Cody, Sav, Tae // Open Air

Los Angeles, June 24 2024

Can you guys introduce yourselves and tell us what you do here?

Cody: I'm Cody, I'm the manager and curator here. So I just help introduce brands to Tae and Savannah. I show them what I think would be interesting, what would fit our aesthetic, and also what would be a unique experience.

Tae: I’m Martavious owner and founder. I am the head creative director. Obviously we are all a team and no decision is made by one person. But yeah I also design our clothing as well. Cody and I both curate what goes in the store as well.

Sav: I'm Savannah, co-founder. I'm more so of a managing director behind the scenes. I work more on conceptual ideas, strategy planning, and production.

Do you guys think it's easier working in this kind of dynamic with multiple people being in charge of all these different things?

Tae: It is definitely a complicated relationship. If you're making decisions on your own, it's not going to be the best. That's just what it is. If you have like minded people like Savannah and Cody, we all know that all of our tastes are great. So we all put our two cents into everything that we're doing. We're going to get the best result doing it that way. So I would say ultimately you need to work with a team in order to get to where you need to go.

Cody: That’s what I respect about them so much - it's never really felt like “we're doing it my way or the highway”. Since I first started, they've always made me feel like I've had an opinion that matters.

Sav: I would say the best compliment that we always get on a regular basis is, “How many of you are there?” and we always just have to be like, "It's just us. This is it."

How do you guys all connect? How did you guys all meet each other?

Tae: Sav and I met first. We’re also a couple.

Savannah: Tae and I met in 2016. We had mutual friends and that sort of thing. Our first date was Finding Dory. My pick. Tae said 4 words. 

Cody: I always tell people I manifested this, which sounds crazy, I’m sure. From working across the street, seeing them open up, walking by before they even opened, checking the inside window, wondering what’s going on here? What is this store? I was clocked in at my job, and on their opening day, I told my manager, “Give me ten minutes. I know I can’t do this, but I just need to check this place out.” I fell in love. I literally put on my Instagram story, “I don’t know how, but I’m gonna work here one day.”

How is that whole dynamic, of being a couple and working together?

Tae: It’s good most of the time. Being a couple, we don’t ever let the business side of anything come into our personal relationship. We made that boundary clear from the beginning. So, I think when it comes to the business side of things, we handle it just as if we were normal colleagues anywhere else.

Savannah: I think it’s like what people say about when you get married—it’s always going to emphasize problems and it’s always going to emphasize the good things. So it’s that balance. I think starting a business is like a similar thing where you’re like, “This is why it really works,” because where I lack, he’s great, and where he lacks, I’m great. I feel like it’s a great business relationship in that sense. But I think my philosophy on relationships and business is similar. It’s a lot of problem solving all day long.  So if you’re able to communicate effectively and just stay focused on where the solution is, that’s ideal. But it’s never perfect, I would say. 

Tae: Sometimes your emotions can get in the way of things, but we learn to just make sure to be pragmatic, and not take things personally.

Savannah: Tae’s favorite phrase is, “I’m not going to die on that hill,”. It’s an important phrase. I think that’s a lot about just remaining fluid and always being open to ideas. 

How did your past experiences lead you to where you are now? You all played sports before this, how did that shape you to where you are now?

Tae: I played football. Fashion was always my thing. I fell in love with tunnel pictures and the flashy lifestyle of NFL players. I played football since I was seven years old all the way up until I finished college at about 22 years old. From there, I really loved watching Round Two on YouTube. By that time I knew I wanted to open a store and kind of take that route. I’ve had four or five brands. In middle school, I was printing shirts and having my friends wear them. So yeah, it’s always been something that I just knew I wanted to do.

Savannah: I played soccer all the way through college. So, I think sports had a huge influence on my interest in fashion. I think more so from the perspective of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing—that was my favorite movie growing up or Space Jam, like basketball adjacent streetwear. I also grew up in Long Beach, where it’s very much laid-back, beachy, surfer, skater culture. All those things, I think, influenced my interest in clothes.

