Freedom Rave Wear Is the New Face of Rave Fashion

Rave fashion, at its core, is self-expression. Donning rave attire at Insomniac events allows our Headliners to reflect their personalities and genuine selves in ways that they may not be able to otherwise, and the very heart of our beloved dance music culture beats to the anthems of such freedom.

The focus here is on the individual; the originality, uniqueness and eccentricity that rave fashion gives our fans is unparalleled. Clothing trends in the dance music scene have come and gone through the years, but the liberty to choose your style and illustrate your personality remains untouched—and that, fundamentally, is what makes fashion in this culture so special. Whether you’re rocking furry pants, spirit hoods, rave bras, kimonos or luminescent shoes, it’s safe to say that freedom of expression never goes out of style.

Meet Michael and Alyssa, the power couple that is redefining the way rave gear is created, customized and sold. Inspired by the compliments they received and the friends they made through their custom outfits at Nocturnal Wonderland in 2014, Mike and Alyssa decided to take things up a notch. Soon after, Freedom Rave Wear was born, and these two were taken for the ride of their lives as they watched their business grow and become a success.

Having made its big Insomniac debut at Beyond Wonderland SoCal last month, Freedom Rave Wear is poised to become the next big thing in rave fashion. And by making each item fully customizable, Mike and Alyssa essentially give their customers total creative direction to dictate how they’d like their outfits to look. We caught up with the busy duo following Beyond to dig deeper into their story.

How did you meet?
Mike: We met at Iona College in New York. Alyssa was a Division 1 volleyball player majoring in chemistry, and I was a Division 1 soccer player majoring in international studies. We split before Alyssa graduated, but we were apparently destined to reconnect—during my senior year, I caught wind of Alyssa being in town for an alumni game. My buddy messaged me that he saw Alyssa at the college bar with friends, so I rushed over to see if I could catch her before she left. We instantly hit it off again and started dating long-distance for the rest of the year. Soon after, I moved to San Diego so we could be together once again.

What inspired Freedom Rave Wear? How and when did the idea come about?
Alyssa: Insomniac, and the Headliners we met, inspired us to create our business. Our first event was Nocturnal Wonderland 2014. I put together a couple’s “fire and ice”-themed outfit for the event, and we received a ton of compliments on our attire. We took lots of photos with other Headliners and made loads of new friends in the process. After that, we were hooked! After being asked a few times about the source of our outfits, we began to seriously consider making clothes for others. We were totally set on festival fashion as a means of connecting with others. Our festival experience was enhanced by our fashion.

M: Our official aha moment happened at the bottom of the hill at the San Manuel Amphitheater that day, and at that moment we decided to create a clothing company that would give others the opportunity to experience the excitement, friendships and fun that we did at that first Nocturnal.

A: If you think about our digital experience as millennials, you’ll notice that we aren’t afraid to like or recognize something—all it takes is a tap on social media to give recognition or praise. This act is easy to recreate digitally, but it’s void of the emotional satisfaction that both parties receive when someone compliments a stranger on his or her outfit in person, you know? Headliners are all about giving praise, and fashion can be your icebreaker! We’ve definitely experienced it, and our customers now have, too. Rocking your festival in unique style is a cool way to meet people and generate positive vibes.

M: We are social animals, but people increasingly report loneliness in their lives. Festivals are great chances for everyone to practice connecting—it is a habit, like any, and you have to practice to keep it up. Just as Insomniac festivals bring people together, fashion can help bring them even closer. Some of our best friends we’ve met through the clothes we made for them, and we hope to meet a lot more great people through the work we do. It feels good.

A: We had no idea what we were in for—creating a fashion brand from scratch—but we had the legal documents drawn up and formalized within a week of that first Nocturnal. We really jumped in head first!

You didn’t have any clothes manufacturing experience at all before starting this business?
A: Not at all. I have a degree in chemistry; I’d never really made anything before making this company! And now, I own four different types of sewing machines, and I can pretty much make anything you throw in front of me.

M: It’s been such a learning experience—not just from the design, manufacturing and getting supplies side of things, but also in terms of navigating the digital landscape of operating a business.

Out of the two of you, how do you split your work? Have you independently specialized in certain aspects of running a business to be able to work together?

M: Alyssa usually handles manufacturing, custom orders and customer service. I handle the online presence, marketing, accounting, and day-to-day business operations. Together, we share tasks that include festival prep, social media, and photo shoots.

