dork magazine.

Branding, Streetwear & Movements | Part I
words by. Catzie

It seems that in the fast world of retail, with just about everybody and their brother making t-shirts, so-called independent clothing companies are poppin’ up everywhere. So... retail should be easy, right? Think again. You have to come up with a better game plan than just having an idea, putting it on a shirt and hoping it’ll sell.

First off, you need classic creations. Not in the typical sense, but timeless pieces. Because if you’re designing now, you have to make something that will be relevant a year later when it’s actually being displayed on shelves for customers. Having to create a couple of seasons ahead isn't easy. Things like having time to show the line and calculate orders on production and distribution make trend and design forecasting critical. Second, you need an signature style, a main theme, a mission statement. Something that symbolizes the heart of your brand and remains consistent in everything you do. Then lastly, is the hustle, and how you put yourself out there. It’s the most important thing you do, make or break.

Welcome to the Magic Show, the clothing tradeshow where a clothing company’s hustle is put to test. Twice a year (February and August) labels convene to the Las Vegas Convention Center to show upcoming lines, in the hopes of building accounts with new (and old) retailers. There are 3 main components to Magic: Menswear, Womens & Childrens Wear, and Fabric. What I’m interested in lies in the Menswear, the part they call Streetwear. Here, Rocawear, Akademiks, LRG, and Jordan boast their presence with colossal sized "room-booths" out in front while the smaller companies are spread throughout the rest of the room.

Within Streetwear however, is a small section for independent designers, called the High 5 Campground. But even within this area is a select group of brands that have managed to carve out their own niche and establish themselves in the Streetwear market with not just dope designs but a cultural following too. I managed to catch up and politic with the fine folks at Mighty Healthy, 10 Deep, King Stampede, Reason and UNDRCRWN (all reppin NYC), Mama Clothing and JB Classics (both SF), The Hundreds (LA), as well as IN4MATION (Hawaii) to see how they get down and what "making it" in this industry is about.

Like I was saying before, the aesthetic appeal of your line not only depends on how dope one shirt is but the entire package you have to offer: your business cards, your line sheets, your website, even your staff and who you associate with. The quality, level of detail and presentation has to be top notch. You have to be invested in your company. It’s a serious business.

What’s amazing is that some of these guys actually hold down real 9-5s, and still manage a clothing company. Take Denis Iderman and Ray Mate’ for example, who both do IT related work for financial firms and run Mighty Healthy in their "free" time. Newcomers Philip Bassis and Jonathan Totaro of Reason Clothing are literally the new kids on the block. At 20 and 19, they’re one of the youngest to have a line, but are also full-time students and do freelance design work. Others like Bobby Hundreds, Creative Director of The Hundreds and MDot of JB Classics Footwear, made the sacrifice of having real jobs to be full-time designers.

"We're in the studio from 10-10 everyday, crackin' on the gear and the website," according to Bobby Hundreds. "This is my everything job - day, night, even in my sleep!" says MDot. Todd Shimabuku, one of the co-founders of the IN4MATION store, as well as a rep for Hong Kong-based brand Know1edge, is the ultimate hustler. He gets to see both sides of retail and has been working this industry since 1998. "We started as a store and along with carrying great products we felt it was time to concentrate on building our Tshirt line into a full fledged brand," says Todd. "My day job consists of working at the shop, buying, marketing, managing, overseeing In4mation’s operations as well as making sure our wholesale/production part is going smoothly."

Regardless of what their actual time commitments are, they all treat their brands like their babies. And they should. This is after all, their very own creation. For some it’s been a lifelong dream. Take Pete Leonard of King Stampede as he explains how they got started, "Two friends, myself and Nick (Langella who is the owner), grew up together and pretty much started it 10 years after the idea popped up. We kinda always wanted to do something like this, something creative, like record stores. We always wanted to make clothes, something that represented us. I wrote the name and kinda created my own little fantasy company. We went our separate ways, then he came back and the time was right." The jump from fantasy to reality seems natural because the definition of fashion is essentially an expression, and all these guys are trying to do is express who they are and what they stand for. For the most part, it’s about where they’re from, what they do and love most, and what inspires them. Sometimes it’s a hybrid of all these things together.

Mighty Healthy, who takes obvious influence from Ghostface Killah, also says it’s "where NYC meets skateboarding, and where Hip Hop meets the world" according to Denis. UNDRCRWN, whose thing happens to be basketball and Hip Hop, introduced tees with caricatures cartoons of Biggie and Tupac in jerseys in their last line and they ending up becoming their best sellers. This year they’re launching their latest creation, a shoe aptly called "THE LAYUP". Says Dustin, "You don't have to run up and down the court to rep the game. We focus on the culture of Basketball that surrounds the actual game."

With many of these brands it’s evident in their designs what influences them. Most consist of humorous parodies of pop icons (sometimes retro) poking fun at mainstream culture while others exude a "street" attitude, purposely edgy and unfamiliar to deflect the average consumer. This idea of being and remaining independent satisfies the desire to do whatever, a somewhat rebellious way-of-thinking from traditional corporate methods, a behavior that seems to almost mirror the relationship between a teen and parent. It makes sense, especially since these creations are meant to represent what’s fresh and young. Anthony Nguyen from 10 Deep, describes it as being... "Adolescent designs. A lot of it comes from growing up in New York. We use a lot of bold, in-your-face graphics, they tend to be very abrasive. That helps us stand out a little bit more, so it’s pretty identifiable with the brand. I mean, we’ve got huge beers cans on t-shirts!" It seems then, that touching upon the key element of this "attitude" is very much based on memory. Perhaps that’s why it appeals to a certain demographic and a certain generation, because those same customers who buy the clothes feel the same nostalgic excitement when they see the designs. They recognize that the people behind these brands are just like them. "We’re drawing from our inspirations from when we were little kids," explains Pete," those pre-teen years, when we were slowly all getting into the same things. We’re literally wringing the sponge of all the sh!t we’ve absorbed from the last 10-15 years."

Relevant Dork Articles:
Woody & Sneaker Freaker [Here]
Philadelphia's WTHN a New Boutique [Here]
A-Ron and aNYthing [Here]
Ricky Kim is Dork of the Week [Here]
Bobby Hundreds is Dork of the Week [Here]
Dave from DQM is Dork of the Week [Here]

Read Rob Walker's article from the NY Times [Here]

[Stay tuned for Part II of Branding, Streetwear & Movements]