Cody: My fashion introduction was my mom. Every day, from when I can remember up until high school she’d ask me what she should wear. And for her to trust her own son and me being like, “I’ll go with that,” and then her wearing it out for the day and being like, “Oh wow, she really trusted me.” I think that unknowingly trained my eye. 

How did the term “Open Air” start? 

Savannah: We started during COVID. So that was like right out of our graduating year. I did journalism in college, and I’ve always loved storytelling. 

Tae: I did communications and multimedia.

Savannah: In that time period, sneakers were starting to become a thing. I always remember that Dom Kennedy lyric, “The flight club is kinda high, but I would love some more.” And yeah, I mean, it was just more so like knitting in the fabric of being from L.A. and just knowing what’s cool and what’s not. It’s fun to stay up to date with all that stuff. I think that, among a lot of other things, it got really popular during COVID. We felt like the typical resale shop didn’t really have a lot of emphasis on the story behind it, or even the aesthetic of the space or the experience. We wanted a space where everyone felt welcome, but we also wanted it to feel fresh and new, and different. We’ve walked into sneaker shops with the Jordan jersey and Supreme box logo on the wall, and it’s like, you could copy and paste it. So we felt like we could bring something fresh and new, but with that nostalgic feeling. That’s where “Air” comes from, like Nike Air, there’s a little bit of that feeling of familiarity with the name, but still that freshness. We’re still really inspired by nature, architecture, and the world around us. It’s less about strictly consumerism and products. Sneakers weren’t the only thing we liked. We liked clothes. We liked books. We like all that sort of stuff. 

Tae: I think starting off, just like anybody else, you go with what’s hot. It’s about finding yourself through what’s popular.

What made the decision to transition away from being a resale store?

Savannah: I started complaining, that’s what happened. 

Tae: We were wearing different stuff. We had the Supreme on the walls, we had the Bape, we had all of that. But then, I’m walking in with Daniel Patrick, Cody’s walking in with Haven Court, Savannah’s walking in with some niche Instagram brand, and we weren’t really wearing what was in our store. 

Savannah: It started to feel inauthentic. I think another tough thing too, is you want to feel like you’re connecting with your customer. We still loved talking about the things that we had. I remember even when we got these original '85 Syracuse Dunks, I loved them. We still have them here. But I was like, “There’s something we can still do with this.” Feeling inspired by pieces like that versus the latest dunk that came out—the 100th dunk release of the month.

Cody: I think that helped inspire us to create more of a gallery-type of feel. Having historical pieces like that made us think, “Oh, we can elevate this.” We can still stay keep in touch with the sneaker culture, but there’s a whole other part of it that we could be tapping into. Especially with the rise of Virgil and streetwear merging with high fashion, it felt like the perfect time for us. We saw it early and trusted ourselves. Our interests were changing, and we all agreed, “Why don’t we just do this?”

What’s your opinion on the current state of reselling? You guys did vintage too, right?

Tae: We still do vintage even now. I would say that’s the one part of our business that we continue, especially in terms of sustainability. We just do it in a different way. We’re not just carrying vintage T-shirts; we’ll have vintage Carhartt, vintage Prada, and more curated, luxurious pieces. But we still stay true to vintage, no matter what.

Savannah: And I think that influence from past collections is something they always do in fashion. Vintage will always be around.

Cody: It’s interesting because it is older, but it’s always relevant. We learn from the past, and those vintage pieces are often the blueprint for what comes next. It’s a forever constant.

Savannah: One thing I will say that we didn’t touch on earlier is the dollars and cents with reselling. It’s night and day compared to wholesale. Wholesale guarantees you’re doubling your money most of the time. It depends on certain brands and their margins, but I’ll say, especially after going to Paris Fashion Week, it became clear what the standard margins are in retail. Reselling, on the other hand, people think, “Oh wow, you sold some Shattered Backboards and made $600,” but I actually bought them for $650, so I lost money. Thanks for buying them, though.

