Susie Crippen, previous co-creator of J Brand Denim / CEO of new womenswear line RKC
“I don’t really look at what I’m doing as anything new or breakthrough, but as something that’s fundamental to the urban condition of modern cities. If our cities are going to succeed, we have to have some understanding of what it takes to drive economic development. We have to have some sense of what entices people to populate a neighborhood and what brings people together. I mean, it’s a very easy thing to understand, but it’s a very complex spread.
My whole life, I’ve thought that if I could just make enough money to where I would never have to work again, I’d be fine. Well, I did that. Lots of people ask me why I want to start another company when I don’t have to. And I tell them, “You know? I’ve found something that I absolutely love to do, and I’m going to do it.” For me to just go get my nails done, or go horseback riding every day, or to constantly be traveling – that’s not what I want to do. I want to be in a continued conversation with contemporary society. And this company is my voice; this is how I communicate. To take it away is to take away my self-expression. And I have a lot more I want to say.“
I wonder how this idea holds up in a free market economy where your identity comes from your freedom to pick and choose what you want to buy. If we shape our economic development on what brings people together, will that be the same for everyone? Should it be the same for everyone? How will it change the way we run our companies, the way we create, and ultimately, the way we take care of other people? I don’t necessarily have any answers, but Susie’s social vocation or her journey to “do what she loves for others” made me stop and think about the several businesses and creatives that are joining her. Their ideas are very interesting–I don’t think I necessarily agree but more on that another time.
I wonder how her social vocation would translate to other mediums or what kind of identifiers it would have. I don’t have any answers… just questions.
WOMP I got all liberal-artsy on y’all. Read the full article here. Have a great weekend!
