Angela Medlin spent 25 years as a groundbreaking apparel designer in the corporate world. Her design institute, FAAS, aims to train the next generation of diverse designers and creatives.
Angela Medlin is a legendary outdoor and athletic gear designer, with a resumé boasting positions at the Jordan brand at Nike, Adidas, The North Face, Eddie Bauer and Levi Strauss. During her 25 year career, she was often the only person of color in her design department. It’s a big reason she decided to leave the corporate world — instead of working at these brands herself, she wanted to train and prepare the next generation of designers and creatives.
Her new venture FAAS, which stands for Functional Apparel and Accessory Studio, is a design lab, educational institute and more. The program specializes in innovation, applying lessons from athletic apparel to fashion and lifestyle design. FAAS’s upcoming collaboration with REI will introduce young designers to the world of outdoor adventure gear and apparel.
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Shelby Stanger:
While a lot of outdoor adventuring has to do with where we go and what we do, there's another element to it, gear. We all have our favorite things that make getting outside that much easier. Those snowboard pants with the perfect pocket and zippers, the running shoes that are so comfy you wear them around the house, the rain jacket that keeps you dry on a backpacking trip and looks good. As much as we love our gear, we don't often think about how it's created, designed perfectly to fit our needs and solve a problem, and look good.
Shelby Stanger:
Angela Medlin is a legendary outdoor and athletic gear designer. During her 25 year career as a pioneer and problem solver, Angela was often the only person of color in her design department. She spent her career creating durable, practical, and fashionable clothing for major brands, ones you've definitely heard of. But now, Angela has left the corporate world behind to focus on exciting new projects. I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is Wild Ideas Worth Living.
Shelby Stanger:
Angela Medlin has worked for so many globally renowned brands, it's hard to keep track of them all. The Jordan brand at Nike, Adidas, The North Face, Eddie Bauer, and Levi Strauss. But a few years ago, Angela decided to make a big shift. Instead of working at these big brands herself, she wanted to train and prepare the next generation of BIPOC designers and creatives. Nurturing and guiding artists comes naturally to Angela. She has creativity in her bones. Luckily, her family was supportive of her artistic pursuits from a young age.
Shelby Stanger:
Angela Medlin, welcome to Wild Ideas Worth Living.
Angela Medlin:
Thank you for having me.
Shelby Stanger:
Tell us a little bit about how you grew up. Did your upbringing influence your career in design? How does one get into that?
Angela Medlin:
Good question. I will start out by saying absolutely. I had a very humble beginning. Rural South Carolina is where I started my journey. I lived with my grandparents and my young mom up until I was four and then she got married and we moved to small town USA in North Carolina, where we continued to build the family, two younger sisters. And yeah, it was my most imaginative, most creative time was, I think, in my first four years, because I lived with my grandparents in a clearing. If you can imagine a shotgun shack in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by farmland and pine trees. And while I was the only kid, I was the most imaginative just being with me and just figuring out things to do and creating my empire with a rake, some mud, and some spoons and pots and pans.
Shelby Stanger:
Do you have any stories from those first four years? What would you make? And I think it's really interesting that you were so attracted to nature. I mean, it was just outside your front door.
Angela Medlin:
Yes, I was outside the majority of the time. One of the things that I found that I was drawn to as I got older was the Japanese culture, like wabi-sabi and the zen lifestyle and just the philosophies. What I didn't realize is that when I was four, I was running around the yard, there were pine trees or pine straw on the ground everywhere, and I would take the rake and I would create my own zen garden. I just didn't know that was what it was called, but it was this continuous thing. I don't know if it was in the back of my mind as I got older, but then when I went to Japan, and I don't know, there was just something about that lifestyle that, I don't know, it spoke to me, it reminded me of my most happiest moment ever.
Shelby Stanger:
So it seems like even as a child, you had an eye for the aesthetic, something pleasing to the eye.
Angela Medlin:
I think because when I say humble, I mean really humble. The house that I lived in was filled with love, but it did not have running water. It didn't have insulation. You could stick your finger through the wall and be outside. But what we did have was warmth, and I didn't want for anything. My grandparents, they would go to what we called the feed store every weekend to pick up what they needed for the week. And when they got everything they needed, they would always buy a notebook for me and crayons or markers so that I could sketch, so that was something I looked forward to every week. And if they couldn't afford it, they had a wall in their house that they just gave to me, and that was what I would sketch on. So I was just really supported in that creative space and just really loved. And I thought I could do and be anything.
