Alloyius McIlwaine is turning his Cultures
Clothing Company into a monster through
social media
JAY ADAMS: First of all, explain a little bit about what Cultures Clothing is, how the idea came about and what type of success you've had since you launched.
ALLOYIUS MCILWAINE: I founded Cultures Clothing in my college years. At first, I was just making T-shirts as a way to make some extra money, but then I really fell in love with creating. I'm an artist at heart, and this gave me an outlet to express myself and to get my work seen. Even in high school, the idea of having people wearing something that I created really appealed to me. I came up with the name because everyone is a product of many different cultures, whether you're talking about nationalities, or the culture of the society that you grew up in, so I wanted my line to reflect that. I wanted to show that all nationalities, cultures, or social groups have something interesting or beautiful about them. The line is representative of high fashion, urban wear and everything in-between for men, women and children. I've expanded from just doing T-shirts to doing dresses, polos, skirts and hoodies, as well. You'll see influences from everything from fine art and high fashion to hip-hop in the clothing.
On the price tags for the clothing, I include little known or interesting facts about different cultures, to inform people, and to help them to understand that we are all connected. Along with doing pieces of clothing for mass production, many of the pieces from Cultures Clothing are hand-painted and can be customized, so that the consumer can have a one of a kind piece of art to wear.
Just like anything, it takes a lot of time and hard work to really become successful. Statistics show that, on average, it takes business at least seven years to become successful, so it's been a long and hard process, but people seem to love the clothing! The hoodies are big sellers. People love that I use a lot of color in the clothing. One thing that I've noticed is that I get a lot of return buyers. People love the quality of the work and that I'm doing something a little different than the norm. I've gotten a ton of support over the years and I'm getting to the point where, every once in a while, I can see someone walking down the street wearing something that I've created, and let me tell you man, that is a bug-out! It's like, "Wow, I made that!" Sometimes I introduce myself and tell them, "I made this shirt that you're wearing, take a picture with me really quick" (he says with a laugh).
JA: How do you use social media for Cultures Clothing?
AM: Well, essentially, I use sites like Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and Model Mayhem to spread awareness about the clothing line, to let people know what's going on behind the scenes, and to let people know what is available from my brand. All of the different sites have something that is very useful. I use Model Mayhem as a way to connect with models, photographers and make-up artists. MySpace was my first social media outlet, so I have the most followers on there (about 3,000). I use MySpace to post bulletins and news flashes. Sidenote: MySpace is also great for promoting music. Facebook is a more personal way to connect with people, and Twitter is the best way to reach influential people who might help the brand, and to build a following.
JA: How have you been able to gain a following for your brand through social media?
AM: With Twitter, I just started out by just speaking about whatever subjects are trending at the time, and usually, if you have something funny, witty, or truthful to say about something, and people see you, they'll check you out and follow you. I also try to reply back to every message that I get, so when people get to see how friendly and personable I am, then tend to check out whatever else I'm doing and they support it. I talk about various subjects, including the clothing line, and I post artwork, and I just try to entertain people. People like to be entertained, and I like making people laugh, so I just try to be fun and easy to talk to, and the following grows daily. I also invite people to come out and meet me when I do events and stuff. It's funny, people are usually pleasantly surprised when I act the same way in person as I do in (social media).
JA: What has been the impact to your business? Has being active on social media brought you more visitors to your site?
AM: Yeah, it definetly has! I haven't done any magazine ads, or billboards or anything like that, so outside of doing events like fashion shows and people hearing about me that way, I'd say that social media is the source of the majority of the clothing line's sales.
JA: I notice that you don't publish tweets or Facebook updates just about fashion or your personal brand. You talk a lot about music and your other interests. How much do you think that helps potential customers identify with you as a person rather than just some random brand? Has that been your strategy all along?
AM: I guess you can say it was a strategy, but moreso I'm just being myself. I just feel like if you're too one-dimensional with your posts, it's not going to be as interesting for the reader. I mean, they might come to you when they specifically want to read something about your trade, but that's it. I just talk about whatever pops in my head, whether it be sports, fashion, music, politics, or social commentary. I think the key to gaining more followers is personality. If you're interesting, people WILL follow you.
JA: You recently started up an online magazine. How did you get the idea to do it and why do you think it will help your brand?
AM: Honestly man, one day, on a Tuesday I just said "I want to start a magazine" and I had it up two days later on Thursday. I just figured that I'm talking about all of these different subjects anyway, let me put them together in a format like a magazine and get my thoughts and (point-of-view) out there. I come across so much information that might be overlooked by mass-media, and I just felt like certain information needs to be out there.
