Wish You Were Here: How Raeland Mendoza is bringing the world to Edmonton
The co-founder of I'll Call You Tomorrow talks the beautiful chaos of hotel lobbies, the return of so-called "quiet luxury," and his brand's silky new collaboration.
VANCOUVER – What is home, exactly? Is it where you were born? Where you grew up? Is it the place you get your Amazon packages delivered? Or where everybody knows your name?
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the answer, usually, is “It depends.” For instance, I refer to Edmonton as my hometown but that’s really a matter of expediency. It’s easier to say I’m from North America’s northernmost major city than to explain that I grew up in a smaller suburb 40 minutes north, and rarely ventured into downtown.
I suppose this is my way of coming clean. I cannot claim Edmonton in any true sense of the word. It is a place I lived (sort of), but it wasn’t home in the way that I consider it. St. Albert, the aforementioned suburb, certainly checked most of the boxes, at least when I was a teenager. But I haven’t lived there in nearly a decade. As a teenager, my neighbourhood, Erin Ridge, was pretty much on the outskirts of town, right next to the Walmart and some fields of wheat. Now, the city keeps going. There’s a Costco and a Landmark Cinemas. Subdivisions on top of subdivisions. Enter: Erin Ridge North.
You know who can claim Edmonton? Raeland Mendoza.
As one of the multi-hyphenate creatives behind Edmonton’s popular clothing and events brand, I’ll Call You Tomorrow, Rae has done his part to help hang Oil City’s banner from the rafters, online and off. Since its prototype days in 2015, the brand has become a shorthand for style and sophistication, gracing the pages of GQ and sparking collaborations with many up-and-comers, including HP homies Casa Montego, with whom they are set to release a tres chic scarf later this week.
With so much in common, it seemed inevitable that Rae and I would eventually cross paths. And so, we finally did. Our edited and condensed conversation touched on Rae’s time in both Edmonton and Vancouver, the inspiration he draws from Stüssy, the death of Airbnb, whether martinis are having a moment, the return of “quiet luxury,” why ICYT is really a media company and so much more.
(Go Oilers.)
ES: You mentioned you were a little younger than some of your ICYT collaborators. Have you always liked hanging out with people who are a little older?
RM: It’s always been a little all over the place. Growing up, I was a little bit shyer and fell into the ‘responsible kid’ trope. So that automatically put me in with an older crowd. But honestly, it runs the gamut. I’m down to hang and talk with anyone and have that conversation. ICYT hosts a lot of events and you never know who’s going to pull up. A lot of younger people will worry that an ICYT party is too cool or unapproachable but they're always pleasantly surprised to find that’s not the case. You can approach the DJ booth and talk to us. We’re not going to be weird.
ES: As someone who’s been told he has a resting bitch face, that resonates.
RM: I’ll get it a lot, maybe because a lot of people are seeing me online first. Then they spend time around me and are like “Oh you’re actually a lot nicer and more casual than you seem.”
ES: Were you born and raised in Edmonton or what’s the story there?
RM: Born and raised in Edmonton. My parents immigrated here from the Philippines. I spent time in the Greater Toronto Area growing up, just because my dad’s family, when they immigrated, all touched down over there. I also spent some time in Vancouver after university, as we all do at some point. Laughs. I was out there for a few years working in the fashion industry and then, funny enough, decided to come back to Edmonton right before the pandemic hit.
ES: The Edmonton-to-Vancouver pipeline is a real thing. Was your family artsy growing up? Were they into clothes?
RM: I joke with my family that I was bred to do this. Multiple generations of my family, either in Canada or back in the Philippines, worked in the textile and garment industry. My sister works in fashion, my mom is a retired jeweler. My grandma was a seamstress and my grandpa was also a pattern maker who worked in suiting. So I have distinct memories growing up in their shops and them teaching me “This is good product,” or “This is good design.” Even the good manners to go along with it. It’s truly all I’ve ever known.
ES: When I chatted with Chris Maradiaga, he mentioned how Latin American culture can sometimes produce these A-type personalities. Is it hard coming from a family that’s so deep-rooted in garments and textiles? Do you feel any sort of pressure?
RM: I think it’s indicative of immigrant culture as a whole, particularly for the first or second-generation, because your family is “not from here.” There’s this pressure to figure out yourself, whether it’s professional or personal. You have to self-actualize in this new land. That’s always going to be a pressure.
To play into a trope, I have very specific experiences where my family was like “If you’re choosing this creative path, you have to take it very seriously. It’s a craft and it’s not something a lot of people are successful in or get to pursue. So you have to treat that with a lot of reverence.” Essentially, be the best.
