A Closer Look at Bricks & Wood's New Balance Collab
Dani Barraza on how the collaborative 57/40 bridges heritage & the future.
Dani Barraza never expected to be working on a monumental collaboration with legendary footwear brand New Balance. After all, it was only a few years ago she threw out her original career plan for something she truly believed in: Kacey Lynch’s South Central LA-born and based Bricks & Wood. “I just knew it was the right move; now look at where we are,” she says, on the verge of the company’s biggest collaboration to date: a New Balance sneaker.
While evaluating whether or not fashion was the end game for her, an interview with Lynch quickly transformed into day one of work. She’d soon become the first full-time employee and eventually the COO of the brand. Today Barraza laughs when she recalls Lynch sharing that, at this point, she could do everything wrong and it wouldn’t matter because her loyalty and alignment with the brand are unmatched.
Below, Barraza opens up about Brick’s & Wood’s first major sneaker collab, her career journey and more. Discover the Bricks & Wood x New Balance 57/40 here.
What does the New Balance collaboration mean for the brand and you personally?
The New Balance collab is definitely the biggest project we've ever worked on. Obviously the shoe itself is a very special part, but I think the moments leading up to it are, too. This project has brought a lot of first-times for everyone on the team. It was our art director Kev’s first shoe design. It was Kacey's first billboard.
This project itself has really elevated us, and I'm excited to have everyone see it and see what happens next.
How has the concept of collaboration, particularly with the release of the New Balance collab, impacted the trajectory of the brand?
It’s huge for where we are now. I feel like I've seen streetwear change a little bit when it comes to supporting one another. People are a lot more comfortable with lifting each other up, giving people advice and giving others a connection. People used to keep everything to themselves, but we have always collaborated with like-minded individuals, those who are willing to share. Without that, we wouldn't be where we are now.
Kacey always brings everything full circle. He worked at Tanner Goods for a long time prior to doing Bricks & Wood. We were able to do a collaboration with them, and what a big full-circle moment it is to go from Kacey working for this company to now collaborating with them. They were really willing to let us have full creative liberty.
Another special moment was the collaboration we did with URLA. That's when we did the Support Your Homies T-shirt, which turned into a huge moment. It started off as a simple graphic T-shirt collab, and it became a hashtag and a movement. People were reposting the graphic in general saying, “support your homies,” for their own events. To this day, I see people hashtagging and talking about supporting your homies, and it’s still one of our top-selling graphics.
You’re the COO of Bricks & Wood. What does that look like for a streetwear brand? Can you walk us through your responsibilities and what an average day looks like for you?
Bricks & Wood isn’t a very traditional company. As the chief operations officer, I'm supposed to be handling daily operations, but here, every single person on the team does a little bit of everything. Production, marketing, designing—we all have our hands in the pot. Sometimes I'm packing orders, sometimes Kacey's packing orders. It's an all-hands-on-deck type of work environment.
Can you walk me through a little bit of your path from intern to now?
I was working for another brand prior to this, and I stopped working there and told myself I was going to take a break from fashion. I didn't know what I really wanted to do. Bricks & Wood was kind of new. They had just done ComplexCon in 2018. That's how I came across them. I think it was only Kacey at the time.
Something in me was, like, “Let me just go to the interview and see what this is about.” I was really nervous, and I was asking everyone about Kacey. I didn't really know much about him; I just knew the brand.
The moment my interview started, it turned into a conversation. We just hit it off. Kacey was, like, “Can you start today? We're doing a shoot today. Can you take some photos of me and my grandma and my dad for this upcoming drop?” I was like, “Okay, let's do it.”
Prior to the interview, I told myself I would not be interning anymore because I had already paid my dues. All [Kacey] could offer was an intern position. I knew this was really not what I wanted, but I really believed in this. I thought it'd be worth it and that this was something I wanted to be involved in.
I was interning a few days out of the week and working at another job as well. Eventually, I became the first full-time employee, and I was able to leave my other job, which is such a blessing. And here I am today, COO.
What has your experience been like as a woman in streetwear, a male-dominated space?
I feel like I have a unique experience. My immediate workplace is beautiful. I'm fully respected and it's like I work with big brothers. If anyone ever comes into the space being disrespectful, they're quick to defend me. I'm very, very, very fortunate.
However, working in the industry, you deal with men. Being a woman in streetwear is like being a woman in everyday life. This is just how it is. The biggest thing that bothers me is when people discredit you for being a woman. Like, I've heard, and it has been said to me, “She only got that position because she's a girl, because she's pretty.” It’s even been said by women.
That’s the thing about there not being that many women in this industry; women are locking down their position so hard, sometimes they don't even want to open up these conversations. It’s like their positions are threatened. It is what it is, but we all know there's always a boss bitch behind the best brands out here.
Looking back on your time from when you first started, do you have a favorite moment or a particular shoot?
Every day is a really good day at work, but for our past holiday shoot, we went to Utah, and it was one of the coolest experiences ever. We stayed in a cabin in the woods. We had the whole team with us. We had terrible service, so it was just a whole week of us really interacting with one another. There were many times where I’d look around, like, “Wow, this is really my workspace. This is my team. This is so peaceful and so calm. Everyone gets along so well.”
We always go back to talking about Utah because it was just such a peaceful, slower experience, which is kind of crazy because we were shooting the whole time. It ended up being our biggest collection ever and our best drop to date.