Level 5: An Interview with Roma Cohen of Alchemist
When I first visited Miami’s Lincoln Road Mall, there was only one store that I cared to see: Alchemist. Positioned on the fifth level of a Herzog & De Meuron-designed garage concept, the boutique’s unique location and modern space creates one of the most unique shopping experiences in the world. Founded in 2006 by Roma Cohen, Alchemist was at the forefront of introducing what would become some of the most sought after labels in all of fashion. Creating longtime partnerships with Chrome Hearts, Readymade, Mastermind Japan, Rick Owens, Fear of God, and many more- Alchemist became the fashion hub of South Beach and beyond. Alchemist founded their house label a few years back and have quickly become a mainstay in fashion boutiques throughout the world- with expansive stockist and international pop-up activations during fashion weeks’. Whether it be their world-renowned Boutique or their far-reaching in house label, Alchemist has made a sizable name for itself. We recently caught up with founder & designer, Roma Cohen to discuss the genesis of all things Alchemist. Be sure to read the full interview below.
To begin, for those who are unaware, what is your background in the fashion industry with your store and now a brand, Alchemist?
“Alchemist opened its doors in Miami Beach in 2006 as a conceptual multi-brand retail physical hub. The point was to represent a synergy and presence between fashion design art architecture and culture. And actually, this is the same spirit in which the brand functions today. Alchemist was in many ways the physical version Of all the super hype digital blogs you see on Instagram today. In the pre-Instagram era, our establishment was the one which launched, collaborated with, and wore bought and sold all of these brands. We introduced many of them into the US market and especially the Miami market, Rick Owens by example we cultivated into the Miami market but we were also the largest rick multibrand store in the USA other than a dept store. When we opened as a temporary store in 2006, we were located next to a Subway sandwich store. Our space smelled like bread and pizza while we began to sell labels like Undercover and Rick. When we opened our first store after the temp store, we launched w Dior Homme, Hedi’s last collection. It was a time of innovating the game towards the Avant-Garde. Number (n)ine , MA+, and so many Japanese labels mixed w the majors like Phoebe’s first Celine collection and masters like ALAÏA.
A couple of years later when the recession hit the states we questioned ourselves and our position in the fashion industry. I believed it was to be a weed out period and we had to make a bold move in order to survive and grow through it. That’s when we conceptualized the idea of opening a space in the middle of a Herzog and De Meuron designed parking garage. People thought we were absolutely insane for many many years and still do to open there. But I thought it was a go big or go home time, anyone that experienced that space would certainly not forget it. And it’s what made us.
Fast forward many many years later, and the transitional time began when we pushed our brand into an independent label. Today the brand is still based in Miami with our design studio in Little Haiti where we develop each collection. We work with the best factories around the world from Los Angeles, Japan, and Italy, and the collection is sold in around 100 of the leading stores worldwide today.”
Your store on the fifth floor of the Herzog & De Meuron garage is known for its design aesthetics. How has that space allowed you to collaborate with other bands/artists and what are some of the notable ones to you?
“There were so many collaborative projects that took place at level five as from a design perspective the location is quite unique serving as a perfect backdrop platform for any special project and with our network, we could host some special events w a great crowd. I have to say our first supporter who loved the space as his favorite store worldwide was Richard Stark, the designer and founder of Chrome Hearts. Richard has been an idol of mine since I was a kid when my mother used to sell Chrome Hearts at her stores in Miami called Caron Cherry. We had trunk shows at my house as a child and I was always fascinated with his stories as well as the image of the brand. So CH was the first cult brand I pushed to get at Alchemist at that time. It was something to say that I would never take no for an answer and after years of knocking on the door Richard finally loved the idea of the concept space in the garage and saw it as it was being built. He was our first supporter there and built all the furniture that sat in the space. We were the last store CH opened, 10 years ago and before that, it was Colette for them, 10 years before me. So our first special project and party were together with Chrome Hearts and Barbie, they were many others with them and the family. One time I asked him to build a teepee. So he built one, had a price tag to sell of around 250k I think at the time.
Then, of course, there were some great other notable‘s such as projects with G-Dragon, Colette, Justin Bieber, Playboi Carti, Guess Jeans, Jerry Lorenzo, and some special collaborative projects with Virgil and Chrome Hearts as well as Readymade. One of the best was AIRBALL- A Basketball activation around the sport along with design architecture Art fashion and at this time of 2014, some of the beginning of streetwear into fashion. This was designed by Daniel Arsham’s design firm SNARKITECTURE.
More recently last year we did some special things with the Rolling Stones as well as XXX TENTACION and a super fun Alchemist art cafe in December w FUTURA.”
When did the spark to launch your own independent label begin?
“After so many years of working with our dream brands and dream artists, in the art and design world, we did many projects with Zaha Hadid, etc. We kind of came to a point where we represented just about every brand name or artist we could have ever imagine and we helped to cultivate many brands and to guide them in their journeys to grow into a bigger luxury brand. We did this many times for many years and at one point we said to ourselves, what is next? We always had a desire to build and to innovate and so it was a natural transition for Alchemist to begin its journey as our own independent lifestyle label following all the codes and spirit of Alchemist as well as a core collective community integrated into those codes.”
What are the main influences/ inspirations behind the Alchemist label?
“The inspiration changes each season and often involves the medium around music as an initial inspiration per collection but also the movies and culture I loved as a kid is always there. Aside from this the spirit always remains the same merging high craft with design culture fashion and especially artwork. It is in a sense a curation of our moods and thoughts built into a well-executed product, and built-in the very best way we thought could be possible.”
