Q- Social and environmental consciousness are increasingly important to consumers. How does your brand incorporate sustainability and ethical practices into its operations, and why is this aspect important to you?
A- So, in terms of sustainability, that is something that I’ve become increasingly more, not necessarily aware of, but putting more effort into. Obviously, this is a very big problem in our industry in general, and one of the big things I’ve been trying to tackle is A, the materials used and then B, our packaging. So that’s why I now use fully biodegradable packaging. I’m trying to get even the little things like the labels printed using more environmentally friendly things. In terms of the materials, for example, our 100% cotton hoodie, trying to use 100% organic cotton and just little nuances like that can hopefully bring the whole thing together.
Another aspect I’ve seen other brands do, which I’ve looked at doing, is doing things made to order. So, you’re never making excess stock and never have wasted products. So, just trying to make sure that everything that gets made gets sold and yeah, not having any leftover waste and just trying to, you know, be as environmentally friendly and leave as small of a footprint as possible.
In terms of ethical practices, overseas manufacturing, in some instances, is unethical. So, I am definitely looking more towards manufacturing in the USA when possible. I’m trying to verify with factories things like proper wages. I’m looking into exactly who’s making what and getting videos of those sorts of things. There are also just little things like looking at reviews from other people and getting a general consensus and knowledge on what factories are good to use from an ethical perspective. That is something I’m trying to lean more towards and, you know, exploring one piece at a time.
Q- Streetwear is often associated with urban culture and subcultures. How do you navigate the balance between staying true to these roots while also appealing to a broader, mainstream audience?
A- Honestly, with streetwear, at least for me, I kind of have my own tastes. I do a lot of research and I'm always up to date on other brands and looking at subcultures and influences; things like nature. But at the end of the day I'm very much just in my own lane, always trying not to pay too much attention to what's going on elsewhere and staying true to the things that I want to do with my brand and just making stuff that I want to wear. The test for me is, if I make something that I want to wear and that I think looks cool then it passes, and then honestly it's good enough for me to put out into a wider audience. Now, with regards to that I'm definitely always asking for feedback. I'm always looking at peers or I'll do a story post from time to time just to kind of get a general consensus on, you know, what the public feels like. But, I'm mostly focused on making things that I think are cool, that are unique and that have very interesting messages that are very coherent to my brand. Some things are more on the nose, like the Dear Planet hoodies, very direct message, some of them are way more subtle, like some of the upcoming things that I have coming on, like this chest dress shirt and my out of time jacket, which have different references that are, you know, a little more subtle, like I said.
It's kind of how I navigate the streetwear culture, I guess you would say I obviously respect the culture very deeply. I got into all this actually just because of like Supreme and like I'm sure many other people do from some of the major brands. And so obviously pay homage to those. Those guys have really been part of the culture for a while. In terms of like navigating that balance, I'm, again, making stuff that I think is cool and that I want to wear. It's kind of as simple as that.
Q- The aesthetics of streetwear are constantly evolving. How do you stay ahead of trends and keep your designs fresh and relevant to today's fashion landscape?
A- Kind of piggybacking off that last question, I definitely will look at like some like new trends. I'm not looking at the biggest things that are happening right now, but I look at micro trends. For example, a buddy that runs a brand that just started to do knit jerseys and then I've seen a couple other brands like House Of Errors get into knit jerseys. That brings my mind like, okay, what kind of new materials can be used for different soccer jerseys, for example? And so that gets my mind rolling in that direction. How can I be ahead, or at least like in a similar wave with this new micro trend that's happening?
I'm not really interested in what the grand scheme of like trends for say is happening. Like I said previously, I'm really just focused on making stuff that I think looks cool that I want to wear. And then when things come out and people really, you know, fuck with it and want to see more of that, then sometimes yeah, I'll definitely lean more into those things that are performing well because it is still business. I feel like I have enough taste that, you know, enough people will like it as well and, you know, buy it at the price points that I deem fair to what I sell stuff for, it's kind of a simple as that.
Q- Brand storytelling is crucial for connecting with consumers on a deeper level. Can you share the story behind your brand's name and logo, and how they reflect your brand's ethos and identity?
