PROfile: Cierra Boyd
In Her Shoes
Cierra Boyd is enigmatic: she’s at once everything that you’d expect a young, emerging fashion designer to be…and at the very same time, nothing like those expectations at all. As fashion’s creative tide increasingly flows toward the decidedly digital and geographically de-centralized, Boyd’s homegrown brand, Frisk Me Good, is riding a most timely wave (even if these entrepreneurial early days may feel like swimming upstream.) With an eye towards sustainability and a visual language rich in hybrid references, Boyd talks to us from her studio in Cleveland, OH about the beginnings of Frisk Me Good, online platforms, and why the streetwear mavericks — innovating industry for the future — deserve their roses today.
We saw that you moved into a new studio space, congratulations!
Thank you so much! It’s been a long time coming, trust me!
Well, let’s talk about that — can you take us to the very beginning?
My fashion journey started with my first retail job here in Cleveland and really my entire life up until then had spent most of my time in school uniforms. That job gave me the chance to explore fashion and from there I started to develop my style. I went to Ohio University and ended up pursuing a major in Retail Merchandising and Fashion product development but it was probably my junior year that I realized that I wanted to be a designer. Since my school didn’t have any design programs, I knew it was up to me to figure it out. Let me tell you those first pieces were not constructed correctly at all! I still shot them and it actually looked great in the pictures and I thought, okay this is better. After I graduated from Ohio University, all I wanted was to be a fashion designer, but I was also in Cleveland Ohio and this is not a fashion city, so how was I going to make this move happen?
My sewing skills still weren’t great but I had started putting up content when I saw an ad for Depop. It really had a cool twist and I felt like I could relate to the people I saw using the platform. It wasn’t that long after that, about a month, before I got my first sale and with that confidence, I started posting more things. At first, it was only thrifted pieces, then upcycled pieces, and then I ended up putting my own designs. When I was featured on Depop’s explore page, that was when people really discovered Frisk Me Good. Depop is the reason why my brand has been able to grow the way it has because they gave me a platform, always put my work on the explore page, and gave me opportunities to shine.
Frisk Me Good is a name that you actually chose for yourself first, before turning it into a brand. Why “Frisk Me Good”?
Even before 2012, maybe 2010, I never had a solid social media name. I ended up going through songs and found one by Rihanna called “Rockstar 101” (I LOVE Rihanna). The lyrics go, “make sure you frisk me good / check my panties and my bra” and I thought…”Oh, Frisk Me Good, I like that!” At the time, I could never imagine that it would grow into a brand.
“Frisk Me Good” has such a strong and unique energy, who do you think is drawn to your pieces?
I think FMG appeals to people with a flamboyant style, who love to stand out and who take their style as part of their identity. Style makes them feel whole, which is how I feel.
So many of your pieces remind me of 90’s Mugler and Margiela, in that the person who wears them can’t feel anything other than self-possessed. Who would you say are your style influences?
Obviously Rihanna!
Obviously!
She’s always been a fashion icon for me! Another person is Patrick Kelly — I love his boldness, he represented that through his fashion line and with passion.
When the day comes for Her Highness, Rihanna to don one of your pieces, what will you create for her?
I would definitely want her to wear a super iced-out Air Force One bodysuit. It would be black and have chains for laces and spiked studs on the bra top. Or you know, whatever she wants…Whatever you want, Rihanna!
You refer to yourself as a fashion engineer as opposed to a designer though, can you talk about that distinction?
When I construct clothes, I see it as a puzzle — something to be unlocked. That’s also along the lines of what engineering means to me as far as figuring out how something works. I’m constantly figuring things out.
What does that process look like?
The way I do things is very untraditional, I really just cut and do what feels right. It’s very organic and I don’t even do sketches. I’ll actually sketch after I make a piece but everything is all in my head. I let the materials give me the story instead of the other way around.
Because you are working with materials taken from repurposed sneakers — and as you are young and Black — do you notice a tendency for people to want to label FMG as a streetwear brand?
Yeah, I definitely do, I call it streetwear myself. It’s part of my culture as a Black woman and I feel that it’s important to keep streetwear alive. Streetwear has given so many iconic styles that are relevant today so I think it is important to represent that.
We don’t always associate sustainability with streetwear and yet that’s so central to what you do. Can you talk about what sustainability means for you as an emerging streetwear designer?
I started upcycling before I even knew I was upcycling. When I graduated, I had no money! I was looking at all of the fancy fabrics and was so hurt that I couldn’t afford them! That was frustrating at first, but I realized that the best thing for me to do was to utilize what I already had. At the time, I was working out of my attic and that was a thrift store in itself. I was able to turn whatever I found there into pieces. When I got further into my journey, I realized that I really needed to stick to those roots.
How will you remain committed to sustainability as you grow?
I’m working on making my business more circular as far as making sure that none of the material is thrown away — everything from soles to fabric scraps. This can all at some point be recycled or donated or sold, but I want to get to the point where literally nothing is being thrown away.
You have come such a long way from thrifting to clothing construction; how would you describe embarking upon that ambitious journey?
It was intimidating…it IS intimidating! I think back to the first fashion show I ever did. Later, I found out that people were criticizing a lot of the work. That hurt but I was like, okay, I’ll get better. I practiced every single day, every single day I knew I needed to be doing this.
I’ve been lucky enough to have resources in my city; there’s a place here called Globe Sewing Machine where I got all my industrial machines and they helped me figure out which machines I needed to get for what. It’s definitely intimidating but it’s worth it.
It’s pretty impressive that you learned from critiques of your previous shows; like Erykah Badu, most artists are profoundly sensitive about their shit. How did your most recent show go?
The last fashion show was so awesome, it was the biggest show I’ve done so far. We had it here in Cleveland at this place called The Madison which used to be an old roller-skating factory that they turned into an event space. That was in January and obviously, it was difficult with the pandemic but I felt like that group show kicked off the year and gave people hope. It was amazing, we had choreography, a little vogue thrown in there too! At the end, it felt so good because I also created that experience for local and even regional designers who had never had that before.
Obviously outfitting Riri is a priority but beyond that, where do you imagine FMG going in the next five years?
I imagine FMG as a household name and growing my collection into a globally recognized brand. I hope to be able to show my designs to the world…I want to be happy and live comfortably and do what I love. That’s really all that I care about, doing what I love and being happy.
Cierra Boyd was recently selected as a recipient of Depop’s Now Next program, an initiative offering a 6-month mentorship aimed at creating greater visibility for fashion’s emerging generation of independent designers. Embodying a growing fashion culture “that’s kinder to all people and the planet,” Depop will also go behind the scenes, documenting Boyd’s creative process as she builds pieces for Frisk Me Good. This exclusive peek will culminate in the debut of the designer’s first, limited edition Frisk Me Good sneaker (available via Depop.) We can’t wait! In the meantime — like us — you can shop FMG’s current assortment at www.friskmegood.com, www.depop.com, or trillmarket.com.
