Today we are interviewing owner of Elusive Apparel, Kiet Le who currently operates in San Jose, California. Elusive Apparel’s mission is to approach the industry from a whole new perspective, and the objective to raise awareness of our world’s situations to socially-conscious consumers. Elusive was created in hopes to take advantage of the drifting art of apparel design, with hopes to use apparel as a medium in which social issues of the world may be subtly brought to light in creative forms of art. In this interview Kiet gives tips on how to get in retail stores, the origin of Elusive Apparel, and advice on starting a clothing line. Read the interview after the jump….

When was Elusive Apparel established?

Elusive was established in 2006 as a Limited Liability Company.

How did the name Elusive come about ?

Before I decided to do my first run, I used the alias of “Elusive” to write. I liked the word because of it’s.. more common definition, “skillfully evasive.” But the word’s double meaning was what appealed most. It’s other definition, “difficult to describe,” correlates with our mission with the label. “Skillfully evasive and difficult to describe,” defines most of our pieces. I felt like this was such an astonishing word, that there were so many possibilities with it, and so I decided to use the brand as a carrier to inform the public of current social events; issues or morals.

What type of products does your Clothing line sell?

Elusive sells art. Essentially. I view the label as a periodical rather than a clothing line. Our pieces conceal a vision of the world in which the viewer can interpret in whichever way they believe. We aim to create clothing that is informative, as well as aesthetically pleasing.

What inspired you to start a clothing line?

In 06, I started noticing urban wear making a lot of noise, but a lot of this noise was just that.. Noise. Sure, there were a few brands that caught my eye. Other than that, I noticed that there was a trend of an unconventional use of LOUD colors. Brands were drifting towards a Cartoon Network feel, with not much to say but “Look at me!”

That’s when I said #@%! this, I’m rocking my self.

Were there any doubts you had with starting a clothing line?

For the most part, I never really feel doubt with the label. I started designing as a hobby, and never took it as serious work with serious rewards, so I guess you could say my expectations weren’t high. Although, the grown public interest has contributed to my motivation to carry on with the art. You can’t doubt a hobby right?

Tell us the meaning behind some of your designs.

The majority of my artwork stems from certain phrases that I hear throughout my life. When I hear a set of words that intrigues my thoughts, I write it down and allow the phrase to resonate with me until that idea is eventually manifested into a visual representation of my thought process involved with the idea. I include descriptions of what each piece means to me, but at the end, it is really up to the viewer to interpret the design.

Where do you get inspiration for your designs ?

That’s truly a hard question to answer because I don’t even have a definite answer. I draw inspiration from the world around me. An example of much of my ideas come from influences such as major political and social issues. You can say my apparel is biased. But that is only one example of influence. I really get inspiration from everything around me. Just turn off the TV. The world is full of surprises and there exists so much positive energy of which we can manifest into something great.

What sets you apart from other clothing lines?

You see brands come and go like ripples in a pond; one season they’re here, next season they’re nowhere to be found. Like I said, a lot of up and coming brands, even established brands, are lacking one thing. Originality. I know it may sound cocky, but the majority of these “artists” are running with ideas and concepts that they derived from the actual creatives. I mean really, don’t steal other peoples bread. That’s the greatest part about the industry. We get to bake our own bread and eat it too.

I feel that I actually have some cuisine worth bringing to the table.

We see you have a online storefront, Is there anywhere else your products are sold?

We currently have one offline established retail account in San Jose (Workmens/Balance) and are currently working on finalizing accounts with Azuki SJ, Aristocrats SJ, and TRUE SF.

How did you get into those stores?

Just building personal relationships has proven more effective than building business relations in my experience. Just don’t be afraid to ask for information.

What type of road blocks have you ran into while starting your brand?

When trying to start the brand, the things that get in the way most often are issues of finances. How are we going to fund this Falls line? How will we be able to get samples for next Spring? I just approach those speed bumps as advised: slowly but surely.

What do you have planned for the future for Elusive Apparel?

I’m really excited for some fitted caps we’re cooking up which will debut Spring 2010. I’m pumped for that. And our Fall 09 letterman jackets will be released November 1st! I’m also looking forward to releasing some more premium pieces this Fall & Winter!

What type of advice do you have for anyone trying to get in the clothing line biz ?

Persistence is key to getting what you want in life. Confucius once said ““It does not matter how slow you go so long as you do not stop.” We really create our own destinies, don’t let outside forces decide your fate. Just be humble with everything you do.

Connect With Elusive Apparel

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Tags: advice on starting a clothing line, clothing line, Elusive Apparel, Fashion, fashion t shirts, T-shirts

This entry was posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 2:08 pm and is filed under Fashion, Featured Designers, Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.