really was genuinely like in awe of them cuz I knew that I was not capable of that. And I they made it seem so easy, you know, how they would kind of pull out these sketchbooks that were like kind of like this and you were like, "What is going on in their head? " Whereas like I'd pull out these kind of like line drawings basically of like, "Yeah, this is what I was thinking about," you know? Um, I think it just created like such uh maybe a goal to me because I think all I ever wanted was to impress my friends. I think that was the thing I always wanted so desperately. I wanted my like closest girlfriend at the school um was Khloe Narden. Khloe Narden was a uh Viva model. She was a Vuitton exclusive for like the first like you know three or four seasons of like Nicola's career and she even like was like 57 or something. So she's like against all odds doing this on top of doing her school work like you know jetting around the world to do like you know the show that they did in Japan. I remember just being like oh my god. And like at the time she was kind of the only girl I would want to like you know do my crits and stuff and she was always so pissed at me cuz she was like I'm in this class too you know like you can't like build a dress on me right now because like I need to build a dress. Um but it was like I think there was always this desire like I just want to impress Kloe. I just want Chloe to kind of turn around to me and be like I love this dress or I love what you you've done here. Um but I think I got lost. I don't even remember the question. And I was just, you know, — well, basically like doing your own thing. So like you were thinking about the MA at the last minute. — I think I always knew that I wanted to do my own thing. Um I spent my year in industry working um with Rihanna Aenti. Um and I think that just watching even her the way she held a room and how democratically she could lead a team was also really inspiring to me. um just to have like a you know a person with a um you know an enigma as big as hers I think was so impressive to then watch that like I remember this so specifically but she would always make sure if anyone had anything to say in that meeting room she would make sure that the whole room was quiet. It didn't matter if you were like junior junior person or you know the like head of the whole LBMH enterprise like everyone had a time to talk and I think going through that experience I really was so envious I guess of like being in a position of power and doing something good with it. Um, and I can't even really say I had any like crazy bosses. And I never really went through like the firsthand experience that so many creative people also kind of go where it's like I'm only going to do this so I can ensure that like you know no one suffers the

### Segment 6 (25:00 - 30:00) [25:00]

kind of like hardships that I had to face just by being like a new student or a new um, you know, person in a company. Um, so I think as much as I had something that I really wanted to say, I think I really admired the leadership of the position and as overwhelming as it was, I think I was really hungry to like create a world with like-minded people. And that felt like such a rare gift of our industry as well. Well, I think there's very few industries in which like you get to be as dreamy and galaxyrained as in fashion and do it twice a year at times 4 to 12 times a year — and be you know uh rewarded and celebrated for it. — I mean maybe sometimes maybe that doesn't happen as well but part of the course I didn't even mind. So after working with Rihanna for a year, what happened? — So that was a that was my industry year. So that was when I was — Oh, that was between second and third year. — That was between that was before final year. — Final year though, I was the uh infamous class of 2020 from St. Martin. So we — co — we graduated to a um a YouTube video. That was our um you know I in total honestly I went to CSM because I wanted that BA show. I wanted that press show and I you know it was like that was all I thought about for that whole year. And then you know February comes along and we're all kind of like this is going to end in a few weeks and we're going to go back to this and everything's going to be as normal again. Did not happen. Um, I basically graduated and then I took the following, I think pretty much year to finish my graduate collection. Um, I'd like kind of done a lot of ambitious things that I knew would be hard to realize even in the timeline, the original timeline of having this done for a June show. So maybe co was some kind of stroke of luck that I faced where it gave me the proper time to realize the techniques that I wanted to do. Um there was a you know a handfelted look in that collection that took uh like a single artist like 6 months to punch in like a folk art sunset into a dead stock military blanket. There was another dress that was made of like 178,000 seed beads. Like it was such a push for craft and like doing things at the nth degree cuz I think I did have this taste in my mouth of knowing that whatever came after this would be so far less creatively um kind of free in the way of like you know I don't think I have 6 months to make a single jacket any longer or you know a dress that takes like you know a poor girl like four or five months to like weave together and then a whole other team then has to kind of base it onto a base because you know the beads are falling apart. There was a lot of real time problem solving in that year that as much as it wasn't the experience that I had in my head I was so grateful for. Um I also met people in that year that I still work with today. Um, I mean for the MET most recently, there was uh one of my first uh like interns ever. I mean this is she was a friend that was kind of offering to help basically. It would be insane to call her an intern. Um she came back and she helped me source uh beaded sequin dresses in Paris and then sew them all together. So, you build a little family and I think that was maybe what got me so excited to maybe do this for real. Um, but I think there was also a lot of people around me that were kind of like, I think you should do this. Um, so now you're eight people. Yes. Tell us about the state of the company today. Like there's a big recycled dead stock vintage element to what you do. There's an evening glamour thing Um how do you like how are you thinking about this as a both a business, a creative enterprise and a brand? So the pitch that I always give people because I think you summed up how on paper it kind of makes no sense what we do and I think just how much we try to do. Um the way I've described this brand is I've always said that it is a meeting of high and low which I see as a very American

