Daemon Concept

Donté McGuine: The Fashion Iconographer

Even as a stylist, McGuine’s work goes far beyond just clothing. He is, in every sense of the term, an image-maker. “I need to be able to look at my clients as a blank canvas,” he says, “I never want to take someone’s personal style away from them, but I often have to mentally strip them down and prepare them for the image I want to portray through them.” In this way, every image is a story to McGuine, and every story should be rich with meaning. His work ultimately strives to convey the most relevant yet intimate illustration of who each of his clients is. While each canvas (as McGuine refers to his clients in the early stages of their work together) may seem blank, each holds a unique and subtle texture that McGuine can amplify in the most dramatic and beautiful of ways.

McGuine’s story reveals a unique canvas of his own. The D.C. native moved to New York approximately ten years ago. While he had been working in fashion for years prior, he explains how his initial arrival in New York was a rude awakening of sorts. “As soon as I got here, they were quick to tell me that I really knew nothing about fashion.” Obviously, this did not stop McGuine. In a warmly familiar maneuver to many creatives itching to break into the scene in New York, he turned to nightlife. McGuine shares that he partied for two years straight, and in doing so, “got immersed into the socialite scene in the Upper East Side,” where he was living at the time. It’s important to note that this was around 2012. Gossip Girl (OG) mania was in full swing, and McGuine had landed precisely in the middle of the culture that inspired the show. “Those days were very Gossip Girl for me,” he recalls. All the while, McGuine began personally styling many of his socialite UES friends for their storied party nights. This was, as he explains, his first true gateway into the styling and editorial scene in New York.

I am trying to think more about what image I am conveying to people. What do they think when they see me and hear my story. It’s not something that I’m used to, but I figure this is the next step in my journey.

Left: top by Raf Simons, jacket by Willy Chavarria, headband by Prada. Right: Full look by Marc Jacobs.

From there, all the right doors seemed to open. In the years since his beloved Gossip Girl days, McGuine has built one of the most enviable client rolodexes in the industry. However, his success is not just a result of being in the right place at the right time. McGuine approaches his craft as any fine artist would, with the utmost thoughtfulness and intention. He doesn’t intend to create images that are here one day and gone the next, and he certainly does not chase trends. “I want people to return to my work ten, twenty years from now. I want to become the reference.” History and references are paramount to McGuine’s work, so it’s no wonder he intends to have his very own page in the history books.

McGuine shares, however, that he worries about the newest generation of creatives entering the fashion and art world for that exact reason. “This Gen Z, they are trying to rewrite everything,” but in his experience, to make new strides, “you have to respect what came first.” McGuine names the late André Leon Talley and Franca Sozzani as a couple of his role models. While their work may not be considered the most provocative in today’s context, “they had to crawl so that we could walk.” The sense of respect McGuine conveys for the pioneers that came before him is telling in regards to who he is as an artist. In an era teaming with aimlessly iconoclastic creatives, McGuine’s confidence in his influences carefully guides his hand as he traverses through a career in the most distinguished circles of the fashion world.

Top by Issey Miyake, boots by Rick Owens.

Having conquered the fields of styling and creative direction, McGuine is shifting aim with plans to take over the industry as a designer. His most recent project has been the launch of Wahine, a label he co-owns and directs alongside one of his best friends and long-time client, Evan Mock. McGuine shares that the brand is an “ode to the people, surf, and skate culture of Hawaii,” of which Mock is a native. He explains that Mock had been brainstorming for years about starting a brand that would pay homage to his cultural background and upbringing, and finally, McGuine said, after a night out at the club, no less, “let’s just do it.” That night, they stayed up until dawn, mapping out how they would bring the concept to life, fully embracing the spontaneity of the situation. Fast forward almost a year precisely, and Wahine has officially launched. The duo released their very first capsule collection last weekend, and the response has been striking.