Shelby Stanger:
I'm always curious, as a kid, what you sketch in your notebook, on your homework or just at school, or on the weekends, it sort of is something that you're very passionate about and often does inform what you do as an adult. I used to sketch little surfers and waves. What did you sketch?
Angela Medlin:
I was really into the body. I really wanted to perfect drawing people and I would get so obsessed with just a whole notebook full of eyes or hairstyles or I really wanted to get the angle of the leg or the foot or the shoe or whatever. I would just fill up notebooks with different parts of the body just trying to get it right. I just love working with the body so much so that my dad was like, "You can draw some trees. You don't have to draw people or boys and girls kissing all the time. You can draw some trees."
Shelby Stanger:
I love that you drew people kissing all the time.
Angela Medlin:
I know.
Shelby Stanger:
That's awesome.
Shelby Stanger:
So flash forward, you study design in college. Where did you go to school and how did you know you wanted to study design in college? Because that's not something we all knew was even out there.
Angela Medlin:
When I look back on that experience of growing up in that small space, I didn't know a lot of what was happening outside of that small town. And I wasn't being taught what those possibilities were. Right? So I didn't know what I could do with all the creativity. So my mom, she wanted to make sure that I would be the first one in the family to go to college. And she wanted to make sure that I would not be a starving artist. So she said, "Well, you're really smart. You like math. Why don't you apply for engineering at NC State? It's a great college."
Angela Medlin:
So I did, I got in, had a full scholarship, but I realized in the first semester, I did not like math that much. So it was a really scary jump for me, but I decided to apply to the school of design and I got in. And I just remembered, everyone's like, "When you interview, you might not want to get this specific professor because she's really hard. She's really hard." And that was exactly the person I got and it was the best person I could have possibly gotten to introduce me to design.
Shelby Stanger:
So who is this woman that was your professor?
Angela Medlin:
Her name is Chandra Cox and she will refer to me as the student that she could never get rid of. She asked really hard questions that were really great questions for design and life. And I felt challenged in a really great way.
Shelby Stanger:
What kind of questions would she ask you that have stuck with you?
Angela Medlin:
I still remember the first question she asked, it was, "Do you know the difference between art and design?" And I really had not thought about it. I mean, do you know, Shelby?
Shelby Stanger:
No, I was just thinking about it. I was like, "That's amazing." I mean, design seems like you design for function, art seems more emotional and not necessarily for function, but I don't know.
Angela Medlin:
Yes, that's exactly it. Design, you're creating product for someone else. It belongs to someone else. You don't own it. But when you create art, it's personal and you can do whatever you want to with it, and no one can take that from you. When I instruct my students, I ask them the same question the first day. And you'd be surprised, we all had the same reaction. Yes, it's an introduction to knowing the difference between what you're getting ready to put into the world with a brand or what you're wanting to do for yourself.
Shelby Stanger:
Design school was an incredible experience and opportunity, but Angela didn't know exactly what she wanted to do when she graduated. She learned in school that in addition to being an artist, she was good at solving problems. Turns out that skill is really valuable in clothing design, especially when it comes to athletic and outdoor apparel. Angela's ability to think about who was going to be wearing the clothes was crucial. She was really good at anticipating consumers' needs and the industry recognized that strength.
Shelby Stanger:
How did you know apparel was your thing?
Angela Medlin:
I landed in apparel when I started with Adidas. They hired me into the apparel team and I was doing a variety of things, but I took the opportunity to learn. The thing that I started to like about apparel was that I was solving problems.
Shelby Stanger:
What years were you at Adidas? Was it the '90s?
Angela Medlin:
I was at Adidas twice. The first time was the mid '90s, like '94 to '97.
Shelby Stanger:
Yeah, that was when they were so hot.
Angela Medlin:
Yes.
Shelby Stanger:
So what's something you designed that you were like, "Okay, this is it. I made something, it works, and it looks good."