ES: What are some of the lessons you learned in Vancouver that you brought back with you to Wildrose country?
RM: Vancouver definitely taught me to value Edmonton. I love aspects of Vancouver, though no part of me wants to live there again. I could never crack the code to make the city feel like home. It’s a different pace, different people. But it also taught me to compete at a higher level. The fashion industry down there has its own mini atmosphere. When I was running around that it taught me a lot in terms of output of work, and the level of work. Going about things with consistency. It really showed me what it looks like to compete at a high level.
Also just the lifestyle. I’ve always tried to be a healthy person. When I first moved to Vancouver I never thought I’d develop a whole routine, but by the end of my time there I was running in Lululemon with a yoga mat on my back. The whole thing.
ES: What part of the city did you live in?
RM: The West End. Like Robson and Broughton, right where downtown sort of turns into the proper West End. Next to all the ramen shops.
ES: We used to live at Davie and Bute. It’s such a special neighbourhood, but it’s also a pain in the ass to get to when you don’t live there.
Can you walk me through some of the benefits of building ICYT in Edmonotn, as opposed to Vancouver or Toronto? It seems like the team is really dedicated to the city.
RM: We are. It’s always going to be our home city, this is where we’re properly from. ICYT’s origins are in nightlife and events and experiences. Even at our current level, I try to keep that in focus. That in-person experience is always going to be our main focus and it’s easier to do in Edmonton in a lot of ways. In a grander sense, we are so community focused and the Edmonton community, hyper-locally, means a lot to us.
Business-wise, I like to say that Edmonton isn’t completely saturated yet. There are a lot of cool things happening here. But it affords us the opportunity to take these big swings and experiment with different types of events, different types of experiences, and different types of products, and take on these really interesting collaborations without having to worry about competition or super high overhead. I like the challenge and also have a chip on my shoulder to not only shine a light on our home city but to romanticize it and take that with us no matter where we go.
ES: Are there any brands that you draw inspiration from when it comes to that sort of community-minded approach?
RM: I really look towards Stüssy. Product wise it has a distinct brand point of view, but it’s also informed by subculture, whether that’s nightlife, different genres of music, and it’s kind of a common thread for subcultural communities in any place. They’ve also been incredibly consistent. You can take any piece of clothing that they made a decade ago and it’s still probably going to make sense now if you tried to sell it.
In terms of other brands, we’re in a very fortunate place where we get to work with a lot of cool Canadian brands and international brands. It’s interesting to see the different communities intermingle. We have a collaboration with Casa Montego right now and seeing how organically our platforms mesh together is some of the most interesting and energizing times for me.
ES: Can you expand on how nightlife and events feed into the brand?
RM: A proto-form of ICYT started in 2015 and it was only DJing and parties. The reason it started was because all of my best friends were musicians or DJs and photographers and we wanted a larger umbrella to put our work under. My background is in design and marketing so I kind of naturally came into developing the business structure. For the first couple of years, we only worked in nightlife, whether it was parties or art activations here in Edmonton. We really cut our teeth with that experience-first approach and creating those hubs and spaces for community. We always like to say that it’s not necessarily about the party itself, but it’s about the conversations and the people you meet at the party, or outside the party. That was our way to orient ourselves and engage with people. It’s turned into something where we can still host a lot of collection release parties in the city, but we can also bring other talent into the city or bring our different music experiences or pop-ups to places outside of Edmonton. All of it informs our product. Music, art, fashion. It’s all different avenues that let us engage with people.
ES: I think it’s really interesting because so many fashion brands start with a product and then have to figure out how to present it, whereas you guys have almost reverse-engineered it. “We have the event, so let’s make some product.”
RM: Totally. At our first “pop-up” in 2015, we were just throwing t-shirts out of the DJ booth. No sense of retail or anything like that. Now it’s more 50/50. Experience and product inform each other… I kind of joke that we’re actually a media company that just happens to have really good merch.
ES: Let’s talk about this Hotel Paraíso collab you have with friend of the newsletter Chris and his brand Casa Montego. You’re selling me a real fantasy.
RM: I’m really obsessed with storytelling whenever we approach product. Not necessarily in the sense of a concrete narrative, but the best marketing and storytelling sells you a fantasy. With this project, there are a couple different elements at play. ICYT has been playing around with this Paraíso verbiage – different hotel bars or random cocktail bars… This one has roots in latin america, last spring we had a t-shirt that played on the graphic design that is prevalent in dancehall and island cultures. But this is our third collaboration with Casa Montego. We knew we wanted to do something special for it, and we knew it was going to come out in the summer, and our brains automatically went to silk scarves. A fun accessory.