McGuine lights up talking about the new venture. He shares that his favorite piece from the first drop is, without a doubt, the “Chee” hoodie. The inspiration for the piece, a zip-up hoodie emblazoned with a broken heart down the center housing the word “cunt,” apparently comes from a doodle Mock had sketched on a recent trip to Japan that they happened upon in the design process. The collaborative spirit of the entire project speaks volumes. McGuine credits their producer, Cassandra Hobbins, as an invaluable member of the team that brought Wahine to life. “She really mothered us through this whole process,” says McGuine, for which he feels a deep sense of gratitude.

I want people to return to my work ten, twenty years from now. I want to become the reference.

Dress by LÙCHEN New York, boots and sunglasses by Rick Owens.

In looking back at the road he paved to get to where he is in his career now, McGuine is indeed a nostalgic type. “I think back to when I was flying Frontier back and forth from New York, and they would be airing The Rachel Zoe Project non-stop…even now, I will turn on the TV and watch it again just to bring me back to that time.” While the nostalgia is humbling, as McGuine explains, it also serves as a testament to how far he has come of his own volition, and what he truly is capable of moving forward. Of course, though, these things take time. “Everyone now wants that instant kind of fame, the instant success,” he says, “but even Rachel Zoe was saying how she didn’t develop her career as it would become until she was at least thirty.” Now, as McGuine comes of age, he realizes the full potential of where he can take his story.

Moving forward, he says, “I am trying to think more about what image I am conveying to people. What do they think when they see me and hear my story?” When talking about the photo shoot featured here that he directed alongside photographer Gray Sorrenti, McGuine expresses reserve about stepping in front of the lens. “It’s not something that I’m used to, but I figure this is the next step in my journey.” Regardless, his storytelling mastery extends beyond his clients to himself. Captured brilliantly in his natural form, McGuine is an image-maker--and far more. He is a unique artist, narrator, and future leader of fashion.

Fashion

Find Me Now: On Flourishing

May 26, 2022

A mother-daughter relationship mimics that of a flower’s evolution — with time, it blossoms into something more beautiful and grand than one could ever imagine, but, of course, there may be growing pains along the way.

Su Paek and Stephanie Callahan, the creative forces and faces behind attainable fashion label Find Me Now, are no strangers to the trials and tribulations of running a brand together. They have mastered their craft, resulting in a symbiotic personal relationship as well as a thriving business.

To grow something successfully, one must always begin with the right ingredients or seeds. Su and Stephanie knew they had to begin with their own personal values — transparency, wearability, sustainability, and visibility for Asian American immigrants and other AAPI creators — to truly cultivate something that reflected the impact they desired to leave on the fashion industry.

Interview by Kayla Curtis-Evans
Creative Produced by Kayla Curtis-Evans
Photos and Photo Assistance by Anastasia Wingate-Piccolomini
Wardobe Styling Courtesy of Find Me Now
Cast: Stephanie Callahan and Su Paek

Now, just a couple years into Find Me Now, Su and Stephanie reflect upon the growth, both personal and milestone-related, that has occurred in the short amount of time that has passed since the brand’s conception.

The mother-daughter duo sat down with office to discuss their partnership and bond, Find Me Now’s development, and what it means to be able to bring the Asian American experience to the forefront of the industry.

What did you learn from your past in fashion and your previous family brand that you restructured and improved this time around?

Stephanie — We went through a tremendous amount of personal and obviously professional growth from our previous business. I think one of the biggest takeaways was that, firstly, we wanted to design a product that had fundamental wearability. In our previous business, we did not have the luxury of dictating what kind of products to make. We were basically employed by massive retailers and they would dictate the direction of the collections and the direction of the designs. So in that sense, we lost our perspective as designers and that freedom to be able to work in that creative space. So I think when it comes to us creating our own branded identity, we want to make products that have fundamental wearability. If we don't feel like we are wearing the product for more than six to eight months out of the year, then we don't feel it's that necessary. Of course, we do follow seasons throughout the year. However, our product collection doesn't change so much from season to seasons. We are not trying to sell aspirational fashion. We're trying to celebrate the extraordinary in the everyday. At the end of the day, Find Me Now is super attainable. It is also super important to us to provide a transparent and ethical product to our customer.

