Last month, the Elaine Gold Launch Pad cohort gathered at Camp David in Industry City for lunch with Mazdack Rassi. Rassi spent the afternoon talking to the designers about starting a brand – something he has spent the last 25 years of his career doing.

One of Rassi’s latest endeavors, Camp David, is a hub for young creatives. “We knew we needed our own co-working space for our friends,” said Rassi. There is an open-concept, design-conscious collaborate work area on the ground floor, decked out in sleek furniture, walnut and marble surfaces, and art books. The style evokes some similarities to Rassi’s other creative hub – Milk Studios in the Meatpacking District. The 5^th Floor of Camp David are all offices, and in the basement there is the Maker Space, with cutting tables, sewing machines, and a small studio. Rassi said the Maker Space is loosely based on the Maker Space he helped build at Parsons, where is serves on the Board of Governors.

Rassi started Milk Studios when he was just 25 years old. He recounted a story of the early days when Milk was still being built, in 1997.

“There was this amazing man that showed up in the lobby. His name was Ed Filipowski, who just passed away. I was just this 25-year-old kid in the middle of a construction floor.”

Filipowski, co-chairman of KCD, asked Rassi what was doing there, and told him, “Whatever you do, don’t break this room up.” Filipowski had a designer to show in the space as long as he left the room open and didn’t build walls. “And he said, ‘trust me, Monday I’ll bring him here.’ And Monday a whole group shows up…and Ed walked up to me and said, ‘Meet Calvin Klein.’”

Calvin Klein went on to show at Milk for eight years – 16 shows – and became a key mentor to Rassi. “Those were the early days of Calvin Klein, and he really took me under his wing and helped to put Milk on the map.”

Having mentors is something that Rassi stressed the importance of to the EGLP designers. “That second, third opinion really helps. Get as many mentors as possible – people you admire that you can call every once in a while.”

Milk quickly became one of the top fashion photography studios in the city. But even still, Rassi said, “We didn’t care about the attitude of fashion.” Rassi and the rest of the Milk family befriended all of the photographer’s assistants, makeup artists, and stylists and let them shoot for free on the weekends. “Then in five or six years, they just went to the next level, and that was Milk…that was our crew.”

“I’ve always had a good sense of people. I think that’s been a big part of our success – surrounding ourselves with people that we want to work with, not that we have to. That’s how you get there quicker.”

In 2009, Milk’s next legacy started. Rassi, Jenné Lombardo, and Keith Baptista teamed up to start MADE Fashion Week – 24 presentations, free of charge for designers, funded by MAC – a sort of rebellion to New York Fashion Week, which was then still at Bryant Park. The first season boasted brands such as Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler, Joseph Altuzarra and Band of Outsiders.

MADE was sold to IMG in 2015 and Rassi and his team were ready for their next endeavor. That’s when Milk Makeup was born. The line is cruelty-free, paraben-free and 100 percent vegan. The line’s success was not without hard work and challenges. “For 20 years, Milk has been B2B…and all of the sudden our client was the consumer.”

So how did Milk Makeup go from conception to being Sephora U. S’s #1 Growth Brand last month in four years? Rassi shared that it’s all about community and awareness.

“The middle is where brands die,” he said, adding the most important advice he can give to the designers is to stand for something and drive it. “That’s what we did with Milk Makeup. Make as much noise as possible, then tighten the ship. Tighten the branding. Then scale.” After that, “you don’t care so much about the megaphone – it’s more about the message.”

Technology and social media has lifted the lid off of the fashion industry, Rassi explained – and this of course comes with its pros and cons. “Specialists are people who succeed today in this really noisy, digital world,” he said.

After 23 years, Milk has continued to be a platform for the next generation. “That’s what CFDA does so well too – that’s why we work with you guys,” said Rassi. It’s always been in Milk’s DNA to help young designers and creatives. “All of the kids that work there determine what Milk will be today.” Recently, Milk Studios announced they will be leaving the Meatpacking District in July 2020, for a new home yet to be announced.

Rassi’s parting advice to the designers was: “Keep your house in order. Even when you’re small it’s important, because that’s the foundation you’re going to build your empires on.”