Tae: Exactly. With reselling, you quickly realize it’s all about volume. If you’re not selling quickly, you’re not gonna make it. As soon as it slows down, your business slows down, and there’s no way around it. You can’t contact a resell brand and be like, “Hey I really like you, I want to carry you”. There’s no way to pivot in that world.

Did you guys do consignment at all, or was it strictly buying?

Tae: Oh no, we did consignment too, with sneakers. That was tough.

Savannah: I think the thing that’s hard is what we always wanted to do was a lot more customer based. We want this space for the customers to be a good experience. So it’s like if you need product, consignment is the way, but then you’re locked in at only making like 15% on every shoe which is going to drive you to the ground.

Cody: Exactly. You couldn’t have those viral moments like Round Two, where you get a shoe for a crazy low price. We couldn’t do that because we’d have to call the consignor and get approval. It took away from the authentic experience of having a discussion. What’s the point of carrying a Balenciaga bomber jacket for a few thousand dollars. Sure it’s a flex, but I want a kid to come in here and be able to spend $300 and get 3 or 4 pieces.

Savannah: We were really particular on that. We didn’t want to have super high prices. We felt like we gave the best experience, but I knew other shops had more options, which at the end of the day is kind of all that matters. So it was that feeling of maybe we’re not embraced in the same way we want to be and how can we be a better fit for our customers. That was the biggest reason why we changed business models. It also opens you for so many more partnerships and community opportunities. Like we can start conversations, which is what fashion is supposed to be about. It’s not starting a conversation from a $700 jacket. It’s starting a conversation because I also like that brand. We weren’t able to do that with our previous business model. It’s tough to feel like you’re getting what you put out everyday. There is that level of feeling like there isn’t any substance to it.

What made you guys move from Long Beach to here?

Tae: If I were to keep it short and sweet, it was really about foot traffic. The location we were at in Long Beach didn’t have enough foot traffic. We had our own following on Instagram, which helped us a lot, but the area itself was more of a food destination. People were there to eat, not to shop. Also I feel like most people in Long Beach shop out here (Los Angeles). You would think, “Oh, I have this place in my hometown,” but at the end of the day, they could go to a Round Two or a Coolkicks that has way more selection. That was what made us feel like we needed to pivot. With our aesthetic and the way our store was set up, we knew we’d get more eyes on us in this area than in Long Beach.

Savannah: It was a tough decision, though, because part of our business model was bringing the Melrose experience to people who didn’t want to drive out here. Then you run into other issues outside of that like the money has to make sense. There’s all that math and science thinking behind it that we didn’t go in with. We were just trying to do something for the people. We still try to stay authentic to that point though. We bring that real born and raised in LA vibe. We try to bring that easy breezy Southern California experience of what it was really like to grow up here. You miss a lot of that in LA, especially in West Hollywood.

You’re on Melrose, one of the most popular fashion streets in LA. What makes you guys unique from the other stores?

Savannah: Melrose is a great place to start. A lot of people who grew up around Los Angeles came here a lot. I have older family members of mine who tell me about what Melrose was like in the '80s, and it’s crazy to think about. For us, we’re bringing an elevated but still streetwear feel that you don’t see a lot. There are some stores that are similar, like Kith or Fred Segal, but each of those places has its own unique quirks. A lot of the smaller shops on Melrose are run by people who aren’t from LA—they’re from the East Coast, Atlanta, or the South. Nothing wrong with that, but we’re trying to reflect what LA really is. A lot of people think LA means Hollywood or influencers, but the real LA is this huge, diverse community—there’s a massive Chicano community, a massive Vietnamese community in Long Beach, and so much more. There’s a weird culture shock in certain parts of LA, especially in West Hollywood. It feels really buttoned up. You go back to places like Long Beach, and it feels like you’re part of a community. But here, it can feel like everyone’s in it for themselves. That’s not what the real LA is like, and we want our store to reflect that sense of community.