I really appreciate this idea of avoiding aspirational fashion. It's important to emphasize that we have the resources for these things today, right now, at this moment. Going through the shift of losing your company, especially during the pandemic, must have been devastating. How did you both find the drive to push through and create again?

Stephanie — In our previous business, to be completely honest and transparent with you, we did lose everything — financially, personally, emotionally. We kind of just let it all go.

Which I'm sure was tough.

Stephanie — Super tough. But it was an incredible opportunity for us to see the potential and what we could do with nothing.

Yeah. It kind of opens up avenues that you wouldn't have thought of or discovered before.

Stephanie — And I think at the core, one of the fundamental mantras that we follow and something that we experience firsthand is that you really need to lose yourself to find yourself. That's really where the name came from because we truly lost ourselves in our previous business. We lost everything, but that's how we were able to turn it around and start over.

Seeing that as a positive instead of a negative — it takes a certain mindset. So that's really cool that you guys were able to find that because it can also be super discouraging and then you can get stuck in that feeling. I know that you guys prioritize working with a lot of women creators, how do you continue prioritizing that in the brand’s endeavors?

Stephanie — Just from a team perspective, I'd say 90% of our team is made up of women.

That's amazing.

Stephanie — And I would say a hundred percent of our partners, whether it's suppliers or sales reps or any kind of third party, they're actually all women as well.

You mentioned suppliers and I wanted to ask about your sourcing. What characteristics do you try to look for in certain materials that you ethically source for your collections?

Stephanie — In our previous business, because we were working on such a mass scale, we have had experience working with all different kinds of suppliers. We fully have had firsthand experience working with unethical producers so it's a very clear line to us between what those two qualities of work look like. You don't really know one without knowing the other. Unethical production is when you simply don't know where your products are made and who's making them and you don't want to ask the questions. In those cases, no one is asking the questions about exactly what is going on. We used to live in China and we've had experience literally working on the factory floor, from fabric textile creation to fabric inspection. So this is such an important part of our storytelling and part of our content strategy at Find Me Now because a lot of fashion brands don't want to talk about what is really going on.

I love that now we're approaching a space where that's important to people. I feel like you have a really unique position in that way, being able to implement new things now based on your prior experiences. As an AAPI-owned brand, how do you champion for and convey certain messages about your identity through your clothing?

Stephanie — I think the easiest way, and one of the most important ways for us, is through artist collaborations. We try to work with artists who are true artists in their form and because our specialty is in apparel, it's a harmonious partnership. We love truly collaborating with artists on a product level so that they can tell their story through our apparel.

How did it feel to be able to partner with other amazing AAPI designers and artists like Gica Tam and Jessica Tse of Notte for collaborations which will contribute to beneficial organizations?

Stephanie — Last November, we decided that we wanted to come up with a small capsule collection to celebrate AAPI month and what it means to be Asian American to us. You know, there are a lot of different ways you can tell a story. But, for us, being Asian Americans, the immigration journey is such a big part of that identity and we wanted to tell that story in a whimsical way. We went about sourcing a lot of different kinds of local AAPI artists here in New York. We came across Gica and, fundamentally, her art is so whimsical.

It looks like a dream.

Stephanie — Yeah, and that's how we wanted to really tell this story of immigration and what it's like to be a first, second, third, or fourth-generation Asian American or any immigrant child, grandchild living in the U.S. Can I tell you a little more about the story behind the print?

Of course!

Stephanie — We came to Gica with this concept and she came back to us with some visual stories. This one in particular is a bird flying through mountains of rice paddies. And the bird is actually transforming into this girl. It's kind of that story of immigration, where you are literally transformed along the way and so are all of your generations to come. They change and grow and evolve over time.

Su — And the moon is the focal point of the whole print — the inspiration.

It's kind of the guiding light. It's beautiful. Do you feel that your business relationship has strengthened your mother-daughter bond as well?

Su — I want to take this one. I mean you're a child to a mother, right? As a mother, your child seems like they're always your child. But through our business relationship, I mean, she's my partner. So there, we had to have a learning and growing curve together. I'm not a mother here in this space. But at the same time, your habits don't just adjust right away. Sometimes I'd feel like, 'Okay, why don't you do what I'm asking?' So the role took some time, but I just feel very grateful. Even though, in the beginning, I was against running a business together.