For example, if you go on the Internet, it's incredibly easy to find out what Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane are doing this week in jail, but news about cognitive, thought-provoking hip-hop just gets swept under the rug and doesn't see the light of day. I think that's sad. Most people who are unfamiliar with what hip-hop really is would just look at what's in mass media and think that hip-hop's all a bunch of womanizing, talk of drug trafficking and money-worshiping with gratuitous violence. I use the magazine to push real hip-hop out there.
Just to give you a few more examples, I also think that there's a lot of propaganda going on in mass media. Like recently, there were reports that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the Taliban leaders had been captured. Shortly after that news came in, Taliban videos pop up all over YouTube refuting that claim. So I'm like, "Which is it, is he captured or not?" Next thing you know, we have breaking news on like every station about Tiger Woods' apology. That was just amazing to me, and I mean amazing in a bad way, like shocking. I use the magazine to bring those types of things into light. I also have this section of the magazine called "Cultures Facts" that I use to give little known/interesting facts about different cultures. I think that if people could see how closely we are all related and gain a better understanding of different cultures then the world would be a better place.
As for how the magazine will help the brand, I've already gotten a lot more exposure from it. I recently did a radio interview with Shamara on Power99 about the magazine, and I actually got a ton of Facebook adds just from people who heard that interview on the radio. So it's given me more exposure, and with more exposure comes more sales. Since I started the magazine, I think my sales have at least doubled. I do an article every week called "What's New With Cultures Clothing," which gives me an avenue to let people know what's going on behind the scenes, and to let them know about what I have for sale and what I have coming out. So now that people are more up-to-date with what I have to offer, the business is having a lot more success.
JA: What has been the response to the magazine so far?
AM: Oh, the response to the magazine has been incredible! The first month and a half of the magazine has gotten 3,200 views, which is pretty good for an unknown online magazine that popped up out of nowhere. I have so many people that are just offering help and support, it's really humbling. Like my inbox is filled every day with friends, family and even fans of the magazine sending me interesting articles to talk about for the magazine. It looks like we're starting a bit of a movement here!
JA: What are your future plans with it?
AM: As far as future plans, I'd love to put it into print one day. That's definitely on the agenda. I'm currently looking for investors and writers. I'm just trying to make this thing grow and reach as many people as possible. Hopefully, one day, I'll have something on the scale of what Marc Ecko is doing with Complex magazine. That would be awesome.
JA: You're very active on Twitter. How has Twitter helped you network with others in the fashion industry?
AM: Twitter has helped me to get in touch with so many people in the fashion industry, in the music industry, and mass media in general. Since I've been on Twitter, I've gotten some clothing to hip-hop underground legends like COPYWRITE, the incredibly lovely Aubrey Aquino has worn my clothing on her TV show "On The Flipside," and has put me in touch with celebrities like Somaya Reece. I've even gotten the chance to talk to a lot of my hip-hop idols, such as Chino XL and Talib Kweli. It's amazing, I've also found numerous models off of Twitter, and made lots of great contacts in the fashion industry. You'll be seeing some collab projects coming up soon!
JA: How difficult would that be if Twitter didn't exist?
AM: Truth be told, it would be very hard. Twitter is maybe the best social media outlet for connecting with people. It would be much, much harder to get in touch with a lot of these people, even through Facebook and Myspace. I mean, a few years ago I got in touch with Natalie Mejia of Girlicious and Cori Yarckin, who's now a friend of mine, through MySpace, and I have pictures of them wearing my clothing, but with those, I felt like I got really, really lucky. Twitter's easier for contacting celebrities and marketing your brand.
JA: What does the future hold for Cultures Clothing, and how does social media play into it?
AM: Hopefully in the future, Cultures Clothing will be up there with the big brands like Ecko and Polo. The plan is just to keep expanding and to keep promoting. I have photo shoots, fashions shows, and all types of other events coming up. Social media will always play a big part in how I promote Cultures, because it's the easiest way to get your brand out there to the largest number of people. You'll see me on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Model Mayhem, Formspring, and every other social media outlet out there promoting Cultures Clothing for a long time!
Alloyius McIlwaine's Cultures Clothing line can be found here:
www.culturesclothing.com
www.twitter.com/culturesclothes
www.myspace.com/pharoahe214
Facebook Fan page
Model Mayhem
And, as always, you can follow me on Twitter @JayAdams70
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