A- So this one’s always been a hard question for me. It’s quite literally why I made that video. If you go to my brand’s Instagram, the pinned video is just me talking about the brand and how it came about. I’ll tell a quick story on how I came about the brand, then I’ll get into the name and logo. As I said previously, I got into streetwear and fashion in general in late high school; I actually resold Supreme, which I know for many other people, was almost our gateway drug for getting into the game. So yeah, I was really just reselling clothes and eventually got to the point where I was like, okay, I want to do my own thing. I had a lot of friends tell me that they wanted to see me do my own thing, that they’d wear my clothes and thought that whatever I’d make was cool. And so, in my freshman year of college, we had a free subscription to all Adobe platforms, so I spent a year learning how to design in Photoshop and Illustrator, primarily Photoshop. I still sucked and still, honestly, suck quite a bit. I still have so much to learn. But yeah, it took me about a year to find the first piece I wanted to drop, and that’s how the brand started with that first drop, The Dear Planet hoodie.
I’ll start with the name Apologetic Letters. It’s a very loaded question, which it shouldn’t be. I should be able to, you know, dissect what it means. I feel like I should have a quicker mission statement or a reason behind the why of the name for me. I really don’t try to get into the name too much in terms of the actual words and what they mean. I have my own personal things that attach to the meaning, but in reality, I see the brand as an ethos. I try to avoid getting too attached to the ‘apologetic’ and ‘letters’. However, I pay, not necessarily homage, but I try to point in that direction. Those two words directly, I will subtly reference them from time to time. For example, the Dear Planet hoodie is the beginning of a letter written to the planet, almost like an apology. So it was kind of an apologetic letter. It’s kind of like a funny play on not even words but just play on the garment. And so, yeah, that’s a quick example of the first garment I ever dropped.
I wanted to be slightly conceptual. As with most of my work, I try to really think of just unique concepts and think of ways to tell a message in a nonconventional way. I see the brand as an ethos and a means for my expression, an almost mission statement as a medium to open a conversation and inspire. The brand is just a way for me to convey all these different messages. I don’t really feel like I have any one specific message that is prominent throughout. But as you can see from different releases, like we had The Dear Planet hoodie, that was a way to express, you know, just like love for the planet. Again, going back to your first question, how can we be more environmentally conscious and, you know, do the best that we can to impact the culture and impact the game in a positive direction with regards to the environment. Another product that I have coming up next is actually for Mental Health Awareness Month. That’s another topic that I wanted to touch on with the brand. It’s very important to me with mental health, having my own struggles and knowing a lot of other people who have had their own struggles, so a simple garment that is very conceptual in itself is something that I’m going to explore to convey that topic. The brand is really just a lot of different positive topics and messages that I want to convey. That’s not to say everything has some grand, profound message, scheme, or whatever you want to call it. Some things that look cool come out cool, and I’m like, okay, let’s drop it because I like the way it looks.The brand’s name really isn’t to be taken too literally. Again, it’s just more of an ethos and a medium for me to express those messages. Going back to the logo, I was actually just sketching in my sketchbook. I have the drawing ability of a fifth grader. I can’t draw for anything. I was randomly sketching some things and came across the idea of doing a hand drawing, but the hand would feature a heart for the palm. So essentially, in my mind, that becomes like a heart hand. I further dived conceptually into that as being almost a helping hand. It’s really weird to me, but the way I think of it. I drew that first try, and it looked like that. Obviously, you see most brands’ logos and things of that nature are vectorised and done in Illustrator, it’s very clean and cut. I think this logo really represents a lot of things. It’s super raw; you can see how I drew it. It’s really messy, but not, but it is at the same time. So it’s a really good reflection of a lot of the products I create. They are oftentimes very graphic-centred and also very design heavy. Oftentimes, they are very raw. Some garments just feel a little, almost incomplete. I don’t want to say incomplete, but they just feel a little raw, and they’re not always entirely aesthetically pleasing, I guess. I feel like the brand logo is just a good representation of me and how I express myself through the brand.
