The front design of a T-shirt by Arkaik Clothing. Photo by Diana Martinez.
For Jordan Abidor, launching his own clothing line was never about being a fashion giant or making profit. It was about creativity.
Arkaik Clothing, Abidor’s line, is a mix of designs from numerous artists — all under Abidor’s direction. The business management freshman began Arkaik by “hustling shirts” his junior year in high school. He hasn’t looked back since.
“I looked at a lot of companies and what they were doing,” Abidor, 19, says. “I looked at it from a practical standpoint and what I would buy. I wanted to find out what they did to make it so nice and emulate it.”
Abidor says he started with T-shirts not only because they are versatile, but also because he was having difficulty finding designs that were intriguing and material that was comfortable to wear. Today, Arkaik carries more than 40 different designs.
Jordan Abidor works puts in some work on his clothing line. Photo by Diana Martinez.
“I’m inspired by everyday life,” Abidor says of the graphics. “I come up with designs that seem conceptually solid. I work with 12 artists around the world … Arkaik means ancient and old, for years I didn’t have anything that went with it. This summer I came up with the logo.”
The designs are big — often taking up an entire T-shirt — and bold, often colored using heavy black. In addition to the unique graphic T-shirts for men and women, the line now includes accessories like belts, sunglasses and gym shorts.
Recently, Abidor acquired a fellow independent clothing company. The merger produced Arkaik: Empire, a darker division of Arkaik.
“Arkaik is more about colors and upbeat. Empire is more for metal,” Abidor says, trying to define a broad consumer that spans 48 states and 27 countries. Abidor says he’s shipped to Singapore, New Zealand, Germany and Brazil, among other countries.
He says Arkaik owes its clientele to the advent of social networking sites. Because of Web sites like MySpace and Twitter, Abidor is able to connect Arkaik with people outside of his social circle.
“It’s everything,” he says of the line’s MySpace community. “Ninety eight percent of my sales come from that. Without a store front it’s really hard to sell to people.”
This year, Abidor is taking the line to music festival Bamboozle 2010, where he will share a booth with fellow independent line Miles To Go. He recently met with boutiques in Los Angeles that were interested in stocking his line, and will be selling during this summer’s Warped Tour.
A T-shirt design from the clothing line that Abidor calls one of his favorites. Photo by Diana Martinez.
Abidor hopes his time at ASU will provide him with new marketing opportunities, and he has looked into promoting new releases with possible fashion shows or partnerships on both the Tempe and Downtown campuses.
“I’ve never been in [the business] for the money. I’ve made friends from it,” Abidor says. “I talk to them. I’ve always been more about building a personal relationship than a business relationship.”
Contact the writer at janessa.hilliard@asu.edu
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