“Scrapbook clothes”: Meet Club Innocent, the offbeat knitwear label stocked at RTTS.land
IMAGE VIA @RTTS.LAND/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“Girly, sexy, playful, odd and spontaneous.”
Chinese designer Ying Feng started making her own pieces in the depths of the 2020 lockdown. Taking a leave of absence from her fashion design studies at Parsons, New York, Ying went home to visit her family in Shanghai. As a self-professed hoarder of craft materials, Ying started making bags and earrings with some of the beads and fabric scraps left over from other projects.
Later she’d meet Niamh, the owner of Sydney-based boutique RTTS.land, at Parsons. “She suggested I start a label, saying she could work with me on the business side. I felt excited about the idea and it was great timing… Honestly, I wouldn’t have done it without her,” she says.
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Ying’s label Club Innocent is now a favourite at RTTS.land, loved for its bright colours, offbeat designs and unexpected textures. Below, she speaks on the label’s journey so far.
Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?
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Hi! I’m Ying, a Chinese designer. I came to New York to attend Parsons’ Fashion Design MFA program a couple of years ago. After I graduated, I stayed in New York. Now I’m working at Collina Strada as a textile designer. Occasionally I work on my own projects.
How did the label get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.
It started in 2020 in Shanghai, during COVID. I took a leave of absence from school and went back home at that time. I’ve loved hoarding craft materials since I was a kid, so there is lots of stuff at home. As I started to have free time, naturally ideas came to me and I started making bags and earrings with some leftover beads from my previous projects.
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At that time, I was also thinking about my messages to the world as a creator due to the experience at the Parsons course, which opened my world. I was talking to a friend I previously met at my internship at Shushu/Tong. She loved the things I created and felt connected with my values.
She suggested I start a label, saying she could work with me on the business side. I felt excited about the idea and it was great timing. That’s how it was started. Honestly, I wouldn’t have done it without her push. I met Niamh, the owner of RTTS.land, at Parsons.
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She was into my stuff… and asked to stock Club Innocent when she was preparing for the opening of the store. That’s when I started to get more exposure and connect to a creative community in Australia. It also helped me to keep motivated and sustain my practice. I’ve been very grateful for her support.
The challenge is marketing… I still find it hard to execute by myself, like reaching out to people and posting content online. That’s why I enjoy working for other people at the moment – I can just focus on making clothes.
What were you trying to achieve from the project at the time? How has this evolved and what are you trying to communicate through the brand now?
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The name Club Innocent comes from the idea of erasing shame. I have struggled with my body image for a long time, and I’m still on the journey of learning to love [my body]. Coming to America, where people are more comfortable with different body types, inspired me a lot.
Niamh has a big influence on me too. She’s glowing with confidence. At Club Innocent, although most of the clothes have been one of a kind, I always try my best to make them accommodate different body types by using loose knits, ruching techniques and adjustable structures.
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Sexuality is another [area] I wanted to explore. This society, historically built upon the values of heterosexual men, puts so many judgements on how we dress ourselves. They decide what’s sexy but then put shame on it. Isn’t it so fucked up? So I had this idea of building a community where everyone… [is] free to be whoever they are and dress however they want. Like, we own our bodies.
Craft is also vital to Club Innocent. It’s the foundation. I’m obsessed with craft. It’s fun, therapeutic and emotional, something very core to my existence. Craft has such a long history and is across all cultures, I believe in the value of it greatly.
How would you describe your label to someone who’s never seen it before?
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It’s girly, sexy, playful, odd and spontaneous. My friend once described it as “scrapbook clothes” and I think that’s very close. When I create, I like to add layers of different techniques as I go – dye, knit, sew, patchwork, embroider, bead, etc. I go back and forth between them. I love to play with it and be spontaneous.
What are you most proud of in your work on your label?
I’m proud of my small team. When I started selling the beaded bags and jewellery, I got more orders of them than I could make on my own. My mom and aunties helped me to make them as well as connect the local women in my hometown to work on it together.
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My mom also works as my production manager. I’m so proud that the label could operate in this sustainable way, celebrating the value of craft as well as supporting local people. I’m blessed with their support.
What do you wish you knew when you started?
I don’t feel like there is such a thing! What I didn’t know… [is] that it turned out to be a fun process and a great way to build a community. There were challenges and times when I worried that I couldn’t get enough orders to keep going. But luckily, it’s not a mass production approach and I have my team so I can keep everything chill. I believe in starting small and just letting it happen. I’m amazed by every step I take.
Who is in your wardrobe right now?
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Lots of Collina Strada! It’s my favorite brand and I’m spoiled by the beautiful things I could get by working for them.
How can we buy one of your pieces?
Rtts.Land in Sydney and Porta Via in Guangzhou. You can also DM me on Instagram.
Anything else to add?
Thank you so much for having me. Organizing these words and reflecting on the label through your questions is such a special experience.
Follow Club Innocent for more here.
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