Angela Medlin:
So when I first started out, I got introduced to Adidas when I was visiting a friend in Portland and I met Peter Moore. And so he said, "Okay, currently you're designing for Cross Colours." So he said, "Go and get your experience there for a year and then I'm going to bring you up." And he kept his word and he wanted me to use all of what I had been doing at Cross Colours to infuse trend and that urban lifestyle into the product at Adidas.
Shelby Stanger:
How did you know when it was time to go to a different company? Because you were a career apparel person for a really long time and you did it.
Angela Medlin:
Yeah, the cool thing is, I don't know how people got to know me throughout the time that I was in industry, but I never really had to look for a job. I was always approached and it always seemed like the best time that they would show up to introduce a new opportunity. And I didn't take every opportunity, but the ones that I did take, it was because I was going to learn something new. When I was at Adidas and I got approached by The North Face, I had never, ever designed outerwear before. And they were like, "We love what you're doing for Adidas. We want you to just take that mindset and start the lifestyle line for The North Face. And it doesn't matter if you don't know outerwear, you can learn the technical stuff, but we want your mind." And that blew me away.
Shelby Stanger:
Amazing. So what kind of technical gear did you design for The North Face?
Angela Medlin:
So I started The North Face outerwear line for, well, lifestyle. And my consumer was based in New York, so it was all the things that you see people wearing, whether it was the Nuptse, or the Triple C, or the Denali for that matter. There were three to four jackets that existed and they found that the consumer was the urban consumer and urban meaning city.
Shelby Stanger:
Yeah, they weren't necessarily climbing Everest or going to the mountains.
Angela Medlin:
Exactly.
Shelby Stanger:
They were just walking around New York city wanting a cool jacket.
Angela Medlin:
Yes. So they wanted me to expand on that idea. And so that's what I did. I started the collection and it really took off. So I would take, I think at that point I was taking an Originals tracksuit, for example, and I was putting it into lifestyle fabrics, like tweed or linen.
Shelby Stanger:
Cool.
Angela Medlin:
And I would introduce these concepts and they would actually keep it. And they were like, "Oh yeah, this is cool." So The North Face saw some of that.
Shelby Stanger:
So what's one of your favorite products you've designed over your career?
Angela Medlin:
Well, one of the products that I feel changed the outdoor aesthetic in a way was the first rain jacket I designed for women at The North Face. It was called the Grace and it was basically making rain jackets look more flattering on women. And so I added shape to the jacket and made it something that you would actually want to wear with your other fashionable products. And what I started to see is that the industry started to follow that. I would go to other companies and see a lot of my samples on their sample rack. So I knew I was doing something that was new and interesting and just made sense.
Shelby Stanger:
Angela's designs were making their mark in the world of outdoor clothing. She innovated with rain coats for the urban consumer, styles cut specifically for women, and tracksuits in fabrics like linen and tweed. At a certain point, Angela had worked at pretty much every brand she could dream of and her pieces had been worn by celebrities and professional athletes. But she felt a pull to do something new, and it required a lot of courage to take the leap.
Shelby Stanger:
Tell me about what went into your decision to leave the corporate world behind.
Angela Medlin:
It was a wild idea that I had for a very long time. I just didn't have the courage to make that leap. It seemed like part of my purpose, right? To take what I've learned throughout what I tried on during college, what I was doing in my career, to take that and package it in a way that would support the next generation of innovators and designers of color, creatives of color. Because I did not have that, everything that I did in my career, I basically had to learn that while I was doing it. And I just felt like there has to be an easier way. I went into my career feeling like I did not have the rule book that everybody else got, and I didn't want that to be what the next generation had to, where they were starting. So I wanted them to start at a much higher level than I did.
Angela Medlin:
And I wasn't alone in that thinking, there was at least one other person who's done the same thing. And I had the pleasure of meeting him and working with him at the right time. And that's D'Wayne Edwards of Pensole. And so when I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do and how I was going to accomplish it, but I felt like I needed the mind space to figure it out. So I left Nike, the Jordan brand, when I was the director of apparel. And I just decided to take a year and figure out what that next step would be.
Angela Medlin:
And what it came down to is that I wanted to do something that had purpose, where I was actually giving back and supporting someone else in their journey, and something that I was absolutely passionate about, and kind of tap into the artist side of me again. And then overarching, I wanted to solve a problem, because that's just my thing. That's what I love doing.
