CREATIVE KENDALL JONES
By Ciana Bowers
Kendall Jones is a senior business management major who is putting his management skills to use. Jones is the owner of clothing brand High Commodity, inspired by his own love for fashion, iconic television shows and fashion moguls like Virgil Abloh. When Jones is not working on fashion, he can be seen as secretary for Widener’s Black Men United and a member of the Widener’s Football team.
During our interview with Kendall, we learned about his thought process and inspirations as he developed High Commodity.
How did you come up with the idea of starting your own brand?
It was always something I wanted to do. As a kid I would watch the show Runz House and Diggy Simmons. He had one when he was younger and I would watch that and think that is something I want to do. It has just stuck with me ever since then. I had the time to do it so I started it. Also, fashion is a big thing in my family. My love for fashion and having a creative eye is how I started my clothing line.
Walk me through your experience on how this came about?
· In February 2020 I launched my brand High Commodity with the intention to just sell basic t-shirts with my logo on it to start. I started off with twenty-five t-shirts at first. I sold them and everybody liked them; they came in different colors. After I saw that my merchandise was selling fast, I then designed hoodies. Later I found a manufacturer for my sweatsuits and Fast Forward to today I have a variety of unique styles of shirts and sweatsuits with more to come this year.
How did you come up with the name?
I wanted the name of my brand to mean something. I felt like us as people. We are a High Commodity in ourselves to strive and do great things. And we are valuable; we are worth something. This came to mind when putting together my brand and what I wanted it to stand for. I want everyone who wears my clothes to know that they are valuable.
Type of clothing do you sell?
Things that I sell are streetwear clothing, From Hats. T-shirts, hoodies, Sweatsuits, jackets, and more to come.
What would you like to add to your brand? Do you just want to do streetwear?
My dream is to open a store somewhere down the road. But I want to expand.
Do you base your brand on things you like to wear or other people?
I try to base my designs on things that I would think people would like. For example, If I see a trend going on, I like to put my creativity towards that and hopefully my customers will like it. Being creative and starting new trends are what I aim for.
What inspired your designs?
Someone who inspires my designs is Virgil Abloh, I like designers like him. But I love his designs with the off white and he’s someone who truly inspired me.
Do you have any help in regards to pictures, etc? Or is it a one man show?
Yes, I have people who help me with photography and photoshoots to make promotional banners for my Instagram. My brother is a graphic designer, so he helps me with logos. A close friend of mine has his own business with photography, who helps me (Sfdigitals on Instagram). My brother also owns a studio in Philadelphia where I also take pictures of my brand (Fournineteenco on Instagram).
What are some of your challenges?
Some changes I ran into were expanding my brand to new people in different areas not just the surrounding areas because you want to have the support of your family and friends but you want people you don’t know wearing your stuff so it makes you feel better. I would love to have numbers of people all over the world wearing my clothing.
Is this something you want to do outside of school?
Yes, this is something I will be doing outside of school, and I will continue to grow my brand over the years.
Goals for your business?
Some goals for my brand are to expand my business. I would like to see people wearing my clothing in different parts of the world. I would also like to get my clothes in the hands of some famous faces like athletes and music artists.
Any advice to someone that wants to do clothing brand?
· Some advice I would give to someone who wants to start a clothing brand is to do what you believe. Just start because some people are afraid to start because they don’t know much. But for me, when I was going through this process, I learned on the way and asking for help from different people when I was going through the process. Don’t let others’ thoughts affect what you want to do with your goals.
You can check out more of Kendall’s designs by clicking the link to check out his social media posts or his website to stay updated on new releases by High Commodity.