### Segment 7 (30:00 - 35:00) [30:00]

aesthetic um evidenced across culture in so many different ways. I always bring up the example of Anna's first bow cover, the Laqua uh couture with the denim. Um that did — crazy things to my brain when I first saw it. Um and I remember just being like they're with jeans, you know, like this is crazy. But then I remember also even just like the way my parents would get dressed and my dad was kind of always someone that we would tease him. He'd kind of wear things until they had holes in them. Um, but then, you know, I could remember he'd, you know, put on like a pair of loafers with like a shirt that had a hole in it. And I think there was something so uh shaping about like seeing them both get dressed. I remember I used to hang out in my mom's closet when I was a kid and I just she'd kind of teach me why. I mean, — another cliche. — I know. God, it's like you shoot me in the face here. Um, I and I remember also I'd always, you know, I'd always want to go shopping with her, but I remember there was always an education of like why she liked the things that she liked and she would take such good care of things. I think it was like, you know, she'd pull out a pair of fry boots she got in the 70s and she's like, I oil these every year and I still wear them today. And I think so much of that started to be distilled, I guess, into what I do. Um but this like high low thing was kind of coupled almost with this mantra of um things of quality have no fear of time which was another kind of mantra or statement I must have come across when I was a student that really did something to me. Um, the MMO I guess when I was starting the brand, which was much more driven by this rework of vintage than it is now because we've scaled this in a way where it's still a portion of the line sheet, but a lot of the kind of cut and sew styles that we do now are either made from a dead stock silk or a recycled cotton. something that we can maybe scale and offer more units to a department store because I remember in my first few seasons there was a lot of support from really big brands but every you know we do maybe like500 t-shirt dresses and no two were the same and I that was always the selling point of it but that is a very difficult business pitch to get to a netapporter you know and let alone a net-aporter buyer but a netapporter customer you know and I think that there so much there that we were trying to do that was such an education. Um, but really was also kind of a lesson in fashion maybe it doesn't work as dynamically as it does in your head sometimes. And a lot of the times for an idea to be sold there is a hell of amount of groundwork that has to be done to go along with that idea. Do you think that system, the whole like wholesale system in particular, which it seems like is — focus of like where you how you distribute? — Yeah. — I know you do some direct customs custom work for clients, but — does that system kind of beat the creativity and innovation out of small businesses like yours? because the expectation is that everything has to be kind of not industrialized but like templatized or something. I think if you had asked me this question maybe a year ago, I would have, you know, cut you off in the middle of it and said yes, absolutely. And I think on the reflection that I have now, I would almost argue to say maybe it doesn't. Um, I think, you know, wholesale is obviously going through a huge, uh, you know, evolution of sorts right now. I think we're witnessing it in real time, and it makes it very scary for people in my position specifically. But I would say that the brand really started to change when we brought in the managerial positions that can manage how to make a line sheet. I think I had no idea what I was doing when I first started. And it was also crazy to me that I was the one tasked with making a line sheet. And I know the person listening to this right now probably thinks, "Well, what the hell is he talking about? He's a designer. " And I would totally agree with you, but a designer is so different from a merchandiser or, you know, another person or a, you know, a salesperson. um someone in your team that understands the business well enough in how to build a line sheet. Um to give you this as an example, we uh hired a managing director at the end of last year. Um and at that