Shelby Stanger:
Okay, so the problem was...
Angela Medlin:
The problem was there's less than 1% BIPOC creatives or designers in the design industry period. And I was one of those people, but I could count how many, I pretty much knew all of the people of color in the athletic and outdoor industry. I was usually the only person of color in my design department or on the creative side. And there was a lot that goes along with that. So I wanted to shift that perspective because I believe that diversity equals innovation. And it just seemed like the right time to introduce more of that and to advocate for that.
Shelby Stanger:
How did you know it was time to go? And how did you get the courage to leap? Because that's scary.
Angela Medlin:
Oh, it's so scary. I mean, as a manager of a lot of different designers, sometimes they would come to me and they were like, "I think I want to leave, but I'm not sure." And I said, "If you're saying it out loud, you're already halfway there." And I started to say it out loud, that I was ready for a change, but I had been saying it out loud for like six years. I had a lot of false starts of, "Okay, I'm going to leave Eddie Bauer." And then I get the call from Nike, Jordan brand, and I go back in, but my spirit was saying that I was ready to do something else. So when it got to the point of the discomfort of staying outweighed the fear of leaving, that was the day that I walked out.
Shelby Stanger:
When the discomfort of staying outweighs the fear of leaving.
Angela Medlin:
Yes.
Shelby Stanger:
You knew it was time to go.
Angela Medlin:
Exactly. It was more important for me to open up that space for someone else who could really dig in and enjoy it and learn and do all the things that I'd been doing for 25 plus years than to stay in that space and do a great job for the brand that I was working for, but not feel like I was being fed. So I just decided to take a different road and bet on myself, which was the biggest leap of faith.
Shelby Stanger:
After a long and successful career in the apparel industry, Angela was longing for a new adventure that was grounded in passion and purpose. She decided to bet on herself and take a leap of faith. When we come back, Angela talks about her new projects and her life as an entrepreneur.
Shelby Stanger:
When she decided to leave the corporate world, Angela couldn't help but think back on her childhood and how her family nourished her innate creativity. After 25 years in the industry, she wanted to give that same type of support to up and coming BIPOC designers. It's a large part of why she started FAAS, which stands for Functional Apparel and Accessories Studio. FAAS is a design lab, an educational institute, and so much more. The program specializes in innovation, applying lessons from athletic apparel, to fashion, and lifestyle design. In the end, it's about building up the leaders of the next generation of diverse designers.
Shelby Stanger:
What is FAAS and what does it stand for?
Angela Medlin:
FAAS is the acronym for Functional Apparel and Accessories Studio, but really, it's a space for creatives of color to understand, first of all, that there are no rules that they're missing. They just need more of the information of what the industry is looking for and how things actually work. So how you get in, there are no rules, but once you get in, there are certain things that they should be aware of. And if they have the information, then they're ahead of the game and they can focus on being great designers.
Angela Medlin:
So this program focuses on consumer insights. What problem are you solving for that consumer? And that's the thing that makes it different because it's not just fashion for the sake of fashion. You can do fashion, you can do functional apparel that you use to climb a mountain, or apparel that you use to commute, but all of it should be based on what the consumer needs.
Shelby Stanger:
How does it work? Is it a year program or?
Angela Medlin:
So for the majority of the last four years, I've been in partnership with Pensole Footwear Academy.
Shelby Stanger:
And what's Pensole, for those who don't know?
Angela Medlin:
So Pensole is a footwear design academy. It's the only one in the US. And it's headed up by D'Wayne Edwards. He was also a design director for Jordan. He's responsible for the majority of the Jordan shoes that people covet. So he left to start a school because he saw the same thing, that there weren't enough people of color designing the shoes that people of color are wearing. And so he started Pensole a little over 10 years ago. And when I left, serendipitously, we met and we had lunch one day and he's like, "So why aren't you doing this for apparel?" I was like, "Well, why am I not doing this for apparel?" And it just seemed to click.
