Starter is still one of the staples of streetwear.
At the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, the brand hosted an event that featured Super Bowl champion Carl Banks, Detroit designer Ty Mopkins and streetwear legend Tony Shellman. At the event, Shellman spoke to rolling out about the Starter brand.
What has 2024 been like for Starter?
Pretty fabulous.
We’ve had a great year. It’s been pretty amazing. We work with an amazing team. It’s a heritage brand, so we’re really excited about Carl Banks at the helm running the show as the president and CEO running starter.
It’s been amazing for us.
The NFL is one of our biggest brands, so we’re going to support the NFL.
It’s the draft, we’re excited about it. We love it.
Our biggest thing coming to Detroit is, we’ve got to partner up with Ty Mopkins, who is a brand ambassador of ours. He’s done amazing things with the brand. Amazing collaborations, very creative and is really what what the brand is looking for. It’s a natural thing.
Detroit is such such a heritage place. To be here for the draft, and everything that’s gone on with the Lions recently was awesome. Then of course, all the other big brands from the Tigers, the Pistons, the Red Wings. It’s pretty amazing.
Starter is happy to be a part of this and support this. We’re excited to be here.
What makes the Starter jacket so timeless?
Carl came up with this thing called “Starter Stories.” Everybody has a Starter story, because in the 80s and the 90s, everyone was like, “How do I get a starter jacket?”
I have my own Starter story when I begged my mom to give me a Starter jacket. They were just popping. You were trying not to get your Starter jacket taken from you, you’re trying to make sure you got one. You did everything you could to get money to buy one.
[We have] the heritage brand with the classic satin jacket and, of course, the pop over. The fun part of it is the brand has so many other iconic [pieces] from some of the sweats [to] mixed media; some pretty wonderful things.
What are three branding tips you have for someone who wants to get into retailing and marketing?
I’m trying not to give him a secret sauce way, but I’ll give I’ll give a couple of ways.
No. 1, know your audience. Know your audience and be able to appeal to your audience.
No. 2, don’t be afraid to jump out the window, man. You’ve got to jump out the window and do classic, timeless stuff.
No. 3, but not least, truly pay homage to the people [who] pay homage to you. You’ve got to pay homage. Starter as a brand, we like to pay homage. We’d like to let our fan base know that we’re here to support them 1,000%.
How can people keep up with the brand on social media?
Starter.com, @starterofficial.
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