What was the inspiration behind the Y,IWO summer collection? What was the creative starting point?

I started with my love of 1980s teen romps like Spring Break, Goin’ All the Way, Hot Moves, and Hardbodies – pulling inspiration from the vision of the idyllic SoCal summer vacation those movies evoke, as well as the lazy Muscle Beach-bum spirit that Ric Drasin lived throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Talk to me about your relationship with Ric and Sami Drasin. How did you meet? What’s your working relationship like?

When I started Y,IWO, I wanted to feature original artwork and talked to contemporary artists to create some drawings, but none of them had the authentic OG vibe that I was trying to capture. I had been in touch with the late Ric Drasin randomly years ago, and reached out to him to collaborate. We met for lunch at an old-school diner near his house. There were pictures of him on the wall, and all the waitresses flirted with him – they all loved him. I told him about the brand and how I wanted to honor and feature his work. He got it immediately, and we started working together. We developed an installation at Dover Street Market in honor of him. He really appreciated how we treated his work and his legacy, and wanted to work with us further. Since then, we have had several other drops featuring his artwork and this is the latest one.

Ric introduced me to his daughter Sami at lunch a few years ago. She really liked what we were doing too, and we discussed shooting something together. I wanted to find the right project to collaborate with her on, and when this came up, I reached out. Sami knows Ric’s story better than anyone, and she’s a delight to work with. It was really fun to create such a playful beach shoot that evoked her father with her, because it had significance to her beyond just another brand photo shoot.

Ric sadly passed away last year, which has strengthened our resolve to tell his story and share his artwork.