Angela Medlin:
And so we've been partnering for four years and giving students the full product creation process, which involves working in a team, apparel, footwear, color and materials, marketing, merchandising, product management. Each studio that is contracted with Pensole has their own application rules, like what the expectations are. And for me, it makes sense for students to have some understanding of apparel design. And so I try to get students who either have graduated from high school, for sure, but may have some college experience or some background of being a creative in the apparel industry.
Shelby Stanger:
So you currently have this new FAAS x REI co-op apprenticeship program. Tell me about it. What is it? Who's it for? What do you hope people will benefit from it? Am I going to see some really cool REI tents and outerwear jackets coming out pretty soon?
Angela Medlin:
So what I think is really important about this collaboration with REI, and I'm very honored to be able to do this, is just introducing another possibility to creatives of color and opening another door. Maybe this is an area that people of color maybe have not thought that they could fit into. So creating that space for a creative of color to explore. And the program, it's giving the education that's based on true to industry processes and standards and improving on that. So taking best practices and introducing them to the soft skills as well as the hard skills and just seeing themselves in a space that you usually do not see people of color.
Shelby Stanger:
FAAS's collaboration with REI aims to usher more BIPOC designers into the world of outdoor equipment and apparel. With FAAS, Angela's teaching young people to take risks and turn their ideas into reality. It's something she's practicing with her own new brand. As a designer who loves dogs, Angela never found pet products that fit her aesthetic. So of course, she founded a brand to make them herself. House Dogge, spelled D-O-G-G-E, makes stylish and sustainable gear for our four legged friends.
Shelby Stanger:
Okay, so in addition to running FAAS, you also have this brand called House Dogge. How did you decide to start that?
Angela Medlin:
So when I left and I said I didn't know exactly what I was going to do, I tried a lot of things on, and I wanted to try things on that I enjoyed myself. So the first thing I did is I designed my own hoodie. And I sold out of the hoodies and I was like, "Well, that was great." And then I took a business class online, and one of the initial parts of the program was to understand why you want to do certain things, why you want to start a certain type of business. And it was based on what you love for yourself.
Angela Medlin:
And so I looked at everything that I was passionate about and dogs was really at the top of the list, and design, and so I'm like, "How can I create something that is different?" Again, competing with myself like, "How do I make this better? How do I design better? How do I solve a problem?" And so that's how House Dogge initially started to form.
Angela Medlin:
But at the time, I had an Old English Bulldog, and his name was Wubbi. And he was like this wise old man. And I would just observe him, because I was home, I was working at home. I would just observe his day. And I had more awareness around the things that I needed to take care of him. And as a designer, I had a certain aesthetic that I liked. And I could not find the things that I wanted that fit my aesthetic, which was more modern. So I started to think about product that was good for the environment, something you could feel good about bringing home and actually seeing in your space, that based on my lifestyle, my day with my dog. What it's starting to evolve into is more around the lifestyle of what you need in your home, in every room, for your dog.
Angela Medlin:
And so I say House Dogge is the modern, sustainable lifestyle brand for dogs and their people, so dog centric first. And so for example, in the kitchen, what do you need at the feeding station? What's needed in the bedroom? Does your dog sleep on the bed? Let's be real. So do you need a beautiful cover for the bed that's waterproof, antimicrobial, still looks good in your room? Or do you need it on the couch? So I'm starting to just look at just how we live for real.
Shelby Stanger:
How's the process designing for dogs versus people? I mean, I guess in some ways, you can do a little focus group with people, a little easier than dogs, but I don't know.
Angela Medlin:
Yeah, so this is how I look at my consumer, and it's based on, a lot of it, I teach my students in FAAS. I'm looking at my consumer insights through the lens of the six legged consumer. That's what I'm calling it, the dog and the person. And it's kind of like when parents shop for their kids, their human kids, it's like the kid has to like it, or it has to work for the need of the kid, but it's the parents who are making the call, right? So when you bring home something that has to work for your dog, you still want it to work for you too.
Shelby Stanger:
House Dogge has seen some massive success, particularly when Oprah Winfrey named the brand's dog sweatshirts one of her favorite things in 2020. The sweatshirts looked super cozy, think street wear for dogs, emblazoned with words like grateful and blessed. Angela has big dreams for the company, aiming to make it almost like an Ikea for dogs. One place where you can go to find all the sleek, modern products you need for your pup. Angela's innovative ideas are new, but she's no novice. With decades of experience as a designer, I wanted to ask her advice for those looking to pursue their own wild ideas.
