Popular Demand Interview

The following interview was with Blake, Founder of Popular Demand.

Tell us about your brand. What’s the name? How did it come to be?

I’ve always loved the term Popular Demand. Anything that’s back by popular demand has got to be good. The term also plays with the balance of serious and fun that we try to incorporate into our designs. When you hear the words on their own you immediately associate them with completely different things, but together they create a sense of urgency.

I feel some names often times are just right. When you come up with it, you know it.With Popular Demand, it felt that way. The name also inspires the designs. The loud portion of our designs (the colors, the patterns) is the 'Popular' side. The bold graphics and more serious tone to our brand is the 'Demand' side. You see that in our logo as well.

How would you describe the style of your brand? Who do you see wearing it?

We're inspired by the risk takers. Whether you take risks in life or just in fashion, you represent what Popular Demand is all about. Those are the people that wear PD. Some people don't want to be noticed when they go out and because of that, you're probably not going to catch them in any Popular Demand anytime soon.

Everyone today seems to have a clothing line; how do you make yours better or stand out more than others?

As cliche as it sounds, we do us. We don't chase what everyone else is doing. We accept that everyone is going to love our clothes but we also won't change a thing because of that.

Since the start of your clothing line, what has been your favorite piece? Why?

Two favorites: Any of our Cheetah Flag shirts because that design is the inspiration for the rest of the line. They were the first shirts to really embody one of our brand themes - rebellious leadership. My favorite individual piece is our Snakeskin Flag because of the amount of time and work that went into making it look and feel like actual snakeskin. It’s exciting to see people’s reactions to it when they see it.

Speaking of favorite pieces, who designs the clothes and comes up with the concepts?

I come up with the majority of the concepts and design the vast majority of the product. We have an amazing team that plays a big part in the decision making process as well. They give a lot of feedback and ideas on designs.

What was your day to day before starting the brand? Did you always think you would do what you do now?

I’ve worked in fashion for the last six years, but I’ve been involved in creative direction for as long as I can remember. This line is just an extension of me and where my head is at today after living in LA for 3+ years. That's one of the reasons we often say that Popular Demand is 'Inspired by and created in Los Angeles."

What is the biggest challenge you have ran into while running a clothing brand?

The amount of obstacles you face when running a business. Whether it is a clothing line or managing a music artist or running a bakery, creating a business from scratch and having any success whatsoever is a incredible challenge. When you first start out, nobody cares about you or your brand. You need to build something that makes them care.

What’s the best part of running a clothing line?

Being around creative people from all industries daily. One day we'll have a multi-platinum recording artist at our office and the next day we could have a major video director here. It's inspiring. The best part though? I wake up every morning and run a clothing brand. I'm consumed by it and love every minute of it.

What’s in the near future for your brand? Anything special coming up?

We have a collaboration with Soulja Boy coming out soon, a custom line with two incredible stylists and some other, other shit that's beyond anything we've done.

Where can we find more about your brand?

Official Website, @BlakePD; @PopularDemandLA on Twitter and Instagram.