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Birthday Bash at Kody Phillips Office: Cake, Clothes, and Creativity
It’s a party at the Kody Phillips office, and the reason is clear – there’s a birthday in the house! The office is buzzing with excitement as a huge chocolate cake takes center stage on the office’s center table. Surrounded by sketches, samples, and unfinished iced coffees, the perfectly boxed, personalized frosted cake is a sight to behold. And let’s not forget the leftover Chinese food from the birthday lunch – it’s a feast fit for a fashion-forward team.
The Brooklyn-based studio is a bustling hub of activity, with clothing racks crowding the space. Kody Phillips himself is perched on the windowsill, overseeing the production of a lookbook for the label’s upcoming collection, Cabaret. His wife, Ryanna, is hard at work on the Lasso shirt, adding final touches to the embroidered edges. This is just a typical Wednesday afternoon at the studio, which Phillips recently moved into after outgrowing his and Ryanna’s apartment. As the team expands to include more creators and creatives, there are sure to be more cake-worthy occasions in the future.
Phillips, a self-proclaimed “Pantaloons Champion,” has been running the brand for over a decade, but it’s in the past year that he and Ryanna have really ramped up the ready-to-wear line. Known for his signature “Rip Van Kody” silhouette, Phillips has perfected his pant styles and pushed the boundaries with raw denim pieces. But it’s not just about the outer appearance – Phillips also focuses on functionality, often incorporating hidden features like pockets with hidden zippers. “Functionality is my preferred method of designing,” he explains. “Even if you don’t see it, it’s hidden. I’ll put pockets in with hidden zippers. It keeps it fun for me.”
Amidst the chaos of five and a half things going on at once, Phillips takes a moment to sit down with us and discuss the growth of his brand. The only interruption is the unveiling of a life-size model of Phillips’ head, set to appear in an upcoming lookbook.
Kody Phillips: The Man Behind the Brand
Is Kody Phillips the brand a reflection of your personal style? “Kody Phillips is a reflection of what I’d want my style to be if I were 6’1 and two times more handsome,” Phillips jokes.
Fashion has been a part of Phillips’ life for a long time. Growing up in Ohio, he attended private school for 12 years and was always excited to see fashion outside of his school uniform. “The main inspiration at the time was Ryan Seacrest,” he recalls. “You remember the jeans and sports jacket combo? That had me f*cking heavy locked.” When he first started making his own clothes, Phillips couldn’t even draw, so he would cut and sew or glue pieces together. “I used a lot of glue,” he admits.
What were some of the early pieces you were experimenting with? “I was making custom snapbacks in 2013,” Phillips shares. “I got a job at a screenprinting place, and that was my first real hands-on experience with fashion. Every day, once my shift ended, I’d print my own designs.”
When did you drop your first piece under the Kody Phillips label? “I dropped my first ‘Kody Phillips’ piece in 2014,” Phillips reveals. And the rest, as they say, is history.