Shelby Stanger:
Any advice to people who want to work in apparel or design, or even people who want to build a life around creative pursuits?
Angela Medlin:
So if you're a creative and you're young, you really, unless you are hyper focused and you know exactly what you're going to do, which is rare, you just want to be creative and you just want to fit in where you get in. I would say stay curious in that way and follow that instinct of what feels good, what makes you happy, what makes you feel alive or what sparks joy. Because that's the thing that people will come to you because you're going to shine in that space. And also learn, just be the person who wants to learn. And for everything that I was curious enough to try and do something different and be brave enough to say, "I don't know, but I'll try it," I'm using every single thing now. And I tell people, FAAS is, everything that I did in the 25 plus years in corporate was training for what I'm doing now, because I get to give all of that back in this program.
Shelby Stanger:
Any advice to people who might want to step out of corporate to start their own project? Because that's also really scary.
Angela Medlin:
Yes, I do.
Shelby Stanger:
And this is not a podcast about quitting your job, by the way, you do that at your own risk.
Angela Medlin:
Yeah, I can't take credit for your failures, but I'll take credit for your successes. No, I'm joking. I would say, well, know that not knowing if you should jump or not, or just standing on that cliff with your toes gripping the edge, that's normal, but don't forget to breathe. It's been proven before that people can do this, that you can step out, that your corporate life is not your entire life. I would say try things on. That was one of the things that helped me is to just get ideas out of my head and see what worked. What was the thing that was like a short term interest and what was the thing that was a long term interest? So try things on until you get to that long term passion.
Angela Medlin:
Connect with your community. The Portland creative community is super strong. And I had no idea who existed outside of those walls. So I would say connect with your community, keep putting things into action. That's something that I didn't know I was training myself to do, but I've just been doing that for such a long time. I'll start things, I'll get projects going, and then I just start another one. I don't wait for the result. I just keep things flowing. And eventually, those things that I put into action a month or three months ago, the results start showing up. And you're like, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." And it shows up at the perfect time. Don't get stuck on your original idea. Just know that you can think that you should be doing one thing, but it can evolve into other interests and take you somewhere just much more exciting that fits you in a different way.
Angela Medlin:
And then be a problem solver. If you're given a small box, if you're given limitations, do whatever you can do in that space that can blow other people's minds or blow your own mind. The smaller the box you give me, the more creative I'm going to be. And so just know that those perceived limitations aren't necessarily limitations. Those can inspire you to do something you never expected.
Angela Medlin:
And then finally, put in the work. I don't know if it's a generational thing, but there's the idea that you can become an instant celebrity or instant success because of how quickly things happen now, whether it's online or TikTok, whatever it is, things seem like they just happen overnight for a lot of people. And that is not the case. Nobody's going to show up to rescue you. You have to keep putting in the work.
Shelby Stanger:
Angela is a woman who has bravely put in the work and gone after her dreams. After our conversation, she sent me an email with her best advice in bullet points. There's one thing she added in her note I wanted to share. Angela wrote, "Fear is a liar. We are more resourceful and capable than we've been programmed to think. Do the thing that helps you grow and stretch."
Shelby Stanger:
Angela, thank you so much for talking with me about your amazing career and telling me all about FAAS and your collaboration with REI. To learn more about FAAS, check out FAAS Design Collab.com And follow @faasdesigncollab on Instagram. You can also head to House Dogge and @housedogge - that's H-O-U-S-E-D-O-G-G-E - on Instagram to check out the amazing pet products beloved by Oprah herself. If you'd like to learn more about FAAS's collaboration with REI, check out rei.com/FAAS. That's rei.com/FAAS.
Shelby Stanger:
Wild Ideas Worth Living is part of the REI Podcast Network. It's hosted by me, Shelby Stanger, written and edited by Annie Fassler and Sylvia Thomas of Puddle Creative, and our senior producer is Chelsea Davis. Our executive producers are Paolo Mottola and Joe Crosby. As always, we love it when you follow the show, rate it and review it wherever you listen. If you review them, it makes us so, so happy because I read them all. Remember, some of the best adventures happen when you follow your wildest ideas.