Chicago Fashion Designer Ron Louis Speaks On His Fashion Inspirations
Chicago Fashion Designer Ron Louis Speaks on His Fashion Inspirations, The Current State of the Chicago Fashion Scene, Building his Phera Brand, His Most Recent Air Force 1’s Creation and More.
We’ve had the opportunity to expand The Lifestyle NYC into different cities such as L.A., Philly, Toronto, and Miami throughout our two-year journey. These cities have landed us great conversations with some of the area’s top creatives in their respective fields but this is the first time we’re taking the business to the city of Chicago. The Chi has bred some of the most creative individuals in the music, sports, fashion, and entertainment industry. We used our resources to tap into the fashion world of the city and Ron Louis, a business owner, fashion designer, and thriving entrepreneur came up as someone I wanted to have a chat with.
Ron Louis has built a very strong foundation for himself within both the Chicago fashion scene and the thriving streetwear industry. He has used his influence from the likes of Illinois natives like Virgil Abloh, Don C, and Kanye West to create aesthetically pleasing garments that have gained recognition from the aforementioned as well as some of the cities rising stars like rappers Dreezy and Valee.
I caught up with Ron to discuss his brand, Phera, Chicago fashion and how it compares to other fashion cities in the country, being recognized by major fashion figures, and his plans for 2020.
1 - What were some of your inspirations growing up that sparked your interest in fashion?
I would credit highschool. At my school you had to dress well to get the popular girls. My grandmother who passed before I could remember her also had a sewing kit. I would meddle in as a kid. I have a weird spiritual connection with my grandma and feel like her spirit is either in or with me. Fashion felt familiar to me and my parents kept me in the latest trends so I would say it all played a part.
2 - You being from Chicago I’m sure a lot of figures like Don C, Virgil Abloh and Kanye West played a huge role in why you wanted to get into fashion. But, what stood out to you about their work?
I actually learned about Don & Virgil late in my aspirations as a designer. My close friend and graphic designer came over from London and introduced me to like RSVP Gallery and had me take designs there with him and get advice from Virgil even though I had no idea who he was at the time. I was networking behind the scenes in Chicago for my music blog so I knew more about what was going on with music. Kanye of course was doing his thing and heavily influenced my thought process as far as being a black creative in an unfamiliar industry. Watching his interviews people thought he was absurd and crazy at the time. Virgil’s Pyrex brand visually stood out to me with his campaigns and how I related to some of the street aspects of the brand coming from the streets myself. Huge fan of Don C as well. The first thing I saw from Don was his snakeskin snapbacks hats! Watching these guys move and hear these legendary stories fueled my fire. I could talk about them for days.
3 - How do you view your sense of fashion compared to what’s currently going on fashion-wise in Chicago? Secondly, how do you think the Chicago fashion scene differs from other major fashion cities like New York City or Los Angeles?
I don't think about or compare myself to others because that gives me anxiety. I think it’s so many dope people out there with their own styles but I would say that I’ve heard people tell me that I have a clean, simple, but detailed perspective towards design. Chicago is a unique place for design for numerous reasons. The lack of resources to produce garments compared to other cities known for fashion is one major one. Having a limited amount of resources causes designers to really get creative in order to stand out.
4 - Can you expound more on your brand, Phera? What was the inspiration behind creating the brand and the name? Also, in your opinion, what do you think differentiates your brand from others out there?
I created Phera with the mindset of creating a brand that I would be more calculated with. I was known for doing custom work and just doing random creations while making a name and figuring out my place within the fashion scene here in Chicago. I wanted Phera to be a unisex brand for those who are fearless in their own right. I misspelled the word “fear” like “fera” one day and it stood out to me.
5 - With everything that’s currently going on in the country, I’m sure this quarantine has you and the team in the lab cooking up a dope collection for a future release. But, let’s talk about “Designer” which you used for a previous drop. Why did you choose that as the name of the release and how do you think your definition was received by other people in the fashion industry?
