Brandon Blackwood on Dressing Serena Williams and Designing For Starbucks

POPSUGAR: Tons of celebrities have worn your bags on the go, but how did it feel to have your designs worn on red carpets by the likes of Sheryl Lee Ralph and Serena Williams? Are there any celebrities you’d like to wear designs who haven’t yet?

Brandon Blackwood: I freaked out when we got that call. Sheryl Lee Ralph’s iconic Emmy win. The gowns kind of happened by accident the first time, and it just kind of rolled into what it is now. It’s a way for us to kind of step away from our norm and really have fun. I think every time we make a gown, it’s like a huge fantasy happening. And we really get to have fun with it. We also did a custom performance piece for Latto. We’ve done a lot of cool things.

I’ve always wanted to work with Rihanna and Beyoncé, fingers crossed. Also, dressing a celebrity for the Met Gala would be iconic.

PS: Why did you choose to collaborate with Starbucks on these iconic bags?

BB: I feel like if you follow Starbucks or see Starbucks anywhere on social media, they are very much about their community. They’re always expanding and doing new things. I love that these drinks are coming out, the Pink Drink and the Paradise Drink. They’re fan-created and fan-inspired. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see that I’m always asking people what swatches and colors they like, so it made sense that the two brands come together.

PS: Walk us through the design inspiration behind the collaboration and how the pieces came to life.

BB: The Pink Drink and the Paradise Drink started in a cafe, and this is now a more accessible version that’s going to be available pretty much everywhere, including grocery stores. So I wanted an on-the-go, ready-to-go kind of moment. If you see the bag, it’s a sling that holds either the Pink Drink or the Paradise Drink along with your phone, wallet, and keys. It’s fun. It’s bright. It’s very spring, summertime-ish. But at the same time, it’s also functional, which is super important.

PS: What messages were you trying to convey with the Starbucks Sip & Sling bag?

BB: This is Starbucks’s first kind of bag for a drink that’s going to be just ready to sell. So I just wanted to take that kind of ethos and put it into the bag. I want it to be easy to wear yet look chic. You need a grab-and-go bag that’s just like, take it and conquer the day!

PS: It’s not every day that you see accessory brands successfully expand into other categories. What made you want to go into womenswear?

BB: It’s kind of backwards. You normally make the clothes first and then make the accessory. Growing up, I loved my mom’s handbag collection and would always just look at them and be like, “Wow, they’re so cool.” So I think that just stayed with me.

I feel like if you wear a T-shirt and jeans, the bag you wear and the shoes you wear really change that whole outfit. Accessories are very, very important, and they’re a huge part of the overall look. So I’ve wanted to focus on that. And I think now that people have that attraction to us, they have that trust going into outerwear, shoes, and potential ready-to-wear. If you trust us with your shoes and your bags, why not a dress?

PS: What’s the future of the Brandon Blackwood brand? What are you hoping to accomplish next?

BB: I feel like every day of my life is kind of just like a pinch-me moment. What we are doing with womenswear is really bringing a kind of more luxurious undertone to accessible items. My price points are anywhere from $100 to almost $1,000. I’ve always meant to make things that the people around me could purchase. So I think that’s when we were revolutionizing just womenswear. Thank God outerwear and shoes took off well, so they’ll continue on. So whatever is happening in the future, I’m just ready. But I just want to see the brand continue to grow and become what I know it can be over time.