Cody: We’re fortunate because we don’t have to change much. We’re just being ourselves. I always tell people, in LA, especially when you’re talking to transplants, it can feel like a resume competition—like, who do you know, what have you done? I feel like for us it’s using our time here to showcase that real connection and not having to have a high end brand. There’s a lot of people that show authenticity. 

What are your thoughts on the differences between LA and Orange County?

Savannah: There’s a lot of diversity in Orange County that doesn’t get talked about. There are certain hotspots, like Fashion Island or Laguna Beach, but when I think of Orange County, I think of things like the U.S. Open of Surfing. It’s very similar to LA in that sense, getting that surf and skate culture.

Cody: Being from California, the sunshine state, I feel like so much more can happen. There are so many athletes who grew up in Orange County. Even with media, it’s the hub for opportunities. You’re just around so much culture, business, entertainment, it really is the land of opportunity. We just have that embedded in all of us.

Where do you see the future of retail going? Do you think it’s going to change?

Tae: I think if you’re not a multi-brand retailer, it’s going to get tough. Unless you’re a big name like Maison Margiela, Marni, or Nike, it’s going to be challenging. You need something more to keep the money flowing in. That’s why experiential retail is so important now. Like us here, we’re opening our cafe, which will bring something else to the space. We’re also huge on community and host pop-ups twice a month. You need those kinds of things to create a culture around your store.

Cody: Yeah, it feels weird to say, but I think it’s still a really good time for retail, even with the economy being tough. After COVID, people are craving experiences again. 

Savannah: During COVID, when we told people we were going to open a brick-and-mortar store, everyone thought we were crazy. “Everyone’s on Amazon,” they said. And it was risky, for sure. But there’s something about that in-person experience that people still want. It’s tough, retail is tough, but it’s worth it if you can offer something unique. It’s interesting because work is moving more remote, and people like it that way. It’s a waste of time to drive somewhere to work on a computer when you could do that from home and have more time with your family. But at the same time, people want to get out of their houses for things like shopping. There’s this trend of looking for a “third space”—a place that’s not work and not home, where people can go to relax or hang out. That’s why spaces like ours, where people can come in and just be in a cool environment, are becoming more important.

Do you guys have any favorite events that you guys have done, or favorite people you've worked with?

Cody: All of them have their own unique place in our hearts. I think Ellwood was really huge for us 'cause that was our first event we ever threw. It was really cool to see what a separate team looks like, a team of over 20 people. This is a brand that we work with, but I also consider these people my friends. So to build that kind of dynamic, I think, is a good one. Havencourt was also a massive one for me. I’ve been a fan of his for a while. From following each other on Instagram, to meeting each other, then actually working with him. Being in his videos as someone who's watched his videos is like mind blowing to me. It was cool to work with someone you look up to and idolize, but also, you really can do whatever you want. Talk to anybody, reach out to anybody, don't care how far stretched it seems, just go for it.

Tae: We are particular with who we want to work with. So I think just from that energy we give off and the energy that somebody else gives us really makes us particular about who we work with. Obviously there's different ways everybody works, but at the end of the day, the results have to come out the same. So I think right now, either we're lucky or we're just picking the right people to work with.

Sav: I think my favorite event and maybe not necessarily for the event itself, but for other reasons was one we did pretty recently with the Alchemist. I had this weird moment when I went to the Kendrick Lamar pop out concert. He came out to Euphoria. Like dang, the dude he made this song with was in our store a week ago. We have been here since the inception. So to see it reach those sort of moments where you have an artist like the Alchemist and chill, have conversation, and all that makes me feel like you're not as far away as you always feel but also loving the journey and the process of it at the same time. 

Cody: He didn’t just come in to shop either. 

Tae: Yeah, he had an event here and we got to interact with him. One of the number one songs on the chart right now is produced by him.

I know there's so many other ways beyond just financial metrics to measure success. What other ways do you guys measure success?

