Malik Mcintyre began his career as a designer in 2014 under the moniker Kass Kouture. However, juggling the business and his studies proved to be a difficult task, and he soon realized that he couldn’t finance his passion. To overcome this challenge, he joined the military in 2015 with the aim of earning enough money to relaunch his design business. Despite the demanding schedule, he persevered and continued to design while serving as a full-time sailor, which was quite challenging due to his unpredictable work schedule. After a seven-month deployment, he found that his brand had lost much of its momentum. Recognizing the need to rekindle interest, Malik designed his most popular piece, the chaos puffer, which went viral in 2019.
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between World’s Leaders and Malik Mcintyre:
Describe who you are as a person, inside and outside of the workplace.
I’m the same person everywhere! The military has definitely instilled discipline and leadership in me, but I’ve always maintained a fun and charismatic energy. I can be very serious when it’s crunch time, but I’m still very easygoing and approachable.
I never want to make people feel like they’re working FOR me, but WITH me. It’s very important for me that all of my assistants, models, photographers, etc. feel like they’re a part of my team.
Describe your background and what did you do before you started Mcintyre?
I’ve had a job ever since I was legally allowed to work. I started off bagging groceries at Jewel-Osco when I was 16, and then I picked up a second job tutoring kids after school. I discovered my love for design when I was 17 and quickly discovered how expensive the craft can be. I joined the military right after graduation and saved enough to release my first collection at 19 years old.
Tell us about the inception of Mcintyre. How did it all start?
I actually just rebranded to McIntyre last year; prior to that, the brand was called Kash Kouture. I started KK when I was 18, and it appealed to the audience that I grew up around (Chicago).
After leaving the city and spending time to truly find myself and my style, I realized that I was tailoring my designs to fit an image that I didn’t embody. I wanted my brand to reflect me and my art, so I created McIntyre. The designs are out of the box, colorful, and fun, but not for everybody. After years of creating for everybody else, I decided it was time to start just creating for myself.
I feel like true artists don’t create for other people; their art comes from them, and they simply wait for like-minded people who love and respect their craft to tune in.
A perfect example of a true artist is Lady Gaga. When she made her debut, many people were confused. Who is she? What is this sound?
Nobody had ever seen anything like it; she brought drama and art back into music. To me, that’s a true artist. Artists don’t just make songs with a catchy hook that they know people will like; they put their soul into their work.
What has made you successful? What do you value?
Persistence. I will never quit; I’ll exhaust every option before I give up on my craft.
Which are the major services of the company and how does Mcintyre get ahead in the competition? What value-added services do you provide?
Customer service is something I take the most pride in. I make sure everything that comes with the brand is on par with high-end labels, from the packaging to the customer service to the quality of the clothes.
When customers order something from me for the first time, they’re always surprised at how high the quality is.
What are the most important aspects of a company’s culture? What principles do you believe in and how do you build this culture?
Creating a work environment that everyone can thrive in I still have a very small team. I have one intern and one assistant, but I make sure that they get a lot out of working for me, not just money. I truly feel like if you want people to be excited to work for you, you have to make them feel as important as they are.
Everyone should be treated with the same amount of respect, from the top to the bottom. I tell my intern all the time that I couldn’t do any of this without her hard work, I say her name in all of my interviews, and I take her with me to every red carpet event. A win for McIntyre is a win for everyone involved.
What is the significance of innovative ideas in Mcintyre?
McIntyre wouldn’t be where it is now without my creativity. There are so many brands in the “fast fashion” era that we’re in, you really have to provide something that people can’t get anywhere else.
When you’re an upcoming designer, you can’t rely on your name to make the sale. So I make sure that everything I release is something unique to the brand that people can’t get anywhere else.
Give us your opinion on; do organizations rely heavily on individual heroics or team processes?
Being in the military, commands rely on individual heroics. Working in the navy is not like most jobs because when you underperform, they can’t fire you. You would think the right solution to that would be to hold them accountable and force them to change, but sadly, this isn’t true most of the time. Commands will assign the most responsibility to those they believe are capable, while underperformers will be given little to no responsibility. Is it fair? Absolutely not, but normally it doesn’t change until your achiever finally cracks due to all the pressure.
What are your responsibilities as the Founder / Director of the brand? What is the happiest part of your daily routine?
My job is to provide creative direction for the designing portion of the brand and oversight for the business aspect. Creative direction is my favorite because it doesn’t feel like work at all; it’s just me providing ideas and pulling designs from my chaotic mind.
What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
Be kind but also firm. You want the people who work under you to feel like they can approach you but also respect you at the same time.
Don’t ask someone to do something that you couldn’t or wouldn’t do yourself.
And lastly, treat people like people. People make mistakes, people need time off, people have feelings. Always take that into consideration when you make authoritative decisions.
