8 Secrets to Starting a Successful Streetwear Brand With Mikey Trapstar | Complex

16/02/2016, 12:57 PM

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Mikey Trapstar's 8 Secrets

NOWto Starting a
Successful Streetwear Brand
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BY KARIZZA SANCHEZ
Associate Editor at Complex. @karizzasanchez

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In 2011, Mikey Trapstar, Lee, and Willfounders of British streetwear brand

Trapstarwere asked by Roc Nation's Jay Brown and Ty Ty to stop by a studio in
London. Brown and Ty Ty had just seen Omar Grant, an A&R executive at Roc
Nation, wearing a Trapstar hoodie and wanted to know what all the hype was
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about. "[Brown and Ty Ty] were like, 'Why is everyone wearing this hoodie?
Where is this? Who is this?'" recalls Mikey.
What Mikey didn't know was that that initial meeting would change his life.
"When we got to the studio, they were like, 'You know why we brought you here.
We want to invest,'" he says.
But Mikey is quick to admit he didn't initially believe Roc Nation really wanted
to invest in the brand. "Straight away I was like, 'Do you know about the brand?' I
knew [Roc Nation] was big and I knew what could happen, but I still had this
slight chip on my shoulder," he says. So he sat with Brown and Ty Ty and gave
them a rundown of the brand, showing them YouTube videos of their pop-ups,
which they called "Invasions," and explained all the relevant imagery they used.
Roc Nation and Trapstar kept the conversation going for two years, meeting
whenever Brown and Ty Ty were in London.
Now Mikey, who's sitting across from me in Trapstar's NYC studio on
the 39th floor of the Roc Nation offices in Manhattan, says those meetings with
Jay Brown and Ty Ty and the early co-signs from Rihanna and Rita Ora were
crucial in getting Jay Z's blessing. "We literally got vetted right there," he says. Jay
Z, who Mikey, Will, and Lee met later, would go on to tell them that he thought
they were "fresh" and that he liked their energy.
But don't get it twisted: Mikey, Will, and Lee had been putting in work long
before they were signed to Jay Z's team.
Back in London, Mikey made T-shirts with a photo he took with his Nokia phone
of a painting he bought for his house. The tees, which he gave to his friends and
refused to sell, became so popular that people were asking how much money he
was making off of them. One of his friends even threatened to copy the shirt if
Mikey didn't start selling it. "That twisted my arm," says Mikey. "We've been
bitten for so many things."

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But what really convinced him to start Trapstar was a comment made by Lee's
step father. "We came from a rough area... We kind of had bad reps sometimes.
[Lee's step dad] was like, 'You all think you're some sort of fly boys but you're
just trapped... Let's see you make something of yourselves,'" says Mikey, who
responded with: "We may be trapped, but there's a star trapped in everybody."
"That drove me," he adds. "I guess he knew how to push my buttons."
In the early stages, around 2005/2006, Mikey says no one wanted to stock
Trapstar. "They thought we were going to be here today, gone tomorrow." But
what started as an obstacle played out to their advantage. "They just made us go
back to our same roots, keep it a little bit more close knit for people who
understand who you are and what your brand is about," he says. Customers
needed to contact them via MySpace to place orders. Items were hand-delivered
in pizza and detergent boxes ("We always wanted to disguise packaging," says
Mikey). "We sort of had this seen everywhere, found nowhere mentality."
Trapstar would eventually be stocked at Supra on Portobello Road in London,
where they now have a flagship store. "It was like we got signed to a label," says
Mikey. By then, the brand had its own buzz and built its own fanbase. Pop-up
shops and in-store events, which they called "Invasions," in London,
Birmingham, Bristol, and Manchester followed. In 2009, Trapstar became one of
12 brands hand-selected to participate in the "Reset" eventa market place
where brands sold exclusive, limited edition, and dead stock itemsat Nike's 948
store in Shoreditch, London. "That was the first time we ever got a stampede and
it was in front of 11 other brands," says Mikey. "It was the same day the Yeezys
was coming out. There were two queues, so to be second from him and to know
how desired those kicks were... We had no marketing budget, no virals, no media
showing us love, and we sold out. That's on YouTube now and I still watch it
every now and again."
All the hard work has since paid off. In the last couple of years, Trapstar has
released several collections; designed Rihanna and Eminem's "Monster" tour
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merch; made an exclusive collection for London retailer Selfridges, where the

brand is now sold; launched its Red Line label; designed a collection with the
Hitman video game series; and presented its collaboration with New York
artist Haculla during London's Fashion Week. Not to mention all the co-signs
from big name celebrities, such as Future, Fabolous, Chris Brown, Jay Z (of
course), Cara Delevingne, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky,
model Jourdan Dunn, Young Jeezy, Victor Cruz, OG Maco, Game of
Thrones' Alfie Allen, and Meek Mill. The list goes on.
So how exactly did a streetwear brand from London catch the attention of Jay
Brown and Ty Tyand Jay Z? We sat down with Mikey and asked him about his
journey trying to make it in the fashion industry, and what advice he has for upand-coming brands and designers. Take notes.
As told to Karizza Sanchez
All photos by Andy Hur

Learn about fabrics and materials.