Fortunately for me, the guys at Casa had this really cool illustration and wanted to play on this 70s bar style, pull on their Latin American roots. We already had that going with the Paraíso thing so it just came together.
The rollout for this one has been super fun. We’ve been able to do content and campaigns in a bunch of different cities. Victoria, Vancouver, New York. It’s supposed to showcase Hotel Paraíso as this cocktail bar that can exist in any different city, or the space between spaces.
ES: It feels like hotels are having a real resurgence at the moment, with a lot of people reconsidering their feelings about alternative options like Airbnb. What’s your preferred flavour of hotel?
RM: I like a nice mix of high and low. If the vibe calls for [West Edmonton Mall’s] Fantasyland hotel with the safari room or the room with the mirrored ceilings, we’re gonna do that. Alternatively, if you’re looking for prim and proper, we’re doing The Fairmont. For a more boutique experience, downtown Edmonton has The Varscona, as well.
It’s really interesting to see the downfall of Airbnb. It used to be the only option when traveling but now it feels like you’re paying more than a hotel and you’re expected to clean up the space. We’re basically reverse engineering whatever worked previously. Going to a hotel bar is a cool energy. It’s classic.
ES: There’s nothing better than a hotel lobby – seeing people coming and going.
RM: I love people watching, so seeing where people are going, how they’re dressed. The hotel lobby is usually the most unhinged part of the building. You can tell who’s here for a wild night out, who’s here for a convention.
ES: What’s your go-to drink at the lobby bar? Or do you drink?
RM: I do drink. But funny enough, I was bone dry sober for a good two years after I came back to Edmonton. I just love the challenge of things and I got it into my head that I could work in nightlife completely sober. And I know a lot of people who do it.
My classic go-to is a Negroni. TikTok kind of blew that up, but it pairs well with everything – whether you’re having dinner or going out. It’s usually simple enough that most bars won’t mess it up. But it’s funny, right now, I feel like we’re in a martini resurgence. Like, we’re a few months away from Earls putting dirty martinis on their happy hour menu.
ES: 100%. The martini is back in a big way.
RM: It’s back strong. We got introduced to it through the espresso martini, and now I think that has crested and people are looking for the next thing. It feels like a throwback to a bygone era. Even just noticing people wanting to get a bit more dressed up when they go out.
ES: What’s your martini order?
RM: Gin martini, extra dirty, extra olives. I’ll have a maximum of two in one night before I have to switch to something else. By then you’re talking to people with full-on olive breath.
ES: A little snack with your drink.
I wanted to pick your brain on quiet luxury. ICYT has never shied away from louder prints and graphics. How do you see the brand fitting into this current cultural conversation?
RM: It’s interesting… The quiet luxury thing is, I think, a sign that we’re collectively tired of the logo mania that was happening in 2015 and 2016. The example I go to is the Supreme x Louis Vuitton collaboration where it was just logo mania everything. Over branded products. So this is a way to signal back to a time before that, when people were wearing Common Projects, and that more understated luxury. It’s interesting to see someone who is maybe 22 on TikTok discovering minimal clothing for the first time. For them, they think it’s a revolution, but we’re really just witnessing the needle swinging back.
ES: I for one am excited to spend $500 on plain white shoes again. I think that’s a sound investment.
RM: That is my default setting, but in the past few years I’ve been more experimental with my own personal style. I’m sure no one even notices, but it’s like, instead of the all-black shoe I’ll go with the all-black mule.
ES: Really pushing the boundaries.
There’s an interesting conversation happening around fashion shows more broadly at the moment, even just with this week’s Fear of God show at the Hollywood Bowl and how it cost [an estimated] $11 million. Where do you stand on the big spectacle of it all, or do you think ICYT will keep things intimate?
RM: Fashion shows, whether it’s Fear of God or other brands, are really geared towards “How is this going to look on social media?” It’s not necessarily even for the audience that is there watching it. It’s never really about the experience or the clothes. Half the people reporting on that are going to see the looks on Vogue’s website the next day… I find fashion shows kind of awkward to be at. I don’t make clothing, right now at least, to be presented on a runway. You can engage with streetwear however you need to, it’s not a full fashion show. That said, whatever event or experience we’re putting on, I like to consider whether it would be fun to be at… Brands will put on events or pop-ups or parties, and a lot of it isn’t that fun. You can find yourself at some weird corporate event. It negates the whole point.
Raeland Mendoza is one of the multi-hyphenates behind I’ll Call You Tomorrow. He lives in Edmonton.