A: We have a good system worked out that allows us to leverage our individual strengths to maximize our efficiency, and have excellent interns and friends that we rely on to pull these events together. We assign tasks based on what people like to do, and so far it’s working out well.

Can you tell us a little about the production process of your products?
A: All of our clothing is handmade in our shop, so there are multiple methods of production, depending on the types of orders. If we’re aiming to build our inventory leading up to an event, we head straight to the L.A. Fashion District to pick up anywhere between 30–100 yards of fabrics and other materials. After an entire day of shopping around, it’s maximum cutting and sewing mode back at the house. Mike often helps with the cutting, and I do all of the sewing.

M: When it comes to something like the rave bras, Alyssa does all of the designing and production. Custom outfits are her favorite part of the business; it is our specialty, after all! She puts a lot of care into each bra and outfit, because for her, there is nothing more rewarding than making your customer feel special and beautiful. I think she could probably remember the name of every customer she’s designed a custom outfit for.

That’s amazing. Can you describe the customization process a bit more?
A: We both believe that raving is about being free, and in the spirit of that freedom, we wish everyone to have the chance to wear something they feel expresses their soul. That’s why we want to share liberty and creativity with our customers! We make designs that we like and share them with our clients—but if you have ideas for other designs, just shoot us an email, and we will try our best to make something exactly to your taste. The best email address to reach us for custom orders is [email protected].

How has the concept and business grown since you began? How do you anticipate it evolving and/or growing in 2016?
M: The business concept has definitely undergone some changes since we began. We started the business very impulsively, but now our plans are detailed, and our strategy more developed. In the beginning, we used social media as much as possible to reach out to potential customers and secure orders. Instagram was an essential tool to building the brand. We also attended as many festivals as possible, wearing the most elaborate costumes we could create—we considered the outfits we wore to festivals our marketing budget! We used those opportunities to meet other Headliners, share our story, and introduce them to our company. We went everywhere we could in SoCal, even nightclubs, so that Alyssa could show off new club designs of hers. People seemed to like festival fashion merged with clubwear—our best-selling rave bra was actually created for a Slander show in Downtown San Diego.

A: As we have grown, our ambitions have as well: While we used to provide exclusively made-to-order products, the demand has grown so that we’ve started carrying an inventory of our favorite designs, ready to ship immediately. We also only recently started the festival circuit—something that’s been successful for us—so we will continue to expand that aspect of our business as much as possible.

What are some other upcoming events you’ll be selling merchandise at?
M: As far as growth goes, we anticipate a great year. We expect to have around 20 festivals that we will be a part of for 2016. We’ve sold our products at Decadence AZ, Crush AZ, LED Anniversary and Beyond Wonderland, and still to come are Phoenix Lights, LED USA, and EDC New York. We have hopes of making it to EDC Las Vegas, as well—stay tuned on our Instagram page for updates!

How did your Insomniac debut at Beyond Wonderland go down?
M: The fact that we had the chance to show our products alongside Insomniac—the very entity responsible for that fledgling idea of a company we now call Freedom Rave Wear—was unreal! There are no words that can describe the gratitude and honor we both felt being able to display our products at the bottom of the same hill where we came up with the concept 18 months ago.

A: Our experience with Headliners at Beyond Wonderland was amazing. We had received some custom orders for a couple girls attending the festival, and it’s really special seeing customers show up wearing our products. Everyone here has a story to tell. We’ve had tons of people come to our booth; we hear their background and their story. We’ve had tears shed right here in this booth tonight. We had a girl come in here and tell us about how her mother had passed away recently, and this was the first time she’d been back in the scene since then, and how Beyond was propelling her to stay positive and keep moving forward. She and I really connected.

M: We love seeing customers come back to hang out with us in-between sets, and making friends and connecting with people is easily the best part of these events. And the reaction to our products was even better than we expected!

A: Freedom Rave Wear—I mean, what is it? It’s freedom. It’s what I would do if I wanted to be open, confident, and unconfined by the norms of society. We wear our gear out everywhere, and I don’t think I’ve bought a club outfit since we started this.

Is there anything new or special you’d like to highlight?
M: Totally—we have a new line of complete outfits and kimonos that people are loving so far, as well as a lot of new rave cutout bottoms. Also, the assassin hood line has many new styles! If you sign up for our newsletter, you will get notified of the latest products and specials. The code FREEDOM will give you free shipping on your first order.

To learn more and see the full Freedom Rave Wear collection, visit their website.

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