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"For a long time, we didn't know [about fabrics]; weve made mistakes but we
just didn't put them out. But someone does know; the fabric store knows. The
first thing we would ask is, 'Can you make this out of it? What is this for?'
Someone, somewhere will know, even down to when youve made the product
and you try to give it to the store, the store is going to say, 'Yo, Im not buying it
because if I sold it, this will happen.' If you choose to carry on selling it, if you
want to give that impression to the whole world after experts told you that this
isnt that great, then thats your thing. But if you know [it's not good quality] and
keep pushing it out on the Internet until you get your money back, you have to
understand that customers aren't going to return."

Don't follow trends.

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"People shouldn't be focused on trends, especially if youre just starting off. I

dont think you can build a new brand off a trend. If people look at that theyll be
like, 'Thats from something else.' That brand that's the 'something else' doesnt
even have to take down the new guy.
So how do you get someone to actually like a brand? You have a mission
statement that that person fucks with. People buy into the brand, the logo;
people are like, 'Ill pay more to have that same thing from you rather than you. I
dont care if youre doing it cheaper.' We get that all the time on Instagram,
people @ us like, 'What the fuck are they doing? Why are they tryna copy you
guys?'
Basically, if you are half heartedly trying to follow a trend, youll fall off it too and
you will have wasted your time."

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Perfect your craft before worrying about networking.

"I have this conversation with a lot of people. That word 'networking' is almost
like using, and you cant network without anything behind you. Ive seen people
say, 'Im going to go to this dope ass big event,' but if you aint got your shit, you
aint got no product, there is no networking that is going to save you. Lets just
say [Rihanna], who is the one person you want wearing your brand, has a
concert and you finagle yourself a backstage pass but you dont even have a name
for your brand, you aint got no idea or a product. What you gonna do when you
get backstage and meet her? 'Hey look out for me in 6 months?' So, therefore its
not really networking first; stay in the lab and master your craft. Im not saying
you have to have a whole big ass collection but be proud of what you got first and
have something to give someone if youre trying to connect with them. Dont be
afraid to stay in and fix your brand while everybody is out 'cause that
opportunity will come. And first impressions are valuable. Mastering your craft

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always outdoes people being out and talking to people just for the sake of it. The
networking will come because good shit gets spoken about."

Have your structure in place.

Left to right: Will Trapstar (head designer ); Mikey Trapstar (creative director); Skout (designer)

"If you are in it to be a success then the first thing youre gonna need is a team
and a structure to handle that success. Thats more important than the success
because you cant have real success without structure, and thats what a lot of
people now are going wrong about. Youre screaming but youre not worrying
about the logistics, your business plan, trademarking. Business does come into it
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if youre tryna get there. If everyone knew [the brand] but it didnt materialize
into a company, is that a success? I dont think so."

Stand for something and have a foundation.

"[Jay Z and Rihanna] propelled the brand to the 39th floor, but if there wasnt
any backing before you would never get in the room with them. Like, what are
you when you strip that away? If you strip someone else liking the shit away, do
you have some sort of foundation? People think you can just do product
placement and make a brand blow up, but youve got to have your own backlog,
like your own stance, you cant just come through on someone elses name and
style and expect to be recognized and respected. Those people arent wearing you
because they are told to or anything, its a choice."

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Appeal to your cult and be authentic to your cult.

"Dont be preaching something and get caught slipping on some other shit after
the gram. If you really believe in it it aint gonna be forced. Thats false prophecy
aint it? There aint no brand in the world that doesnt have people who are
enthusiastic about it.
Your direct community is always going to be a good tester to see if you can raise
heads. That's why I didnt want to stock in Selfridges right way; that's the same
reason why we havent just stocked in the high-end boutiques. We want to know
who is our U.S. community, and rise with them. It is much more fulfilling and
organic that way."

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Be mentally strong or tap out.

"In between the deal, we had vultures coming at us. There was a thing where
someone thought we never had the trademark and they tried to take it even
though we had it from 2005. When you rise, everyone wants a piece of you.
There are things that come everyday, man, and if you ain't strong then you need
to tap out, that's the truth. It goes back to believing in yourself; you just gotta
remember the highs and remember why youre here."

Believe in your product.

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"Honestly, our first ever tees werent too hot, we just thought they were. You
dont want to cringe at your own shit. We really believed in [our product], and
positivity and enthusiasm is infectious. Basically, if I dont believe, why should
you?"

WATCH N O W
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