Within the aggressive panorama of up to date trend, success is usually outlined by a model’s potential to inform a narrative that extends far past the clothes themselves. For Miami-born entrepreneur Erik Yehezkel, this narrative strategy is second nature. With a background rooted within the demanding fields of economic actual property and luxurious hospitality, Yehezkel transitioned into the style sphere with a singular perspective on client conduct, curation, and model structure. Alongside co-founder and designer Maxwell Osborne, they launched anOnlyChild, a luxurious label designed round quiet confidence, sustainability, and the evocative energy of individuality.
Formally debuting in 2021, anOnlyChild has carved out a definite area out there. The model is constructed on a basis of using deadstock and repurposed materials to create wealthy, textured silhouettes that carry a way of relaxed sophistication. It’s an exploration of round trend that refuses to compromise on luxurious, reworking cloth remnants into beautiful runway items.
We caught up with Erik Yehezkel to debate the strategic evolution of the anOnlyChild label, the transition from actual property to runway, and the disciplined enterprise philosophy that drives the model ahead.
Q: You’ve got a background in industrial actual property and luxurious hospitality in Miami. How did these fast-paced industries put together you for the style world?
A: My background in industrial actual property and hospitality taught me to deal with the “why” behind human conduct. Why we select to spend time in sure areas, why we patronize particular institutions, and in the end, why we put on what we put on. Hospitality is totally about curation and creating an emotional response. Once you stroll right into a well-designed resort, each element, from the lighting to the scent, is intentional. Trend operates the identical approach. Navigating these industries in Miami gave me the structured self-discipline and the appreciation for narrative depth that I now apply to constructing our model’s universe.
Q: What was the catalyst for transitioning from property growth to co-founding a luxurious trend label?
A: The transition was pushed by the belief that the artwork of curation stays similar whatever the medium. Whether or not you’re creating a bodily property or designing a group, you’re establishing a world for individuals to inhabit. I wished to construct a model that customers may carry with them lengthy after they left a bodily area. The chance to merge the narrative depth of hospitality with the structured self-discipline of design was a problem I couldn’t resist.
Q: How did you and also you Maxwell Osborne first join, and the way do your respective strengths complement one another?
A: Maxwell and I related by means of mutual artistic circles. He advised me in regards to the model he was constructing, and we shortly realized that we shared a imaginative and prescient of making one thing that felt deeply private and possessed an unbiased spirit. Maxwell has an unbelievable design intuition and a wealthy historical past in trend, notably with Public School, which permits him to have a look at cloth and see potentialities others miss. My strengths lie in enterprise technique, operations, and model structure. We stability one another. He focuses on the artistic output, whereas I guarantee we’ve got the disciplined construction and development mannequin to help that imaginative and prescient.
Q: The model is called “anOnlyChild.” What does that title imply to you psychologically, and the way does it translate into the model’s id?
A: The title carries loads of psychological weight. An solely baby typically has to depend on their very own creativeness, discovering methods to make one thing out of nothing and giving life to solitude. Strategically, that interprets into an unbiased, singular spirit. It defines our aesthetic and our strategy to design. Our buyer is somebody who possesses a quiet confidence, stands alone of their fashion, and doesn’t depend on the validation of fleeting traits to really feel full.
Q: Launching a luxurious model in the course of the pandemic introduced distinctive hurdles. What was that early interval like, and the way did it form your enterprise mannequin?
A: It was a extremely uncommon interval to launch, nevertheless it truly pressured us to look inward and adapt. As a result of textile mills have been closed and provide chains have been disrupted, we needed to make do with what we had. That constraint turned our best power. It solidified our dedication to utilizing deadstock and repurposed supplies. Strategically, it taught us to be extremely agile and confirmed that we didn’t must comply with the standard, bloated trend calendar to construct a significant reference to our viewers.
Q: Sustainability is at your core, particularly using deadstock and repurposed materials. How do you handle the logistical challenges of sourcing these supplies for a luxurious viewers?
A: Sourcing deadstock at a luxurious degree requires an immense quantity of self-discipline and endurance. In contrast to conventional manufacturers that may order 1000’s of yards of the very same cloth, we’ve got to exit and hunt for remnants. Every assortment is proscribed by the bodily materials we will discover. It turns our manufacturing course of right into a puzzle, nevertheless it additionally ensures that each single garment is inherently restricted and distinctive. Now we have to be meticulous with our high quality management in order that these repurposed supplies really feel elevated, cohesive, and undeniably premium.
Q: You’ve talked about drawing inspiration from life-style architects like Ralph Lauren and hoteliers like Ian Schrager. How does the artwork of curation translate from hospitality to attire?
A: Each Ralph Lauren and Ian Schrager understood find out how to construct a complete universe. Once you purchase into their work, you aren’t simply shopping for a product or a room evening; you’re shopping for into a selected approach of seeing the world. In trend, curation is about enhancing down the noise. We wish anOnlyChild to signify a curated life-style. The best way we current our collections, the areas we select for our occasions, and the textures of our materials are all fastidiously chosen to evoke a selected, nostalgic ambiance.
