In this day and age, a clothing line is one of the world's easiest and most popular entities to start. But since 2008, one particular brand has been taking the industry by storm in a very unique way.
"Kreemo," a moniker that comes from a mispronunciation of the Creedmor Psychiatric Center in Queens, New York, is a brand that originated from the minds of three young men who were tired of spending their money on clothes they believed were not as good as the ones they could make themselves.
In their quest to be innovative, Brian Wright, LaVan Wright and Desmond Attmore started what has become one of the most popular up-and-coming clothing brands in the country.
The brand began during Brian and LaVan Wright's senior year of high school in New York when they made t-shirts from designs they came up with. They used the beginning stages to learn how to produce apparel and market their brand.
"I spent time working in a screen-printing shop," LaVan Wright said. "So whatever I learned working there actually printing shirts on my own, I contributed to the company."
After these humble beginnings in New York, Kreemo began to take off once Brian Wright linked with fellow Morehouse College student Desmond Attmore in late 2008.
Attmore was working on promoting his own small clothing line at the time, but decided to merge with Kreemo after meeting Wright.
"I didn't even want to go to Morehouse at first, I wanted to go to another HBCU," Attmore said. "One of the first people I actually met during the first week of school was 'B-wright.' He told me what he was doing, I told him what I was doing, and that's how it all played out."
"I wanted to go to Morgan State," Brian Wright said. "It was close to home and I wanted to focus on doing Kreemo."
Despite initial qualms about attending, fate brought the two together at Morehouse and they have been climbing the ladder of success ever since.
Brian Wright and Attmore began by focusing their energy toward marketing and building their brand among students of the Atlanta University Center (Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University). Wright attributes part of the brand's success to the area diversity among the student population within this consortium.
"It [being in the AUC] gave us the opportunity to soak up all of the different influences from the different regions," Brian Wright said.
Attmore and LaVan Wright attribute much of the brand's success to their unique relationship to their target market.
"We're really a part of what we're doing," Attmore said. "We're not just someone older who is looking at a demographic trying to figure out what they want."
After success selling t-shirts and branding among AUC students, the company released their first official collection in September 2010. This release, along with unique and strategic marketing tactics, allowed Kreemo to imprint their brand into the eyes and minds of leaders within the music and fashion industry.
"It helped us to set up a template for what we wanted to create down the line," Brian Wright said.
"It helped us introduce our style into the industry," LaVan Wright said. "Like the first step on the moon basically telling the fashion world that we're here and it's nothing but progress from here on."
The tenacious trio eventually propelled themselves to working with popular hip-hop icon Wiz Khalifa. They were responsible for designing the album art and marketing materials for Khalifa's debut studio album Rolling Papers.
"The fact that [he] requested us to do the artwork showed how much he valued and respected our craft," Attmore said.
"It was cool because he really respected our hustle and grind, and compared it to his own," Brian Wright said.
The company hopes to grow and build upon their success as they move forward. And with orders already coming from four of the world's seven continents and icons such as Lil' Wayne wearing their apparel, the future of the brand appears quite bright.
This summer they will release their sixth collection and the trio admits it's by far the best yet. It will feature more shirts and accessories than ever before, and they hope it will be the continuation of what will turn into many years of growth and success.
"It [the summer release] is by far the biggest thing to happen to Kreemo," Attmore said. "I think it shows our growth and let's the world know we are official and will be around for a long time."
"I want Kreemo to be around for the next 20 to 30 years still being one of the top sources for creativity," Attmore added. "So that when we do something, the world is following behind us."
To see products and learn more about the company visit: www.kreemo.com
