Fashion and skateboarding have always gotten hand in hand, influencing each other tremendously. While some might hate the current mainstream appeal of skateboarding fashion, it’s important to remember not all of it is Thrasher shirts and Dickies pants. Joana Fongern‘s made to order brand, Nayf & Wavey, tells the tale of designs made by a skater, for skaters, but not exclusively. Shaping garments with a unique style, Fongern and her friends seek to impact society’s vision of fashion design by uplifting the voices of womxn and LGBTQ+ folx through Nayf & Wavey.
Interview by Emanuele Barbier – Photos by Kendall Jacob
Video by Olivia DeCapri, Kendall Jacob and Emma Broadbent
Hi Joana, how are you? It’s been a while!
I am good! I know right. It was Malmo in August for Pushing Boarders. Time flies really [laughs]
I know, it’s wild. How was your day?
My day was pretty great. I woke up and worked on my brand because I am creating this new mini collection. I made a mood-board to get into the mood, then I went to work. I work as a barista part-time. After that, I just went home.
Oh! A mini collection! What is it going to be?
It will be just a couple of pieces inspired by flowers, but I can’t say more. [laughs]
I am working together with a friend. I am basing my project on empowering womxn. The goals of all my projects are to work with my friends [that are] queer, non-binary, so we can have a platform to empower womxn. […] That’s what I have been working on for my brand and on the side, I have been doing graffiti stuff and drawing too.
You seem to be super creative, what got you into graffiti?
I like the freedom of it. You can do whatever you want with it. You can create your unique style that people will recognize. In my younger age, I got really attracted to it because you are kind of breaking the law. [snickers]
[…] To me it is like a piece of art. You can use anything as a canvas. It reminds me of the underground scene, of street art, of being different.
Do you remember how you became interested in fashion?
I was in fifth grade when my friend and I started drawing clothing because we thought it was pretty cool. We said we got to have our brand sometime, so we kept on drawing. […]
I think I also got it from my mom, she is really into fashion. I always wanted to do something creative. I thought it was pretty cool to be able to design your pieces. […] You can wear your ideas. Like, I have them, I sew it and then I wear it, so people can see what’s happening in my head. It just blows my mind!
Did you study it?
Yea, I did a bachelor in Munich and a master in London.
It sounds like you travelled a lot. What had the most impact on your style?
New York City! Definitely, New York City. All the different people I met there have impacted the way I create, I design, how I push my brand. I am so glad I experienced this because I tried to find my style since I started fashion, so close to 10 years.
[In school] They always tell you, you have to find your style, you have to be unique, but I couldn’t tell who I was. […] When I moved to NYC, I got so influenced by the skateboarding community and the way people dress with all the different influences. I finally figured it out, what I want to do and who I am.
Skateboarding seemed to have changed you and your work.
Skateboarding has changed my life in so many ways. The way it touched me the most is how women are empowered. […] When I started skating in NYC, the girls took me in and supported me. I saw what real empowerment in the skateboarding scene is like. It made me very creative and inspired. You meet so many people, talking to them and you’re introduced to new topics and ideas.
I didn’t know [skateboarding] could help with mental health, building communities and empowering people. Starting skateboarding in NYC was the best decision I ever made!
You didn’t skate before going to New York City?
[laughs] It’s a funny story. I always wanted to skate but never did. The first time I picked up a board, I was 15 and I lived in Missouri. I used to play junior varsity soccer but I was a little bit afraid [to start] then. So when I moved to NYC, I wanted to try something I had never done before. I started watching the X-Games and Leticia [Bufoni], I got really hyped!
I met some guy at a party and he told me about the Skate Kitchen. I wasn’t sure about it, but I messaged them. That exact day they had a girls session. It was the best decision ever! I learned how to drop-in and met my friends. The girls invited me to go skate and now they are some of my closest friends.
So how did Nayf & Wavey come to be?
I started my brainchild when I did my master’s [degree] collection. Though I stopped it when I moved to NYC and it started flourishing when I moved to Berlin. I couldn’t find a job and I didn’t really want to work for somebody.
I wanted to combine it with skateboarding but I didn’t know how so I created this blog and started interviewing badass womxn skaters. I wanted this to be a space where womxn and the LGBTQ+ [community] can voice their issues, tell their stories about skateboarding and fashion. That’s why I set the focus on creating womxnwear, it’s important that I create for everyone.
So why is it a made to order?
It would be nice if I could have a small quantity of production but I don’t have the money for it yet. [With made to order] you also don’t end up having dead stock. I don’t want to overproduce because it’s a waste and it’s not good for the environment either.
Right now, it gives me creativity. I can play around if I want to use this thread, this fabric or this zipper. In the long run, I would love to do small productions so I can reach more people too.
Can you explain what the process of creating a new collection is like?
I usually do researches and make private mood boards. Then, I figure out what kind of fabrics I want to use and the colour palette. Sometimes, I might also start sketching or doing prototypes. Later, I source the fabric, I start designing and put it up my wall to see if it makes sense. After I figure patterns, I sew it and set my deadline to when I do the photoshoot or maybe a week before.
Tell me more about your project with Kendall and Olivia.
Olivia is one of my closest friends in NYC and Kendall was one of her friends. We kept on meeting in cafes and talking about projects we could do together. I had my master’s collection in New York and I wanted to do something with it.
So, Kendall, Olivia and I came up with the idea to raise more awareness about the queer skateboarding community of NYC by creating a photoshoot and a short video. I wanted to support womxn, queer and non-binary folx and we thought some friends could be interested in these projects.
So do you think fashion can change society?
Yes, it can, definitely. It is one of the most powerful tools you can use to provoke and educate. Back in the days, Coco Chanel invented trousers for women and broke a gender norm, changing society’s view on gender norms. [Fashion] can set the milestones as more brands come and question fashion gender norms.
How is Nayf & Wavey’s womxnwear part of that movement?
It’s very important to me that everyone is included. I don’t want to represent but to create a safe space for others that celebrates intersectional feminism. It’s not just for women, it’s for trans, non-binary and LGBTQ+ folx.
What do you expect for your brand in the future?
Shall I just tell you what my dream “dream” is?
Absolutely, go ahead!
So, I live in NYC, I have my studio in Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan, working with a small team, max 10 people, particularly womxn. I have time to create collections and grow my platform and my blog. It would be cool if I can connect it to skateboarding.
Having a skateboarding school, collaborating with different womxn skateboarders in New York or Los Angeles, like what Briana [King] does. Maybe working with little kids, because they are the future. Teaching them inclusiveness, feminism, gender and self-determination. It could be sewing too. Helping kids from underdeveloped areas how to make their bags and what is upcycling.
That sounds amazing. Now if you could change one thing about the current fashion industry, what would it be?
I would love to stop exploitation and mass production. It’s very tricky though with exploitation because people would lose their jobs. So ideally, it would be paying people more money so they don’t work seven days a week and can go on holiday. Also for mass production, it’s bad for the environment […] It also hurts designers because many people don’t know what it takes to produce a garment.
Feature image: Jason Bard, James Wells, and Andrew Hannaoui.
This interview has been edited for clarity and flow.