### Segment 8 (35:00 - 40:00) [35:00]

time, I mean, we were somewhat struggling with the wholesale model. um we were really starting to pivot towards um private clients, bespoke, which is a huge part of our brand now, but um we were kind of doing almost in a relief of kind of we were losing our way in the wholesale world. Um so I um hired a managing director due to winning the Vogue fund through the BFC, which was one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Um, it was the first lifeline that I had in that I wasn't the one driving the bus — alone. Yes. And — a co-pilot — can't tell you what a co-pilot will do. You can understand why uh an airplane needs a minimum of two pl people. — We've gone from buses to planes, but you know, planes, trains, all — the metaphor makes it. So, what — cars and trucks and things like that? — What were you looking for in this — co-pilot? someone with experience, someone with experience that had a resume to back it up. And I, you know, worked even with the BFC and I think I said to them, I was like, I'm going to take this money and I'm going to throw it at a single position. And I know that maybe sounds insane and I should do other things with this and I will totally take that feedback, you know, on board. Um, but I just had a gut feeling and I think it it's also coupled with this idea of I remember someone telling me when I first started this they were like you will do this for 5 years and you will get so lost in those 5 years and you that is part of the process. You need to get lost. You need to make all the mistakes then because what comes after those 5 years your you know um room to make mistakes narrows and mistakes become a little bit more memorable than the first 5 years of being a young and upcoming designer in London and they couldn't have been more right. Um — how many years has it been now? — Five and a half I think. So you pass the period when you can make mistakes. — Yes. But they also said in those 5 years, once those 5 years are over, if you play all your cards right, things will start to go your way. — And is that how it feels? — Yes, 100%. — Why do you think that is? — I think it's a combination of, you know, making those mistakes, which I am a proponent for mistakes. I think it's the best way of learning things. It's also teaching things to yourself and creative people a lot of times are very stubborn that they're not the best uh people to learn from experience in a constructive way, myself included. Um, I think there was a lot in the first few years where it was very easy for me to blame it on maybe a uh wholesaler or you know a um a multibrand showroom or you know someone else that I felt had kind of led me astray. At the end of the day I was the one saying yes to these things. So that really can only be maximum 50% there for — Yeah. steering the ship, driving the bus, flying the plane. It's you. — My name on the door, you know, and that's like for better or for worse. And um — I think you know the mistakes coupled with being put with the right person that you have the right chemistry with that understands what you're doing and knows how to translate it. I witnessed it in real time when we went to market last season and I think we saw a 350% increase in total sales and that is in a wholesale market that we both understand is kind of uh I don't want to say this but you know not what it used to be. Um I still believe in wholesale. I mean I've bought things in department stores before. I know other people have have clients that buy things in department stores. So, I really think it's wrong to say that, you know, everything is going digital and you'll just be able to buy a Connor Ives piece on our website, which by all means, please do that. But um I want a customer to have an in-person experience and we don't have a brickandmortar shop and I think — you know on the balance sheet we're still a ways away from that but — it's nice to give a customer an experience that they can still have. — What about independent stores like the department stores and the e-commerce players? I mean, they can drive, you know, scale. — Mhm. — But I also feel like a brand like yours with an interesting story behind it with a designer 99% of the general public have never even heard of requires also

### Segment 9 (40:00 - 45:00) [40:00]

people who really kind of get behind you and talk to their clients about it. Like what do you have independent stores that you — We do and I think you're totally right. I mean I feel bad even now kind of reflecting on this and never once mentioning you know the uh absolutely fabrics of the world. I mean it's wonderful store in Toronto that I have had you know just the warmest experience with in a firsthand basis. Um you're seeing these people every 6 months. So I think and they're selling your clothes. So, it's really nice when you know those people firsthand and you can build on that relationship because that is passed on to those people. Go Canada. So, what is it about Absolutely Fabrics that makes it an amazing independent retailer? — Um, Kayn who does uh it's her store. Um, I know that she's kind of in the process of opening a second one which is a bigger — also in Toronto. Um, I hope I'm not like spilling the beans here. You might have to break it. I know. Yeah, exactly. — You heard it here first. Um, I just I think I loved our rapport and I felt, you know, this is a really chic, tasteful woman that really wants to champion young designers and she says it herself and I I'm always kind of refreshed even just seeing her, you know, um, she does a lot even on Instagram of just her talking to camera and telling people, you know, I mean the whole tariffs thing, you know, like we're going to talk about tariffs today and explaining like what a business like hers is up against, you know, compared to a huge retailer sitting right next to them in Canada. um and just how those two things are not really congruent all the time. but also the advantages of her having a client base that you know wants to meet young designers and in a market that maybe you know going to New York it's like it's me this young designer and that young designer but you know in those more kind of specific like niche regions like it really becomes kind of you know who can get there first and who can create a client base but I mean even now it's like we're — putting together a round of trunk shows and we were kind of looking at it and we'd say, "Well, we'd have to stop in Toronto because we know that there's clients there that want to buy the stuff and they want maybe the next level of that, you know, — and a big part of that is cuz you had — an independent retailer like Absolutely Fabrics to you. I mean, it's so important. That's why, you know, I really — they are the unsung heroes of our industry. " — Exactly. Okay, we can't finish this interview without talking about Protect the Dolls, which for me, I mean, I'd already met you really briefly before that came out and I'd come to a couple of your shows and but that was like a really important contribution not just to our industry, but just to like culture and to the conversation around trans rights, — you a conversation that's not necessarily accepted or agreeable in a lot of quarters, — but you got behind it and then like all sorts of amazing people got behind it, you know? How did the whole like I don't even know the story like I don't — you know it became kind of a I don't want to use the word slogan but it became like touch point — you know it became this thing like — how did that happen you can't plan for that — I have no idea I mean even in reflection now I think it's always so funny having these conversations because you do somewhat of a career retrospect and there. It's almost the biggest moments that become the most blinding that I think there's like six months of my life there that's just totally like hazy because I truly had no idea what was going on. Um, the way it started was I remember we were working on our Autumn 25 show. Um, and when we started working on Autumn 25, um, I remember maybe just reflecting a bit on the career that I had thus far and the people that had contribute contributed to it. Um, so my trans friends were always the um they would always be cast in my show. Um, and I think as they grew more successful in the industry, there was a sense of pride there that I felt maybe certain parts of the industry were touching on and championing. Um

