For Your Clothing by Kevin Boehner
The clothing industry faces many problems in this day and age, most of which are only a result of the the ever widening opportunities available through the internet. The first major problem we deal with (I struggle with calling it a problem) is the fact that everybody and their brotha owns, runs, designs, and is behind what they would like to call a clothing brand.
Now I’m not going to sit here and call out the countless “clothing brands” that saturate the internet with worthless graphics, cheesy concepts, and terrible brandsmanship, but I will explain and identify the disease of misguided dreams and aspirations. To call a person, most likely a younger individual, wrong about their hopes for the future seems very harsh. But quite frankly, 90% of the clothing world these days is built off false aspirations and not well thought out clothing. So it’s safe to say that instead of focusing on the art, growth as a movement, or concept behind a brand, a lot of individuals behind brands are seeking some level of notoriety or a quick buck. The internet has done many good things for the world of clothing, but many bad things as well. Networking and marketing has become a lot simpler. Even emailing is becoming a dying form of networking possibilities. Almost every day I log onto Twitter and four to five follow requests are from a clothing brand pertaining some sort of key word similar to “fresh”,”dope”, or some sort of inspirational term.
So now onto brandsmanship. How in the world can an owner take pride in a brand that relies on obnoxious and excessive breaches of social network privacy? Here is an example of a clothing brand and their twitter numbers. Followers: 568. Following: 2,378. Can someone please try to explain to me how your brand will ever be respected if you constantly spam to gain a following. That is not the right way to gain supporters and will fail eventually. The average life of a new clothing brand these days is probably somewhere around a year and a half. The sad thing about the internet is that while it provides excellent opportunities, these opportunities are sometimes aimed towards the wrong crowd of people. People who do not understand the industry think they do. They think they know what it takes to have a clothing brand that is different, but they don’t. The most disappointing part of this whole culture is that almost always the the brand that sticks to stereotypical streetwear artwork or themes comes out on top, while the true artists, designers and creatives are working a 9-5 job and giving into a life that is less beneficial for a rapidly dying culture. But that’s life. So here’s to all of you clothing businessmen with crappy brands. May your quick start up business prosper and then die and leave way for true artists to gain what they deserve.
Although the internet has played a heavy role in the destruction of the clothing culture, it all falls back on individuals within the industry. Instead of doing what is claimed, and being original, most brands fall subject to the nasty epidemic of trends. Most brands do the same parody as the next brand. Most brands have no true identity or a style of artwork or anything interesting to make them anything more than a typical t-shirt company. I understand that because a lot of people behind brands are around the same age, they are inspired by a lot of the same music, art, movies, or ideas, so parodies tend to be very similar. At the end of the day the organic success of a clothing brand and culture comes down to a few simple things:
- Solid artwork
- Pride in the brand
- The right networking mindset
- And (most importantly) the people behind the brand. You can sniff out an ignorant entrepreneur a mile away.
I wish the clothing industry godspeed and the best of luck. May the internet cease to exist and the many misguided fools find their true calling. Thank you internet for making sure that change is still a constant in the universe. I would like to leave you with this:
Pointless clothing brands will continue to exist, they will never realize it isn’t where they belong. Quality brands will emerge from the depths of the oceanic forums and social networking sites in a god-like manner. They will strike down the lesser brands to a peon status with some sort of Nordic weapon (or social network comment). But after striking away the hard chocolate shell of the shitty clothing brands through divine right, the true sorrow for those who are clueless is shown by the highest quality of brands. Instead of delivering a deathly blow to the head, the brands of the god’s will realize the childish mannerisms and helplessness of the clothing brand they are about to demolish forever. They show mercy and let the creatures go on to live their mediocre dependent lives. The best brands are Max Rockatansky, while the worthless brands are Masterblaster. Let’s show mercy to the paupers, but not forget our responsibilities we hold as genuine clothing brands.
“They say people don’t believe in heroes anymore. Well, damn them! You and me, we’re gonna give ‘em back their heroes!”
