Had the opportunity to partner with my good friend Ryan Yere, co- founder of Retour. Also a person who I look into when it comes to trends and color blocking. This guy’s brain is loaded and you’ll see what I mean. Hope ya’ll enjoy!
My name is Ryan Yere, I’m a 22-year-old engineer major currently attending CSULB and co- founder of Retour Corporations. Born and raised in Oxnard California, I’ve always been a product of my environment, it inspires me to live/witness the struggles of South Oxnard. It has built my drive to seek more for myself in hopes to give back to the community in any way I can. Retour was established in January of 2018 in partnership with my good friend Byron Bucao. It’s a vintage/streetwear clothing brand and all-around creative platform to showcase our interest and ideas.
How did you come up with the name?
So, the name manifested from just random conversation honestly. I wish I had a cool back story for it lol, but it was really just happened while talking with my peers. I feel the best ideas start like that anyway; but essentially what Retour stands for is “revisiting a piece of the past” in French. We wanted something that sticks and is completely out of the ordinary while still keeping that vintage root.
What does a typical day look like for you?
A typical day starts with breakfast of course, eggs hotdogs and rice is my go to, or some variant of that. I try to get my workout in as soon as possible then I make it a point to try to get through at least one thrift a day. I end the day with my girlfriend, watching movies and working on graphic designs for future Retour originals.
When a drop is near, how do you prepare for it?
Each drop consists of anywhere from 60-100 vintage pieces, hand-picked by myself and Byron. Once we’ve cultivated a solid amount of product we have a meeting and collectively decide on pricing and margins. We take the time to shoot every piece at our studio to showcase detail, build, and condition to give the consumer an in-depth idea of what they are purchasing. We then take each photo and make it “site ready” this means lightroomed, cropped and sized to fit the needs of the website. For our original pieces we vectorize our graphics and send them to our screen printer to get them finalized. Our cut and sew pieces are hand sewn by yours truly and are made to order. Finally, for every drop we like to go all out for promo, whether it be a photo shoot or promotional video we like to present our product to you in the best way we can.
What made you want to create a brand like this?
Like previously said, it started as a necessity. I would thrift because I always had a love for clothing and could never afford to buy the pieces I wanted, thrifting was my outlet for that. I started to get asked where I would get my clothes and thrifting became an addiction, I was fixated on the thrill of the hunt, the fact that you could find something that no-one else would have was so fulfilling. I used that idea and my personal taste to give everyone a well curated selection of vintage without the troubles of digging for it yourself. As for the original pieces, that manifested because I felt that my closet was missing something, and I wanted to make pieces that would fill that void.
What do we expect Retour to be in the long run?
I want it to still be a thrifting platform but on a bigger scale, hopefully hiring a staff to thrift for us so we have more of an influx of product. But manly, I really want it to branch out for our original pieces. I want to bring quality streetwear to life, emphasizing on cuts and silhouettes. Something that I really feel our brand can thrive on is shape, because I believe how a product fits on your body is more important than a cool graphic.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I see myself working as an engineer full time, while using my assets and funding to fuel Retour. Still continuing to throw events in the community and giving you guys genuine streetwear.
What would you say is the number one key to your success?
To me, I don’t feel I can call it success yet but if I had to owe it to something it would definitely be my family and friends. They support so much, and I think any business needs that to succeed, I’m just fortune enough to have it come from them.
Personal platforms: @Ryan_yere (Insta, Twitter)
Business platforms: @retourco
Rapid Fire:
Favorite artist(s): Art: James Jean, Music: Chris Brown
Favorite athlete(s): Present: Damian Lillard, Past: Kobe Bryant
Favorite sport and team: Basketball, Born and raised Laker fan
Basketball, Born and raised Laker fan
Go to food/snack: Go to food is yellow Tai curry. Not too much of a snack person.
Netflix? Hulu? If so what is it you’re watching?: I have both, on Netflix I’ve been watching All American. I use Hulu for Family Guy and Full House.
Favorite ice cream: Yellow vanilla from La Michoacán
Go to Dance move: The whoa lol
Any words to those who are up and coming?
If I could say anything to an inspiring entrepreneur starting up their own brand, it would definitely be to be genuine. Don’t strive to look or be like any other brand, come up with your own creative ideas because what makes your brand unique is its whole heartedly you in product form. It’s cool to be inspired but take that inspiration and manifest your personal experiences/ideas and present them in your own way. The best products come from meaning and purpose so use your platform to tell your story not anyone else’s.
Thank you all who took the time to read this, hope ya’ll enjoyed! Pics courtesy from the man himself.
Glimpse Life 