Q: How do your Miami roots and upbringing affect your strategy to fashion and the strategic path of the model?
A: Miami is a metropolis of various cultures and a definite appreciation for leisure and luxurious. Rising up there, I used to be consistently surrounded by individuals who used fashion as a type of self-expression. It taught me that luxurious doesn’t need to be inflexible or stuffy; it may be relaxed, fluid, and cozy. Strategically, it influences our deal with ease and flexibility. We wish our items to really feel at house, whether or not you’re in New York, Miami, or touring overseas.
Q: How would you describe the “quiet confidence” of the anOnlyChild aesthetic, and the way do you talk that to shoppers?
A: Quiet confidence is about understatement. It’s the reverse of loud, closely branded trend. Our items function minimal graphics, focusing as an alternative on wealthy textures, distinctive silhouettes, and the drape of the material. We talk this by means of delicate storytelling. We don’t over-explain the clothes; we let the craftsmanship, the silk shirting, and the cascading ruffles communicate for themselves. The aim is for the outfit to vary the wearer’s posture, giving them a way of ease and power.
Q: What are the important thing pillars of the disciplined development mannequin you’ve applied to keep away from the lure of chasing transient traits?
A: Our development mannequin depends on shortage, narrative consistency, and monetary self-discipline. We don’t chase high-volume, low-margin gross sales. As an alternative, we deal with small, considerate drops and capsule collections that respect our supplies. By maintaining manufacturing restricted, we preserve excessive demand and guarantee our stock stays clear. We additionally prioritize constructing deep relationships with our retail companions and straight with our neighborhood, making certain that our development is natural fairly than synthetic.
Q: What has been essentially the most difficult side of scaling a model that depends so closely on round trend rules?
A: The first problem is scalability itself. Conventional trend enterprise fashions are constructed on predictability and mass manufacturing. When your design course of depends upon discovering discarded, high-quality deadstock, predictability goes out the window. If we discover a ravishing roll of silk, we’d solely have the ability to make twenty shirts from it. Scaling beneath these circumstances requires us to deal with every bit as a restricted version, educating our shoppers and retail companions on why a selected merchandise can’t be restocked as soon as it sells out.
Q: Your runway shows, together with NYFW and LAFW, have garnered main consideration. How do these bodily showcases drive the model’s strategic development?
A: Bodily showcases are essential for a model like ours as a result of we’re so targeted on contact, texture, and ambiance. Our LAFW presentation, “It’s Getting Late B-sides,” introduced our neighborhood collectively in a curated area and showcased the motion of our materials in actual time. It builds model fairness and helps set up the narrative context of the gathering. These occasions aren’t nearly exhibiting garments; they’re about inviting individuals into our world and making a memorable expertise.
Q: How do you strategy wholesale partnerships and selective retail growth, akin to working with boutiques like elysewalker?
A: We’re extraordinarily selective about the place anOnlyChild is offered. We search for retail companions who perceive our story, worth sustainability, and cater to clients who admire craftsmanship. Working with companions like elysewalker is good as a result of they curate their areas with the identical care that we design our collections. It ensures our model is introduced in an surroundings that reinforces its luxurious positioning and permits us to achieve shoppers who admire the nuances of our clothes.
Q: You’ve spoken about constructing a “complete universe.” In what methods do you envision anOnlyChild increasing past attire right into a broader life-style model?
A: Attire is simply the entry level. Due to my hospitality background, I naturally take into consideration bodily areas, house design, and experiential ideas. Sooner or later, I see us increasing into house items, curated journey equipment, and even perhaps collaborative hospitality areas. The aim is to construct a cohesive life-style aesthetic that our buyer can combine into each side of their each day life, at all times sustaining that very same unbiased, considerate spirit.
Q: The place do you see anOnlyChild in ten years, and the way do you make sure the core philosophy of unbiased spirit stays intact?
A: In ten years, I would like anOnlyChild to be acknowledged not only for the clothes we produce, however for a selected approach of trying on the world. We wish to be a world life-style model, however one which has scaled mindfully. To maintain our core philosophy intact, we are going to proceed to prioritize our unbiased spirit and our dedication to round design rules. Regardless of how massive we develop, the main target will at all times stay on considerate creation, distinctive supplies, and the celebration of the fantastic thing about solitude and individuality.
anOnlyChild has confirmed that sustainability and excessive trend do not need to be mutually unique. By treating the model as a holistic life-style universe fairly than simply an attire label, the workforce at anOnlyChild has applied a disciplined framework that honors each the surroundings and the patron’s want for real individuality. Yehezkel’s transition from the bodily curation of actual property to the tactile curation of trend highlights a contemporary strategy to entrepreneurship, the place narrative and execution carry equal weight.
Because the label continues to broaden its retail footprint and discover new artistic avenues, its dedication to the unbiased spirit of the “solely baby” stays its guiding gentle. In an business typically rushed by the calls for of mass consumerism, Yehezkel’s deal with quiet confidence, restricted manufacturing, and experiential storytelling provides a compelling blueprint for the way forward for luxurious trend.