You were?

Su — I was, because I had been in fashion my whole life and she was doing something else. And then when she wanted to switch, I'm like, 'Oh, are you sure this is where you want to come?' She insisted that she wanted to and she believed in what she wanted to do. The fact that we can do something together and we are seeing good results is amazing.

Stephanie — Right. We have such a rewarding sense of purpose. I think one of the interesting things is that — I don't know if you feel this dynamic with your parents at all — but you reach this journey where you start parenting your own parents.

Oh yeah, it changes. I've noticed it as I'm getting older and I'm not a kid anymore — you have this different dynamic, and actually being able to feel that shift is interesting.

Stephanie — A while back, on Friday nights, I'd be in my pajamas getting ready to watch a movie and my mom would be in her room. She'd be like a teenage girl getting ready to go out and there are clothes everywhere. And I'm like, I literally feel like I'm in Freaky Friday.'

I think it's really special. I mean, there aren't many people who get to do something like this with their mom or their dad. I know, Su, you said you were hesitant at first, but really being able to realize the importance of Stephanie's dreams is so special as well. In what ways are you two different and what ways are you alike, especially when it comes to creative decisions?

Su — It's funny because I am the more technical person — I have that background and I do all the development. But Stephanie has incredible eyes. This is something that I knew since she was a little girl. Yeah. She will notice this teeny tiny thing; she's very detailed. So when it comes to our products, a lot of things come about because I find inspiration from her and the team. They are the ones who wear Find Me Now first. I wear our products a lot now because I think wearing them is so important to feel how they are and how you like them. Stephanie is the brand director, so she has ideas about how she wants to reach out to our community and I'm very inspired by that. I keep my ears and eyes open and just try to be present with what we are doing.

Stephanie — Yeah, I would say I'm always the one that's like, 'I wanna do this and I wanna do that,' and she's always the one that's like, 'Okay, this is what's actually doable.'

It's so important to be able to tell Asian American women that no matter what age, where they come from, or what language they speak — they can be anything they want.

I find that with a lot of creative duos like this, it usually falls that way. One person is the one with the crazy ideas and then there's one who's like, 'Okay, so this is how we can actually execute this.' As far as your personal cultural backgrounds, what is something that you guys are most prideful about and something that you wanted to convey through this collection?

Stephanie — For me, growing up, I did not have that many Asian American icons in the fashion space. I think that was a huge lack for me. And even culturally, in pop culture, in fashion, in music — across all industries, I just didn't really have that. It was hard for me to identify with that. So for Find Me Now as a brand, especially for this collection, it's so important for me to be able to tell Asian American women that no matter what age, where they come from, or what language they speak — they can be anything they want.

When you're younger and you see these archetypes and you're constantly wondering where you could fit into that, it's not easy. How do you plan to continue putting a spotlight on immigrant or first, second, third, fourth-generation voices through your future designs?

Stephanie — I think it's just about continuously partnering and giving that opportunity to artists who represent this community and our voice within this space.

Su — We're going to continue sourcing different artists that we identify with on a personal level. And really also showing the next generation our heritage should be celebrated.

Fashion

Flatlist: Far More Than Eyewear

May 24, 2022

Only a few years into being, the beloved Danish brand Flatlist continues to impress us. Merging music, culture, arts, and fashion— Flatlist is far more than merely eyewear. "Fashionably questionable", a term used by the brand itself, might be the most accurate and intriguing descriptor of what they've done, pushing the boundaries of accessory design into new and exciting realms.

Every style originates from a seed of inspiration, an unlikely reference, a moment, a memory, a character from film or a musical progression. We've been on the edges of our seats with each drop, but always know Flatlist's designs will be solid, wearable, and unbelievably stylish. And this has been proven once again by their latest collection, which has made its campaign debut and will hit stores online and the shelves of the brand's Copenhagen flagship next week.

See more of the new, sleek shapes in the brand new campaign, below.