Cody: That's always my favorite when people are just like, "Oh, I love what you guys do. I just love being here. I can't wait to be at the next event. Like, you guys are doing so great." That stuff is always my favorite because community is everything to me. That's my main goal. I want our customers ten years from now to be like, man, remember that night at Open Air. Monetary stuff is whatever, but experiences are all physical, like, that's something on your deathbed you'll think about. It's all the experiences, the people you've met along the way, and I just hope at least one of those can be with us.

Sav: If I'm really being honest, it probably is with our brand. Now being a full fledged brand, we have plenty of days in here where our stuff sells more than anything else. I think those are days that are really cool. I did have this moment at a place called Cafe Nido in Silver Lake. I was just walking in with my friend, and this guy was wearing an Open Air t-shirt, just sitting there. And then another time at a place in Long Beach, this guy had an Open Air hat on. Those little weird moments where you see it in public and it stops you in your tracks. Those are reassuring moments, because the business is a massive risk, and there’s so many times where I feel like, "God, why did we do this?" Cause I really do love what we make. 

Tae: When a customer comes in here and they're buying our clothing because that's something that we've emphasized heavily over the past year. We're really trying to go more into pushing our own clothing. Something I always wanted to do was to have my own brand and I think now we're at the point to where, as a team, we can really make that happen. 

I think we've talked about a lot of positive stuff, what's some negative stuff you guys have faced over the years?

Cody: Being over promised and then under delivered. I think we can all catch ourselves in that, right? But just certain times where it's like, okay, this is gonna work out, this is gonna be great, and then, at the drop of a pin it feels like, wait, how did we end up in this situation? Like, how do we feel like we're picking up pieces and why are we having to readjust? What is happening and trying to figure out everything on the fly. Me being a runner, you can read an entire book on running, but it's never going to be as valuable as running your first actual race. So sure, we've had all these interesting experiences, but it’s literally all trial by fire, learning as we go on the job. It's this constant trial and error and constant going through the fire and seeing what comes out on the other side.

Sav: We didn't really talk about it here, but I do want to touch on the break-ins. It's definitely the biggest setback. I work in production as well and I was on set and I got a phone call from the property manager. I was the first one to get the news and it was just like, what do I do? I called my mom and made her drive over there. I was in the Bay, so I was like six hours away. They had found a way to finesse into the door. They didn't break a window or anything, they got into the lock and cut all the power. They broke in at 3 a.m. and we didn't learn it was broken into until 9 a.m. that morning. And we paid for 24/7 security. So to learn just how much negligence was involved for all those hours was horrible. Just a bunch of things that went wrong ultimately ended up in us having a massive amount of stuff stolen. Then another week goes by and our door gets smashed in broad daylight and more stuff gets stolen. Ugh, it was just so disheartening. And I think that experience was very eye-opening, but also, just-this isn't working for us. So I was like, what do we do? We were in a position where it was like a rock and a hard place. I think that was a really hard decision. 

Cody: It was in our hometown where we're trying to create this community and talk well about it. And it's our own people that are doing this to us? We're working so hard to provide the community this thing, so it's like how can you not look at these young kids trying their best to make their dream happen, and then you're just gonna rip that out of us and leave us in this super stressed out way.

How do you work through things like that? How do you push past obstacles?

Tae: We really just focus on where we want to be. I feel like that's always our goal. We appreciate what we're doing now. We're always thriving just to be better. We know all these little obstacles in the road are just little speed bumps. That's it. At the end of the day, it's just a speed bump. We got a longer road and we have a way better destination that we're looking towards. We're all dreamers. We really have big goals for what we want to do. I think when we look at it from that perspective, we're just like, hey, like this happened, it's unfortunate, we can talk about it and we deal with it emotionally but we got more work to do. 

Cody: I think part of it is our athletic background. I will say maybe a little bit of pettiness, too. 'Cause when I hear a "No", it's like, all right, wait 'til a year from now when you want to be in our store and I look at you like, nah, I'm chillin'. It’s that competitive nature, like you didn't see the vision, I'll remember that. 