Q- Streetwear has a strong presence in pop culture, often intersecting with music, sports, and art. How do you leverage these cultural connections to further enhance your brand's visibility and credibility?
A- In terms of visibility, I've been looking more towards different lanes in pop culture that can be incorporated into my garments. So, for example, I like sports. I'm currently doing a soccer jersey; that's something that I've been, you know, playing my whole life, and it's very authentic to me. And so, yeah, it's pretty easy. Going back to the trends thing, I don't really look at trends, but yes, sports jerseys, in general, are kind of something that are becoming more and more popular. As the summer, at least here in the U.S. is approaching, we have different football tournaments, it is a way to capitalise on that visibility part of it by releasing a soccer jersey. In a different lane. Going back to, let's say, art, chess is something that's been a very big interest and hobby of mine for the past like three or four years really since the pandemic. And so I'm actually releasing a chess dress shirt that's very conceptual. I know I alluded to it earlier. So that's kind of just something that would involve that aspect of pop culture and incorporating it into my garment and then hopefully resonating with a lot of people that are really into chess. I think could be a really cool, unifying piece.
In terms of credibility, I won’t say using pop culture in any of my garments really gains me credibility. But I think creating that visibility and getting our product into more and more people's hands, there is a bit of like social proof and like a cool factor that kind of goes along with that. So all that said, I definitely think that could be a way that, you know, just makes the brand more authentic and credible.
Q- Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the future of your brand? Are there any upcoming projects, collaborations, or expansions that your fans can look forward to?
A- So, my biggest problem has been releasing consistently. If you look at my catalogue over the last three and a half years since I started the brand, I've only released like 13 products, which is, I mean, some brands will do that in one drop, which is crazy, but that's just the reality of the situation. So for me, I've been really focusing on being more consistent with product launches. I just had the Dear Planet Hoodies release, and I'm dropping a cardholder this week. Those two drops will have happened within three weeks of each other, which has literally never happened to date.
So, with that said, in terms of future projects, I have this chest dress shirt, which I'm super excited to release. Gonna be doing a very cool video for that, and a photoshoot, going all out for that, making the most out of that. Two other products that I'm very, very, very excited to do that will probably release at some point this year is the out of time puffer which has already been previewed on Instagram. I'm so happy with the way that's turning out. Still working on like my third sample currently, hoping to get that right. It will likely drop later this year. I'm just incredibly happy for when that comes to light. And then I also have my first pair of denim jeans, which I've been working on. I might have teased it once or twice on IG, that's generally where I do a lot of stuff or sometimes TikTok. But yeah, I've definitely teased that a little bit. I think I killed the first pair of denim. It was super, super hard but I'm just trying to get the fit right and some small design aspects of it right.
In terms of aspirations, though, my biggest aspiration currently besides obviously just releasing more and selling more, is to do more in-person things. I did one super small event at a college here in Indiana that a friend connected me to, and that was my first time into any type of in-person experience as the brand has solely existed online. That really opened my eyes to just so many different things and so many different touch points that you just don't get with the online presence. So, like a major, major aspiration for me is to do an official pop-up, which I don't know where that would be. Probably my closest big city, Indianapolis. But that is something that is very, very like in the back of my mind.
It really involves me starting to kill these next couple of releases, getting things moving in the right direction, getting some traction going, and then hopefully being able to properly do a pop-up the way I would like to, where I would rent out of a store for the weekend. Completely renovate the interior, and just go all out with it. That's like my dream right now. Everything else is just moving things along consistently. I do have some potential collaborations, too, that might come to light soon. That could be very, very big. I won't say with what products, but I'm always working towards getting people that I really respect and admire to, you know, get them represented in the clothes and just, you know, really resonating with it. I appreciate the time to talk about the brand. That's not something I get to do too often.
And yeah, thank you, man. You've been killing with these, these photos, man. Love to talk more soon about what something looks like for the future. I'm going to try and get them in a post at some point in the near future. I got to get more active on social media with the brand. So yeah, that recent photoshoot was crazy, man. Thank you, man. I appreciate it.