You frequently collaborate with underground & well-known artists from all sorts of mediums such as Othelo Gervacio & Dr. Woo. How has working with these artists added value to the Alchemist brand and why was it important to have this as a key element in what you guys are doing?
“Alchemist as a concept born over a decade ago was always very much about a community as well as it was about a collective team. I hate the words pop-up and collaborations, but this is what we have always done with the space and the brand is now a secondary platform to further this voice and take that global to not only sit in the garage in Miami. Luckily with our work and many projects over the years, it’s added a humbling tremendous amount of credibility that has helped us in launching the brand a couple of years ago. It was not as much the artist and collaborators we worked with that fuels the growth as it was our entire network of them together with the retailers in our industry that I, fortunately, knew many of them very well for years. Like any other company, building a successful brand entails many many layers. This can include your collective collaborators but more so your factories, your vendors, your agents, your distributors, and your entire network including your friends and family, and anyone that can help to push forward your vision for a successful brand. It’s like baking a cake - you need a lot of layers ready before u go to bake.”
Over the past few seasons I have noticed extreme levels of intricate craftsmanship whether it comes to fabrication, stitch detailing, or even chinchilla lined hoodies- how has this played a key role within the Alchemist design ethos?
“I have personally always been super into high Artisanal craft. Whether it is from leather garment makers like Chrome Hearts or the guys who started the cult leather brands Carpediem or other goods made in the best factories in the world when we created our own brand we thought to only work with these high craft Atelier’s and factory’s worldwide. If we made leather jackets, we made them with Blackmeans. These guys produced leather for Undercover and Junya other than CH they’re the best for leather! Our tweeds are from the factories that make Chanel’s tweed since Coco Chanel. And yes the Fur is the softest one in the animal kingdom. It’s normally used for a little touch on a Chanel purse, never before has it been lined inside a hoodie.
That all said the price points are reflected when you use these high-quality materials and factories. So in an effort to be able to appeal to anyone not just a wealthy demographic, this season we have launched A.LINE ( a capsule of more opening priced jersey pieces w the same great artists to collaborate with as mainline ).”
You have expanded the brand's product categories from clothing to now footwear and other accessories- what does the future hold for expanding into these new territories?
“Sometimes I have a need for speed and other times my feelings shift towards slow and steady wins the race. I don’t think there are any rules for us really you can go fast and sometimes you gotta take a few steps back before taking a few more forward so hitting the brakes can be a good thing for longevity. At the present time with all happening with COVID, I think it’s a slow and steady period again and one more important to think about survival methods that can allow us to eventually grow again, this means trimming fat and not needing a more is more time but a less is more again. I always think very much about a full lifestyle experience and lately, I feel this is more important than launching some new shoes which I don’t believe the world needs that many more of at the present time. The future for me is a question of how to continue a legacy on community and how to adapt this into the New World in new ways.”
Over the past few years, you have been able to build a loyal celebrity clientele some of which you had previous relationships with beforehand. How does it feel to see clients of that caliber interact with your designs on multiple occasions?
“It feels great. In our stores for years we catered to VIP and celebrity clients such as Kanye, Rocky, Rihanna, etc. but we were always pushing other people’s brands which is great for the store but didn’t do much for our name. When I designed our very first garment which was the “Know you Rider” joggers (and continues to be the best seller still today) I thought to myself what would I want to see Travis Scott wearing and performing in if I was styling him like the others in past. So we made these joggers and through my buddy and restaurant/ club owner Dave Grutman, he got Travis wearing them. Not only did he perform in those joggers many times but he often lived in them for some weeks at a time and in every color. So yeah, that one especially was super cool, especially to launch with.”
You just presented your F/W20 collection this January in Paris which featured art by Kosuke Kawamura & more Punk/ Japanese influences- can you expound upon the collection and some of the ideas you wanted to highlight with this collection.
“The spirit of punk is something we not only always represented from the beginning of Alchemist with cult brands like Undercover but it’s something that’s been in my blood since I was a kid and even played guitar in punk bands in high school. We touched on collections inspired by electro music, reggae music, even Elvis Presley and it felt natural to have a collection based around the spirit of punk today. What’s especially fascinating is the ideology itself of punk as a rebel against the system/anarchist, is seen more than ever today and is alive and well in the hip-hop industry where you see people like UZI and our friend & fan Playboi Carti, these guys are the biggest punk stars today. So as an inspiration, punk was clearly in the air and is alive n well.”
Are there any current or future projects that you are currently working on that you can share with us?
“Hmmm. Always cookin in the lab!”
Lastly, what advice would you currently give to individuals wanting to break into or get established within the fashion industry?
“My advice would be to step back and analyze the big picture before jumping into the fashion circus too quickly. Everything is timing and you need to have all your ammo fully ready to fire when you’re ready to finally go to war. This is to say do your research, start working on your best COLLECTION ever, don’t let anything drag you down, and just do it. But don’t bring it to the market and don’t show it to buyers until you are ready. Let others tell you when you are ready and keep building. Start to get your influencers or celebrities to wear your products, build that demand with little supply. Build the ethos of your brand and think about storytelling. Any successful brand today is all about 100% pure authenticity. So don’t become too inspired by all the fashion brands out there, they are all inspired by previous megabrands of their time and nothing is new, really. So you be new for yourself. Try to find inspiration within and how your voice is unique in the market. and then once you fire, don’t sleep.
FASHION MOVES FORWARD, it’s the only way ;)”