We used to take road trips a lot and visit my family down. Within a short distance, you could just be out there. Boom, there’s deer, there’s tons of trees everywhere…My parents were big on going camping all the time. You cross over the George Washington Bridge - and you’re in nature. I think that juxtaposition made it so clear - I never took it for granted and had the best of both worlds. R.D.: I was born in Coney Island, so the beach was such a huge part of my childhood and my life, and then you move to Manhattan and you’re just on this island…For me, it was like this interesting juxtaposition, in Manhattan, for New Yorkers it’s a very normal thing to turn a corner and see everyone looking up and seeing this little piece of rainbow between two skyscrapers and taking it in and appreciating, “Ah, look - nature,” then getting back to the grind and hustling across the street. WWD: What’s something about being a native New Yorker that shifts your view or relationship to nature? I think people are very particular about keeping their wisdom and their businesses private and protecting their money, and now everyone is like, “Let’s work together, let’s figure this out because this is a crisis.” None of us are going to make money out of dead people and dead planet. The whole way of doing things in fashion has been cradle to grave, and now, that whole conversation is being rethought.Įven creating Studio 189 at the beginning didn’t have the energy of what we have now where there is such a desire for collaboration and sharing resources, which I don’t think has ever existed in fashion before. The outfit - the pants that I wore on “Ellen” - was made from that fabric. They’ve figured out a way to completely shred up the clothes, after you take buttons and zippers off, and make it into little pellets to replace new polyester, and you can use pellets from old clothes to make brand new clothing. I just went to Ambercycle in Los Angeles where you can bring in your old clothes.