### Segment 10 (45:00 - 50:00) [45:00]

but I think, you know, far less than we should have been. I think to me I just saw it as, you know, as much as they were so successful and so down to earth and so kind and so fun and just it never really felt like a you know okay well like let's sit down and let's like plot some um you know cultural touch point for the next 6 months. It really was something that I've always explained as being born out of love and admiration for them. Um, and I remember uh in fittings I uh Hunter Piper, who's one of my kind of closest friends, muses, etc., etc. Um, incredible, incredible multi-hyphenate um of a lady. um she had done my shows I think since 2023 and um I remember having something on my to-do list that was almost like you know um say it with your test and I'm really not a person that writes to-do lists in a abstract way but there was something about that where I kept on coming back to it and it's you know those things on a to-do list that kind of start to burn a hole in your stomach and you don't really understand why it's consuming so much of your energy but it's somewhat of a sign from the universe. Um, and this was all kind of in the wake of uh, you know, the current uh, administration coming back into power. Um, and feeling really helpless from that. I remember the first time around that happened it feeling very similar to that. And the first time that um, that administration had come into power, I was a first year BA student. So, it was kind of a wild uh trip to be back in a mental space that I felt when I was so much younger and such a different person, I think, as well. Um, and I remember having this conversation with Hunter where I said I was like, you know, I just want to do something. I don't And I think I remember even being reluctant to say to her because I think a lot of these conversations and probably my whole aversion to fashion being involved in politics sometimes is that it oftenimes can feel quite self- serving. and can feel like, okay, this brand just needs like a nice little punchy, you know, headline that they can say, oh, you know, 10 25% of, you know, this t-shirt or drop that we're doing, we're contributing to the, you know, save the ocean fund or, you know, something where they're printing it on a 50% polyester t-shirt and they're selling it for whatever money and they're giving back a portion of it to the cause, which I guess is commendable, but to me it just left such a bad taste in my mouth and really made me, I guess, disrespect my own industry, which I'm so fond of, and I'm like the biggest fan of fashion in general. Um, so I think I just found it as this creative challenge, which I respond quite well to. I love a creative challenge. I love a problem solving kind of event. And I remember that it was the I had kind of workshopped this with Hunter and I had said I want to make a t-shirt. I want to kind of say something. I don't want it to get too preachy. Um and I remember her saying something like you know keep it simple stupid you know like that was really like the words of wisdom for it. And I think also maybe asking for her blessing a bit. And I remember it was the night before the show. Um 11:00 p. m. at night. We still had this blank t-shirt that was sitting out. — It was blank the night before. — 11:00 p. m. I think is when we finally put it together. And I — So where did the words come from? — I remember at first I kept on saying like I heart the dolls. Like that was almost the play of it. I was like we should do like an Iheart New York t-shirt. There's a nice little story in there. I'm from New York. Blah blah. But I remember having this kind of like flashing light in the back of my head saying like it's not right yet. And the more that I thought about it, I started to understand that the my love for my trans friends was not what was being threatened here right now. their safety was being threatened by an administration that seemed so focused on, you know, draining the life from any kind of good and positive thing going on, at least in uh, you know, queer spaces. Um, and it's something that my boyfriend and I will do, but I remember just kind of like, you know, throwing things back and forth at him like, I hurt the dolls. And then I was like, no, it's protect the dolls. And I remember I said it in the like we had at the time a very small open plan studio that was just all of us in a room together. And I remember kind of like everyone going a little quiet. And it's kind of my way of triing

