Setting himself apart from the rest, rock musician and denim aficionado Ron Poisson, Commander of the Cult of Individuality lifestyle brand, has carved his niche in the far-left fashion highway lane, where all the rebels reside.

With this year’s impeccably-curated first fashion show under the creative direction of Mykel C. Smith Creative, Cult’s presence took its frenzy from the street to fashion week resulting in a well-deserved boost in attention.

Musa Jackson, editor of Harlem’s Ambassador digital magazine, referred to Cult of Individuality as “the perfect mix tape” during his podcast with the style influencer. Any lover of the perfect mix tape can countersign the adage of play, rewind, repeat. In the world of fashion, theory is paramount. In the case of Cult, its rationale exudes acquire, wear, live…REPEAT!

May we all be audacious as Ron Poisson, who recognizes that our differences do not divide us, but moreover, our commonalities unite us and usher in our common ground. All hail the Cult!

Talk to me about Cult of Individuality, the brand- and the inspiration behind the name and the logo.

When I started in Spring 2008, I came up with the concept that “denim is a cult phenomenon,” and beyond doubt, one of the backbones of American fashion. What’s unique about denim is this: we can all wear the same exact pair of jeans…but the way we style, accessorize, and adorn them makes it very individual to who we really are. The name “Cult of Individuality” was conceived from this mere thought-process. Simultaneously, I was looking for a philosophy, a way of life. I wasn’t looking to tattoo my name as a designer brand on the garments. That’s just not me. I wanted to embody the essence of who I am as a non-conformist. I don’t follow the rules nor play by them in terms of what a textbook designer would adhere to.

I was very fortunate as a child that my parents were very patient and allowed me to experiment and express myself through my wardrobe. It was encouraged. I have always had a rebellious nature and Cult of Individuality is for everybody that communicates an inner beauty, not an outward appearance that complies a go with the flow to the status quo. The non-conformist, the anarchist, the unorthodox, the artists, the creatives…those are the people that the energy of the brand gravitates towards.

The logo revolutionized the brand. I wanted to imagine and identify its significance without using the name, as Cult of Individuality is a mouthful and everyone now affectionately refers to the brand as simply “Cult.” From my hand sketch to illustrator, the logo became a game-changer for us.

Your designs are a marriage of influences from punk to rock, hip- hop and skater culture. Was this your targeted audience from the inception?

No, I wouldn’t say that it was. I think, as with everything, it’s a trial-and-error process. For me, growing up as a surfer from Rhode Island, my first job was in the surf industry with Ocean Pacific. That was the business that taught me that there needs to be a living, breathing soul to the brand; a lifestyle culture that people can say: “Wow! I want to be a part of what that brand is doing!”

We weren’t sure what it was going to initially be; we had to find our own process. I was a surfer, a skater, owned a motorcycle and had my music, so all these things are cult phenomena, and I built the brand around that personality. The brand took off in the music world quite rapidly and organically via word of mouth. All classifications of music embraced the brand harmoniously without me ever making claim to being a musician. We crossed so many genres of music and ethnicities, unexpectedly without any stereotypes by any means. We work with musicians of all varieties – dressing and styling them for concerts, tours, and music videos. Stylists frequent our showroom daily to pull our apparel or request customization. Our feather in the cap is that our brand is being worn daily. It’s influential, and we’re tagged on social media platforms. The quality of Cult is the one word we hear time and again, and that, for the longest time, was the element we constructed our brand upon.

Music and your accomplishment as a musician undoubtedly inspired your brand. Before Cult, may you share a fragment of your career trajectory?

I was very good at art as a student and was accepted at the Rhode Island School of Design – but decided not to attend. I always had an affinity for the ocean and wanted to be a Marine Biologist, so I pursued Marine Biology at the University of Rhode Island, but subsequently modified to a double major in Art and Marketing. While in college, I created my own custom T-shirt business and sold to the local surf shops. My first job was at Ocean Pacific in sales. I was so blessed to attain the knowledge I learned from OP on the business side. I then moved on to a company called Fleet Street. Soon thereafter, I moved forward with my then-boss to initiate a women’s outerwear line called Zero Exposur. After a year, I was prodded away to work for the brand Mossimo and during that time, we were on fire! I learned so much about the business of retail. After Mossimo was sold to Target, I had some down time but eventually went to work for a company in Soho that was looking for a National Director of Sales. I was responsible for selling $7 tees of the popular, old school series Fat Albert. The company had just acquired the license from its creator Bill Cosby. Due to popular demand at the time, I sold the hell outta those tees, raking in a whopping $12-13 million on my own. I blew it out the water! After this, I took the company’s Varcity sportswear line – inspired by Michael Jordan when he attended UNC – and presented it to a friend I knew buying for Dr. Jay’s. I was hands-on with this project for seven years and that was really where Ron Poisson as a creative leader, designer, sales manager, pioneer of a new brand was scratched. That’s where I made my name in the business. From there, I assisted with the brand Azure and ran that for seven years, and progressed on to a skater brand named Smack for a while. After traveling to Asia and working with the factories and reworking the last brand I would work for, Anonymity, I eventually brainstormed the idea of Cult of Individuality.

Was the denim space a hard territory for you to embark on?

When we were launching Cult, we started pre-selling Fall of 2008 at the trade shows. Back then, the economy was in a downward spiral. We began to ship first quarter of 2009, and business was atrocious. My idea was to launch better than my competition, outdo their price point and still compose a premium quality jean. My objective was to offer a triple margin at whole price, which was unheard of back then and I was able to get into retail stores, where business was great for them, that would have never considered my line. I was able to show them a product that didn’t compromise the integrity of their store and they knew at the end that,  even with a markdown, they would still double their profit. It was a win-win situation. There were many silver linings. It was a growing process and a roller coaster ride. It still is a roller coaster ride. I’m from the East Coast and my relationships and alliances were here on the East Coast, so the line took off strong. It resonated in the Midwest but it took the West Coast more time to catch on. We navigated some hiccups, but our reputation, the aesthetic,  our conscious effort to build and build and build and me selling myself, not a pair of jeans… that’s been our success factor.

In terms of the design space, do you prefer traditional illustrations or newer digital mediums?

There are three of us who design. I’m an old school guy: I prefer free hand. I animate my ideas directly on the garments and the patternmakers love it! It’s more preferred over a tech pack. We use a combination of both. My designers are magicians and most definitely have their pulse to the streets!

In your opinion, what is the difference between fashion and style?

Style is a personal and individual take on fashion. Fashion is what they are telling us we should wear. The trends. Style is what we do with fashion! It’s how we say something!

Web: www.cultofindividuality.com

IG: @cultofindividuality