Can you describe your background and journey that led Ooh Baby to where it is now?
As a small-town girl the biggest dream I had, was to live in New York one way or the other. Graduating high school in 2016, led me to Wagner College in the pre-med program and on the soccer team. After experiencing New York firsthand and meeting artists and designers my age, I realized that was a possibility for me too. I began painting again, my only experience being in art classes. After my first year, I decided to leave school based on a feeling that I was onto something. It started with my dad's old shirt and a free sewing machine from my best friend's mom. I painted on the pocket one of my now signature character styles which led to a fashion show in Pittsburgh on January 20th, 2018. This date was also my 20th birthday. This date is now the anniversary of the brand. The name of the collection, Ooh Baby!, caught everyone's attention. Three years of selling at a street market in Pittsburgh and meeting customers allowed me to open my first storefront in the city. After a year of operating that amazing shop, I was able to move to New York through opportunities from a stockist called Art To Ware and a non-profit, ChShaMa. I was granted a shop in the West Village located at 21 Greenwich Ave. I’ve had this shop for a year and a half which has served as a great place to get my feet off the ground here. In the beginning of 2023, I increased the team and opened up a studio in Brooklyn. We started to focus on the four pillars of the brand which are expressive, fun, street, and sustainability. All the upcycled items are made in the studio. The collections are produced in many places, but always with a focus on sustainability. I’m really proud to say I created this brand out of an idea and a burning passion to survive off it. I truly love sharing my imagination with the world.

What is your design philosophy or style, and how does it influence your work?
I am like a sponge of inspiration!! It’s a passion of mine to wear and work with a lot of colors and express my style every day. My philosophy is that the rest of the world should incorporate this too. I’m so tired of the dullness in ready-to-wear fashion that I see every day! My style is pop meets bubblegum dream meets playful New York City Streetwear.

Can you provide examples of your previous work or collections that you are particularly proud of? What inspired those designs?
Yes! My current collection is the pieces I’m most proud of, especially the upcycled jeans. My team and I upcycled 400 pairs of Levi’s 501 jeans with multiple designs. All of the upcycling is done at our Bushwick studio. My favorite designs shown here are the Snap jeans, which allow you to snap on and off patches to create your own look. We will have continuous patch releases you can purchase so that you can keep the same pair of jeans and always reinvent them.

What is your process for creating a new collection, from concept and sketching to selecting materials and producing the final pieces?
The current collection began with adventuring the Brooklyn streets and taking pictures. I printed out those pictures in a large format and painted on them using characters and motifs from my imagination and inspiration around me. Through this process, I decided on the colors and verbiage I wanted to incorporate into the collection. Two of the faux sherpa coats each have one of these paintings as the lining! I call this collection Imagination Activation.

How do you handle creative blocks or challenges in the design process, and what strategies do you use to overcome them?
There's a few tricks I implement. If I'm experiencing a block, I like to paint whatever flies around in my brain with no pressure to execute in a certain way while blasting my favorite songs. Additionally, I like to upcycle. It makes me feel good, and I really enjoy working with existing items. I’ll visit art galleries or museums to inspire my ideas. I believe feedback from customers and people who come into the Ooh Baby store is crucial. Also, we live in New York City so a wild adventure is just a subway ride away. I luckily have a great team that is around to help collaborate with me when I'm pondering my designs.

How do you balance the need for creativity and artistic expression with the practical aspects of producing fashion that is marketable and wearable?
I want to grow the brand into a household name and stay true to my colorful, upbeat, and energetic styles. It’s important to me to design clothes that add some flare to your wardrobe. We’ve seen enough basics to last a lifetime, and I just don’t fit into the typical mold of a designer. Ooh Baby adds value to the fashion industry by incorporating concepts that are meaningful and playful into ready-to-wear items. In terms of marketability, the collections are affordable so they are accessible to purchase. Some sort of magical and thought-out balance goes into the entirety of the collection when it comes to design so I hope there is a piece that resonates with you.

Fashion is an industry with a significant environmental impact. How do you incorporate sustainability and ethical practices into your design and production processes?
As I said before, sustainability is one of the key pillars of the brand. Upcycling has been in our DNA since the very beginning. Creating clothing that has less negative impact on the environment was and is our next goal. Using materials like organic and recycled fibers is an example, at the same time, we are looking into production methods that also have a lower impact. There are a few sustainable drops, we currently have a project where we dye upcycled jeans through a natural process with a Philadelphia company that we will release in December. We are learning about sustainability all the time. This is not an easy or low-cost process, but I am convinced through our efforts our customers are able to contribute to a change in the fashion industry's impact on the environment. If enough people and enough brands commit themselves to being sustainable, the cost of operating sustainably will go down, and more brands will be forced and able to do the same.

Website: https://oohbabybyanika.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oohbabybyanika/

Tearsheets by Alexa Dyer, Graphic Designer, PhotoBook Magazine

Anika Ignozzi, Creator of Ooh Baby, Delves Into the Artistry Behind Crafting Her Brand