### Segment 11 (50:00 - 55:00) [50:00]

these things. I I'm always looking for immediate audience reaction. It's like you know a comedy hour that's going like the wrong way. You have to really kind of know what's going on in the room. Um — and I think that was the moment that we were like yeah I was like that's it. And I was like let's print it out. Let's put on a t-shirt. Um, it was a like at home printer transfer paper that was literally ironed on to a t-shirt and I think I cut off the bottom. I think I did like a little customization where I wanted it to be a little bit shorter and I was like, "Yeah, I'll just wear that tomorrow. " And it was even at the time it didn't really feel like, you know, we knew what was going to happen. I remember it catch fire. — It was almost immediate. I think I it was it's such a weird thing because it was very instantly I put on the t-shirt I was wearing around and everyone was kind of coming up to me saying like I love your t-shirt so much. You forget that you're wearing it basically. I mean you don't sleep the night before a show. This might be uh information to someone. You're really in like not the best mental state and you're going into probably your most like videotaped and interviewed day of you know every 6 months and you're doing it on virtually no sleep. So, I was really just kind of, you know, preparing for whatever may come. Um, and I think it must have been maybe ID or someone posted a t-shirt and I remember we woke up the next day and we had like 300 emails of people being like, "Where do I get this t-shirt? " And we very quickly turned it around. We put it up as a pre-order. Um, on the website. I think in the first three days alone we did like 20 grand in sales which like was unheard of for any kind of drop that we've ever done. Um and we you know we were like we did all of this the day after the show but we you know chose a charity. Um we found Trans Lifeline. We what we loved about Trans Lifeline is that it was a transled organization. And I think there was a really uh conscious part of this whole thing of like if you know this is going to be for the dolls. Let's like make sure that it is as aligned with their what they need and what they want. Um and what they can do with this money in the most kind of uh you know uh articulate way possible. Um, and it I think all of that comes from ensuring that you have the right people behind you and you're speaking to the people that you're trying to platform here and support. Um, and I think Pedro Pascal like how did he get the t-shirt? It really it so it took off after there were a lot of people that right after the show were kind of like um either celebrities or um they just uh you know recognized the message and they then said I really want to support somehow and my whole policy was like love that so much you have to pay for the t-shirt. So any you know press placement that you saw was a purchase t-shirt. We might have expedited the process. And I mean, I'm sure a million people are going to kill me right now cuz they had to wait, you know, 2 months for their t-shirt. But — by the time it got to that point, we were dealing with like 7,000 t-shirts. Like it really just Troy wear wore it at Coachella. Troy Savon Asen Rey wore it the same weekend. — Pedro maybe wore it a few weeks after that. At that point, it was like we could not keep them in stock. And we were doing this all on a pre-order, but we'd be like, "Okay, let's pull up like, you know, 500, a,000, 2,000 units. " It got to a point where in the course of a day, we were selling over like 600 t-shirts. And like Shopify was like melting down. Like we really we got contacted by like a specific, you know, uh kind of account um you know, support manager. Um, I think they kind of even like cuz at the time it was still so new that it maybe didn't have the same cultural capital that it has now where you can kind of recognize that slogan, but um there were a lot of people that stepped up to support in real time and really just wanted to see this, you know, go its full way. And it's still selling now and we still sell, you know, 10 or 20 of them a day. I mean, it's just such a beautiful thing, I think, that can be so supportive of a um, you know, demographic of people that have been so supportive of me and a lot of times aren't recognized for their contributions to culture and society. And I just always want that t-shirt to be remembered as as, you know, much as we were the ones to put it out. It was really a group effort and it was inspired and based on the women that I am so endlessly inspired by and that is the most beautiful thing to me. — One lesson that one piece of advice, one lesson

### Segment 12 (55:00 - 56:00) [55:00]

something that you wisdom at your ripe age of. — Yeah. 30. — I know. No longer ripe, you know. — Oh, it's pretty ripe. — Um, piece of advice. Um, God, maybe keep it simple, stupid. You know, that was really helpful. I think in anything that I've ever thought about for too long, uh, for better or worse, it always probably ends up going worse. Um, I think if you are a creative person, you are probably also a reactionary person. That reaction is coming from somewhere really pure and really whole. go for it and listen to it because the only regrets I have in this life is not listening to that inner voice. You know — the instinct, — the cliche cherry on top — intuition. — Exactly. — We started with a cliche. We end with the cherry cliche. But it's been a pleasure, Connor. I'm really pleased for you. — Thank you so much. — We have a long way to go. — Thank you. I appreciate it. — Maybe we can do this in five or 10 years. — Check back in. Yeah, I'll probably I mean I'll be like, you know, hearing it back like, "Oh my god. " — No, no. This is time loss. This is a time capsule. — It is — of what you've learned and your reflections in this moment. That's that's number you proud of it. So congratulations. — Thank you so much for coming. Thank you for having me.