28. 02. 2023
Doyenne Blazer
In 2017, the founders of the Doyenne brand saw a gap in their local scene and quickly mobilized to fill it.
Faced with a lack of diversity and representation in skateparks, on the streets, and most importantly, a lack of a safe space for new skaters to express themselves, they began by organizing skate meets in the brand’s home city of Glasgow, Scotland. The impact and response to these early meetups sparked their project to transform into a full-fledged brand with the goal of representing and inspiring the community around them and abroad.
As a female-led brand, Doyenne operates as a collective entity comprised of skaters, artists, activists and creatives, using the brand as a unifying force to mobilize and empower women and gender non-conforming people in skateboarding. Along with their events, fundraising and activations, Doyenne designs apparel and products with a goal of creating gender neutral products made with an ethical and sustainable mindset.
We spoke with Doyenne to understand their mission, ethos, aspirations and how their distinct visual and ethical point of view informs the brand and its community, as well as their recent collaboration with Nike SB . So what was the impetus for founding the Doyenne brand?
"Doyenne has evolved a lot over the years. We started in Glasgow, Scotland in 2017. When I started skateboarding, we felt like there weren't many brands that were run by women and supported diverse skaters. We loved the idea of starting one, so we thought, why not just do it? After learning about other skateboard collectives and non-profits that were doing important work, we wanted to use the brand to create opportunities and support charities and help make the community more diverse. We started by hosting a bunch of beginner meetups where people could show up and skate in a safe space, just to see if it would be fun.
From the beginning, we wanted to be inclusive and accessible within skateboarding, but we also have a background in design and art. So another way we use our brand is as a vehicle to talk about issues we care about and collaborate with artists and charities with the same goals.
"Doyenne is a skate brand, but it's also a design studio, a collective, and a project that goes beyond just skateboarding."