I took a page out of Virgil's book to be honest in sort of a way to pay homage. I watched a lecture he led and something key that he said was that adding humor to art is great because it's a universal language. I was working with a close friend of mine who is signed to Kanye over at Def Jam named Valee who sparked the concept. Valee has many talents and one day we were at his warehouse that he built from the ground up working on projects from sewing, constructing a 30 foot movie screen, pool table, and recording another artist and it hit me. I was making his clothes for performances and videos. I looked around and said “ Im going to put “designer” on your clothes”. Valee is very picky but loved the idea so I knew we had something and figured that it would get a lot of press if he wore it early in his career. During that time I realized that majority of the people that I was around and still to this day are people who design the way they want to live and I wanted to spread that message and tell our truth through the clothes. Design the life you want to live and be the best version of yourself and influence those around you in a positive light. The humor in it is literally the garments being a designer piece from a designer haha.
6 - Take us through your creative and design process. Where do you normally draw your inspiration from and how does that creative process play out to the end?
It varies but I’ll say my life inspires my design and my connection to music. I could be walking down the street and see a color, or building structure and get inspired. I have a very weird process and always open to receiving inspiration from everyday life. I have my own music label and sometimes produce music so I could be in the studio and hear some music and see color from the sound or texture. It honestly just depends on my mood on how I come up with designs or what's going on in my life at the time to even pinpoint it. I naturally get bored with routine so doing things in a specific order turns me off.
7 - Talk about the music label you just mentioned. With you coming from a music blog background, was that the inspiration behind creating the label? If not, what was the inspiration? Also, how do you balance running a label and producing while still running a fashion brand and designing?
My background is what got me here. For me, it was always music first. I enjoy it more than fashion. I balance it with my partners Goody who’s 100% face first in music and his cousin and Grammy nominated David “Prolyfic” Ewing Jr. We each have specific roles and mine allows me to have the freedom to create when I want to. Music and fashion go hand and hand so for me it’s something I’m always working on or getting inspiration from between the two mediums. As far as the artists we only work with the people that understand how and who they want to be without us forcing our projections down their throats. Somehow it all works out.
8 - Let’s talk more about your recent work. You took pairs of Nike Air Force 1’s and turned them into a Glacier Blue. What was the inspiration behind that creation? Secondly, I know the raffle for the sneakers is happening soon. Are you giving all the pairs away for free?
So, I was about to quit my job one day and before I could tell my manager she said “Ron we have Air Force ones on sale.” I bought every pair we had in stock. Im dropping my last run of Designer hoodies and moving on from my brand Phera and figured I give my supporters a gift. I chose the custom Ice colorway to represent freezing this moment in time as the end of the Phera era. Whoever purchases the black designer hoodie automatically gets entered into a raffle and a chance to win a free pair. Raffle will be throughout March and April and I’ll be doing some surprise giveaways as well.
9 - You mentioned ending your brand Phera for good. Why?
I feel like it’s time. I own who I am as a designer and creative and I want to push that vs. trying to separate that from the brand. It was beginning to get confusing for my audience separating personal designs from the brand. I created the brand with insecurities while thinking about failing and how hard it is to rebrand your name if failing vs. just a brand failing and starting a new one.
10 - You’ve received a lot of praise from well-known people within the music and fashion industry such as Valee, Dreezy, Aleali May, and the aforementioned Virgil. What does it feel like as a creative working in the competitive space of fashion to get recognition from people that you looked up to throughout your journey?
I enjoy praise from people within the industry but it's not something that moves me too much. Doesn’t matter who the praise comes from, actually anyone who thinks my work is cool brings me joy. I will say that praise from people whose work I and others respect definitely sticks and helps others see my value.
11 - What type of personal and professional advice would you give the aspiring fashion designer and/or fashion stylist?
Do as much as you can starting out and be open to trying new things. Don’t rush anything and do your best at that moment in time. Finding purpose and intention within design it will make your steps heavier and lighter at the same time.
12 - What can we expect from Ron Louis and the Phera brand as we continue to move throughout 2020?
Currently working on my Fall/Winter collection under my name and laying Phera to rest. Ready to show what I've got and I hope you guys enjoy.