Tae: I think that is what ultimately even makes our store what it is. We feel like we see something that we can do better. We really strive to be different and better at the same time, because we just don't want to be just another copy and paste store.

Cody: I'm not here to be on the bench. I'm not here to be the second lead. There's a certain point where you really look at yourself and be like, do I have that drive in me or not? If you do, if you're really about it, it will bother you that you're not where you want to be. It could be something as little as the freaking tag on our shirt. Everything we do, we invest in. It doesn't matter. If we can make it happen, even if it's going to be a bit of a struggle, we're going to go all out. We don't half ass anything. That's just not in our nature. 

Sav: There's been some "no's". There's not a single "no" where I'm not grateful for it at the same time because then we wouldn't be where we are today. Even thinking about when we were deciding on where to be. Thinking if we chose one of the other spots we were interested in I don't know if it would've been better or worse, but I'm glad to be where we are, so those "no's" in that sense are okay. I love what we do now more than what we did six months ago, more than we did eight months ago. We're always growing, and if you grow in a similar direction with other artists or people, then that's cool, but, if you don't, then it is what it is. 

Cody: Poetically, we're in a great spot. Especially for what we're doing. Merging higher end clothing and streetwear. We're in between Fairfax, La Brea, and Melrose, where all the vintage and streetwear brands are. We're walking distance to Melrose Place and Acne Studios. I feel like we're really the perfect combination of that. We have a $550 jacket here, but we can have a $40 t-shirt at the same time. You can find a pair of loafers, you can find a pair of heels, you can find a super distressed t-shirt, you can find a brand you've never heard of. So even though location wise, sometimes you're like, is it the best? Could we have done this? But I think poetically, we're actually in the right spot. I just think when people around us figure that out too, we can really turn this into something. 

What's in store for you guys in the future? Are you guys trying to open another store in the future? Do you guys have any exciting plans?

Tae: I think a huge thing for us is pushing our own brand. Especially because we’ve started to see our stuff selling a lot, more than other brands we carry.  We feel like we have something going here and it's time to really put our foot on the gas and go for it. Take that risk and make those investments and really push for it. So I think in five years, I just want our brand to be somewhere where it's known. As far as storefronts, I love the brick and mortar aspect. If I'm fortunate enough, I’d love to have something in another city, like Paris. We looked at Malibu before and a lot of different places. So if that can happen, that would be great. But if not, I think just as a brand, I would just want to really push for an online presence and community. 

Sav: Our vision has just redefined itself and made itself more clear with the more that we work. Being able to build different teams where we're able to not wear so many hats would be nice. Because I think that probably contributes the most to feeling that doom and gloom. When it comes to entrepreneurship, your time is money. But you're stuck in a space where that's your lifestyle at that time. I think it'd be really fun to have people that I can bring on, and we all can build something where we all stay in our own lane, which is how you get stuff done. That's my favorite thing about film is that everyone has a job. It's beautiful. Clockwork. The amount of things that can get done in one day is astounding. I think I can bring a lot of that energy to what we do.

Cody: We're here every day and talking about this every day. It feels like we've lived a lifetime on it. Like, I have dreams about it. From Long Beach to here, it feels like two different life cycles, like, it's insane. It's crazy for us to see each other grow as a team and as people. So for us to see each other change as people, as workers, as owners, as creatives, it's been a very unique and cool experience. In five years I want us in the community, being someone like a Fugazi, or the old Golf store, like old Fairfax, where we’re able to just create a hub for people from all around the world to just come in and learn. We have so many ideas for events. I eventually want to turn this into where we can do panels and have people learn how to sew, or learn how to run a brand. Like doing different kinds of pop-ups and flea market type things where you can just get this really unique experience. So yeah, in five years, it'll be on a whole other level. I think we can do something that no one's really seen before. The stars are the limit, like not even the sky, yeah we can go crazy.