Fashionware: Elephant Squad™

Clothing line name: Elephant Squad™
City / State: Philadelphia, PA
Established date: November 2nd 2011
Price range for clothing: $10-$50
Where to buy (website): www.facebook.com/elephantsquad

How did you come up with the name?
The name Elephant Squad came from the influence of my father and uncle. My uncle gave my father a staff from Africa with an elephant on top. As a positive influence in my life, I wanted to make a brand that represented family and brotherhood. “Elephant” the force and “Squad” the unity of the brotherhood; hence Elephant Squad.

Description of clothing line?
Elephant Squad’s mission is to make a brand that everyone can be a part of. Whether you like rap, hip-hop, rock or everything in between, Elephant Squad wants you to feel welcome. Our line is in its infancy, but we are growing quickly and already have a cult-like following. The clothes we produce are  comfortable enough to just wear around the house, but still have enough “swag” to go out to a show or a club on a Friday night. Our brand is positive and we try to keep our products PG-13 and not too offensive like you see the youth wearing today.

Who or what are your influences?
My main influences for Elephant Squad are brotherhood and the positive unity of people to achieve goals and better themselves. In the media there are some horrible stereotypes of our youth in the streets. The youth are always put down as “bad” and “uneducated.” This may be true for a small minority of people, but the youth today are tomorrow’s leaders. With the media putting the youth down as much as they do, who do the youth have to rely on for success? Themselves. No one can just wait for success to happen in this modern day and age. People have to wake up, seize the day, and start making positive changes in their life now. By supporting Elephant Squad, you are supporting the positive youth and you still look good doing it.

What sets your brand different from others?
Positivity. We want to be a major influence in urban culture. Elephant Squad was founded on the principals of brotherhood, unity, and positivity. People need positive influences in their life. People need to wake up, look at what they are reading, watching, and listening to, and question what is going on. The world needs role models. It is easy to turn on the radio and hear music with completely crappy lyrics and negative messages that are being fed to the young feeble minds of our nation and nations around the world. Art is expression and is free, but as a young entrepreneur. I rather put out an optimistic message. I want to make clothing that a young man could wear to meet the parents of someone he loves and they will still feel respected. A line of clothing that has more substance. Something people can rally around.

Are there any challenges you run into while running a business?
For Elephant Squad challenges are everywhere. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. We strive to make a product of the highest quality we can without sacrificing prices for our customers. We also make designs that we believe the consumer will wear against other lines and their trends. It is a daily struggle, but I believe our hard work shall pay off in the end.

Any plans for the future with your clothing line?
As I said before, Elephant Squad is still in its infancy, but our message is strong and will continue to be that way. Our actual product line will extend from shirts to shorts, hats, hoodies, jackets, shoes, accessories and much more. We are also working on projects for musicians who are down with the movement to become a part of Elephant Squad’s compilation discs. We are also working on artist sponsorships. We are getting ready for our summer line and making sure people can feel our message. We are Elephant Squad. We are Vendetta.

Please check us out at www.facebook.com/elephantsquad

Questions? elephantsquadclothing@gmail.com