From the Bronx is a Bronx family affair.
Started by Anthony Ramirez II and his two younger brothers, the clothing line began after Ramirez, an after school teacher at the time, wanted more decorations for his classroom, as he could never find anything other than Bronx Zoo or Yankees posters as decorations related to the borough. When he tried to talk to his students about the Bronx, most of them mentioned wanting to leave his beloved borough.
“Every time I would speak to our students and ask them about what they wanted to do when they grew up, it was always, ‘Oh I can’t wait to grow up and get out of here,’” he said.
Ramirez II then began his company in 2006 as a way to try and “reintroduce Bronxites to the Bronx.” The company now creates everything from clothes to mugs and posters and includes a branch of the company called Mainland Media, which focuses on helping small local businesses with social media strategies.
From the Bronx often does collaborations with other artists and offices as a way to promote and feature local artists and try to spread their work to larger audiences. In 2013, the brand collaborated with the Museum of Modern Art to feature their work in museum stores in New York City, Korea, and Japan. This year, From the Bronx collaborated with Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson to create the Tour de Bronx bike ride T-shirt.
“Normally they just write the words and put on some handlebars,” Ramirez said. “So we decided to do something a little more fun and energetic, something that feels more authentic [and] original Bronx.”
The T-shirt ended up having a woman riding on a bicycle holding a boombox, something that for Ramirez, also represents the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, which was born in the Bronx. Hip-hop has also been an integral element of From the Bronx; it is even featured in their logo and has been a large part of their collections this year.
“Hip-hop is just a small part of the influence that the Bronx has had on the world stage,” Ramirez said. “We always say that the Bronx is New York’s proudest borough and we always want people to see the Bronx as a place that is worth being proud of. It’s a place that’s rich with culture and history.”
In addition to their ongoing collections surrounding the anniversary of hip-hop, most recently, From the Bronx highlighted the work of Ricky Flores, a photographer from the Bronx.
“It’s not just about our own merchandise that we create,” Ramirez said. “A lot of it is about our collaborations and features. It’s important to us to not only feature up-and-coming new creators, but to also feature the old school creators and Ricky’s been doing it forever.”
Flores’ work is up on the From the Bronx website as part of a limited edition 10-part black-and-white print photography collection. The works feature images Flores’ took in the Bronx from the 1980s and 1990s, one of which includes children dancing in an open fire hydrant, something Flores remembers doing in his childhood as well.
Ramirez and his brothers were born and raised in the Bronx in a Puerto Rican family. As the company continues to collaborate with more artists and figures for Ramirez, it always comes back to spreading Bronx pride.
“There’s a Bronx pride that runs through everything we do and it runs through me and I would say it runs through everyone I know that is from the Bronx,” Ramirez said. “And that is the connection — a pride in our culture, a pride in our history and a willingness to share that, to be excited about it and to get other people excited about it.”
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