Ray Wang, Founder - Iconaclub

REDEFINING STREETWEAR BY PROMOTING CAR CULTURE THROUGH FASHION AND ART.

What inspired you to start Icona Club, and how did SF car culture play into that decision? Iconaclub was founded in 2019, originally as a car photography account. Prior to that, I had experimented with a small hoodie collection featuring embroidered cars, which I promoted on Reddit. That project led someone to reach out to me about cars, giving me my first introduction into car photography. From 2019 to 2021, Iconaclub primarily documented car builds across the Bay Area, later expanding to cover cars around the U.S. I supported the project by releasing small merchandise drops tied to my photography hobby.

Over time, my interests began shifting toward fashion. I looked for a streetwear brand that authentically represented car culture but found none that truly resonated. I realized that while skate culture had developed numerous fashion labels, car culture lacked that same artistic representation. That gap pushed me to learn cut-and-sew and, beginning in 2022, focus on building Iconaclub into a credible fashion brand that promotes car culture on a larger stage.

It wasn’t just San Francisco car culture that shaped Iconaclub but the Bay Area scene as a whole. The region’s unique JDM stance and tuner builds influenced much of the brand’s early creative direction. Yet the culture here is far more diverse, pushing me to explore subcultures throughout California. The people I met, each passionate with stories tied to their own builds drew me deeper into the world of car culture and continue to inspire the brand today.

Icona is about more than clothing - it’s about celebrating the artistry of car culture. How do you translate that into your designs? The cultural impact of each garment varies by design. Our tapestry jackets, for instance, transform artistic prints into wearable pieces. Other collections feature motifs inspired by cars and motorsports, while some designs draw directly from my personal experiences and emotions. Many pieces are created with drivers in mind designed to enhance their presence both behind the wheel and when stepping out of the car, functioning almost as an accessory to the driver and the vehicle. More intricate examples, like our Star Bolts set, incorporate BMW star torx bolts as metal pins throughout the design.

The community feels central to Icona. What role does the community gallery and your connection to enthusiasts play in shaping the brand? Our community gallery features reputable artists and fashion influencers wearing our pieces, demonstrating how Iconaclub’s designs can resonate even with people unfamiliar with car culture. When others see this, it often leads them to discover the brand, explore the world we’ve built, and hopefully develop a deeper interest in the culture itself.

As for car enthusiasts, their role in shaping the brand comes largely through direct feedback. I often wear sample pieces publicly especially at car events and around car owners months before production to gauge reception. If the community responds positively, I know the design is a true representation of what should be released for car culture.

Icona draws from both car culture and art. How do those worlds come together in your work? I would say question 2 serves as a good answer to this. Besides garments, it's hosting events bringing in music, art, cars, and fashion; building a sense of community. Our recent collection brought in a comic artist within car culture to design a small capsule.

You’ve been around both SF and NY car culture. What differences stand out to you between the two scenes? Car culture in the Bay Area leans heavily toward JDM, while in New York I noticed a stronger influence from European cars. In California, car culture feels more visible and widespread, partly because driving is essential here. Tuning culture is also much bigger in the Bay I think due to California’s strict regulations, which make modifying cars feel more rebellious and expressive. The added risk and costs push people to be more creative with their builds. In New York, especially in Brooklyn and Manhattan where my experience is based, the culture feels more dispersed. The urban density creates a different risk of accidents from the crowded environment whereas in California the bigger risk comes from law enforcement. That said, I know neighboring areas like New Jersey have a large and passionate car community as well. Lastly the biggest difference is just the weather in California makes it a lot easier to drive and have events year round.

Looking ahead, where do you want to take Icona Club in the next few years? Looking ahead, I want Iconaclub to expand beyond just the car community while remaining approachable, a brand that serves as a gateway for outsiders to discover car culture. Part of that vision includes hosting larger events and establishing dedicated retail and coffee storefronts as community hubs for weekly gatherings. I also see opportunities to collaborate with the music industry, using cars as a natural backdrop and accessory to performances. Long term, the goal is to explore car culture across Asia and Europe, eventually setting up international community spaces and storefronts there as well.

For those coming to the Wheels show, what should they expect to see from Iconaclub? The timing of our production cycle is a challenge. Ideally, we’d showcase our upcoming Fall collection if shipments arrive in time. If not, we’ll present a curated selection of pieces we’ve saved over the past five years to highlight at the event. At the close of the show, select garments will also be available for purchase as one-time archive pieces for those especially interested.

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When a culture so rich becomes neglected, creativity thrives, attracting like minded people to form a community.

People see tuner cars on the street they turn their attention to these unique and artistic machines, yet for years society has turned a blind eye to exploring deeper into the richness car culture has to offer. Those who dare adventure into this niche underground scene quickly find themselves in a world full of passionate creatives from self-made mechanics building cars to artists capturing this lifestyle through their forms of media. But never has anyone tried to express this lifestyle into the world through fashion, that is what makes Iconaclub, ICONACLUB