Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in Volume 7 of B.H. Magazine, order your copy now.
Daniel Ricciardo might not be steering a Formula 1 car anymore, but that doesn’t mean he’s slowed down. In fact, he’s stepped on the accelerator, giving his growing apparel brand, Enchanté, more time than he ever could when he was on the grid. What started as an in-joke among friends has turned into a full-blown motorsports-inspired lifestyle brand.
B.H. Magazine: The origin story of Enchanté is famously a Monaco “cheers” in-joke. When did that word develop to the point where you decided it had to stand on its own as a proper label?
Daniel Ricciardo: It kind of evolved with a friend over the years of us just being young and silly on nights out. Plus, I always loved the way it sounded. It was a continuation of RIC3, which I’d started during Covid, and in addition to wanting a brand that would thrive after my F1 career, I think I was honestly a bit sick of wearing things with my name and number on them. From there, we refined the brand’s direction, which sits firmly in the motorsports lane – because ultimately, that’s what I know.
B.H.: You’ve said it’s rooted in automotive culture. What’s the difference between motorsport fashion and automotive fashion in your head?
DR: I know it sounds like the same thing, but my interpretation is I’ve always felt racing stuff is a little bit too one-dimensional. Basically, stuff that’s worn at a racetrack. I don’t think that stuff holds up as well if you’re gonna grab a coffee with your mates, so my focus through an automotive lens is that it’s about car culture.
It’s not specific to F1 or V8 Supercars; in fact, it doesn’t even have to be racing, but I wanted to make something that branches out from the racetrack. For example, a compliment I love to get is, “Oh, this reminds me of when I went to a race back in the ’90s”, because the rawness of that feeling and the nostalgia is what got me into cars. That’s what we’re tapping into and where we’re trying to get creative.
B.H.: What’s one thing you’ve learned about fashion that F1 absolutely did not prepare you for?
DR: F1 is pretty black and white. The stopwatch doesn’t lie. If you’re fast, you’re fast. If you’re slow, you’re slow. With Enchanté, I’ve needed to learn to be a bit more open-minded. Obviously, I want to make things I love, but just because I love it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make it. It’s a balance, because as much as we want to give the people what they want, we don’t want to make stuff just because it’ll be successful. I don’t want the brand to be pop music; I want it to be punk rock.
B.H.: How much of Enchanté is “creative outlet” compared to “serious brand-building”?
DR: For me, it’s entirely a creative outlet. I love it, and it kind of surprises me as well how much I do, because I obviously didn’t study any of this at school, and it’s kind of like a newfound love and interest. Design calls are my favourite calls that I take during the week, because now I’m looking for inspiration everywhere. When I travel, I take so many photos [to share with the team], not just of other garments, but of bars where I loved the artwork, and then we’ll try to translate that feeling into the story we’re telling with our clothing.
B.H.: As far as fit, fabric, graphics, pricing, supply chain, etc, what’s the one non-negotiable you obsess over until it’s right?
DR: I’m a pain in the arse to the rest of the Enchanté team. I blame F1 – I truly do – for making me so detail-oriented, and I find I notice the smallest things. Quality is probably the most important, because while everyone’s got their own perception of what’s expensive or not, ultimately, I want people to get use out of our clothing. I don’t care if a t-shirt is $30 or $200; no one wants to wear something once, and it shrinks, so quality is something that we’re focused on. I just want people to be happy with the money they spend, because if you get use out of something, you can justify a certain price point.
Sure, I’d love for everyone to be able to afford it, but it’s a bit of a double-edged sword – the more effort you put into the quality side, the more expensive it has to be, so you can only cut costs so much if you want to retain quality.
B.H.: Talk to us about collabs. When you did Enchanté x Ford Racing, what did you insist on so it didn’t feel like a logo-slap capsule?
DR: Honestly, that was tricky for exactly that reason. I didn’t want it to feel like a Ford corporate T-shirt with a little Enchanté logo on it. It needed to have some of our personality; it had to feel like a real collab, and in general, I was really happy with how it turned out. We have a few more that we’ll do with Ford Racing this year, which I want to add a little bit more Enchanté DNA to.
We were in Detroit in January, and we got to go through all the old Ford archives, and the amount of Ford phrases, logos, and little wordmarks that exist is incredible. It’s stuff I’d never seen before, which is great because there’s so much to tap into there. The first D.R.op went well, and probably because of that, they’ve been really free and open with us, so hopefully we’ll get a little more wild with it.
B.H.: What's your favourite piece in the collection?
DR: I love the hoodie, specifically where we’ve mixed embroidery with screen printing for a bit of contrast and detail that feels thoughtful. The other thing that’s taken off like wildfire is the two-tone cream and blue Ford Racing hat. It’s kind of simple, but it feels like an old-school hat, and it really works. B.H.: What’s one other brand you'd love to collaborate with?
DR: Good question. I think there are a few brands that have done some really good work, and one of them is Dirt Studios, run by a guy called Donnie out of LA. He does similar things to what we do, but in the motocross world, so there are lots of retro logos and bright fluoro colours. I think he’s really cool, and I’d love to do a collaboration with him.
B.H.: Assuming Enchanté is thriving in 10 years, what does it look like as far as category, community, and culture?
DR: I would love to get set up in a few permanent spaces, maybe in London or New York. I love going down to a little neighbourhood coffee shop where you get to know the people, and it’s your little nesting place. If we could create something like that through the brand – somewhere that doesn’t feel transactional and where people can just hang out – I’d love to make that happen.