Interview w/ New York City Clothing Company, 10th tribe

16 Jul, 2012

Learn More About 10th tribe at: www.10thtribe.com

“10th tribe was born in an inner circle of friends who created pieces they wanted to wear.” This is not a mere slogan for any regular clothing company, but is what the unique Manhattan, New York-based clothing line, 10th tribe, lives by. The clothing company was started by a group of 10 close friends who live in New York, which they call their "tribe," hence the name, 10th tribe. Each of their new designs is discussed amongst friends and thereafter, they embark onto the streets of New York City wearing the collection to measure people’s reactions to the designs and their brand as whole. I discussed the roots of their brand, their design process and the inspiration behind it, with 10th tribe’s creative director. Read on…

Dig In Magazine: How did 10th tribe get started?

10th tribe: 10th tribe started between close friends who live in New York. It was nothing serious in the beginning. We were just making very simple and cool t-shirts with a bit of New York attitude. Then people began wanting more of them so we started branching out into different styles, and the rest is history.

Where are you based?

Manhattan, New York.

Where did the name of the company come from?

We value our friendship, definitely not in a cheesy way though. Living in New York is pretty tough and no one really has family here. That’s why your friends, (or in our case, our tribe) means the world. We have ten friends in our tribe so we call it the 10th tribe.

What inspired the clothing line?

New York and everything it stands for. The business aspect of New York can be difficult to survive in, but having a close group of friends keeps you inspired and motivated. That’s really where the line came from.

There is a group of talented and energetic friends behind everything we do. So the foundation of 10th tribe is very sincere and has different sources of inspiration. New York of course amazes us on daily basis and we reflect our love for New York through our designs.

When did 10th tribe launch?

We launched spring-summer 2012.

When designing the clothes, who are you designing for?

We design everything for our friends; anyone who appreciates simplicity. Appreciating simplicity requires a mature personality and we consider ourselves pretty mature for our age. You have to be too mature for your age in order to survive in New York.

How would you describe your style/your look?

Simple, comfortable, and high quality clothes that you end up wearing everyday, back to back.

The style of 10th tribe is one of simplicity and freshness, do you design with these qualities in mind with each and every piece? What is your design process?

Yes, those are 2 things we really try to portray in all of our clothes. Our brand in itself is all about being simple, so the basic idea behind every piece is the same.

When we come up with a new design, first thing we do is to discuss with our group of friends. Most of us have pretty sharp tongues, meaning any piece that passes through this process is likely to be made. Once we have the samples ready, there is always a little fight over who will try it out on the streets first. We literally walk around and watch people’s reactions. This process was so much fun when we did it for our top-seller signature pieces, the capes. We ended up walking in Soho and the lower east sides for hours as people were randomly approaching our friend, who was wearing it and asking about the brand. That’s when we decided to go all the way and start the brand.

Where do you manufacture your clothes?

We are backed up by a Brooklyn-based factory that has been in the industry for a long time. They support us in any way possible. Our clothes are designed in NYC and stitched in Brooklyn. It’s important to give back to New York as well.

How do you choose your models? What do you look for in a model to represent your brand?

All the models we have worked with so far are our friends. Most of the girls we have worked with for our blog are not even models. They are just cool kids who wanted to be a part of what we do, and so we welcomed them.

What stores carry 10th tribe? And where can people find your line?

First, we started with a boutique that’s literally downstairs from us called Gritnglory on Orchard Street in lower east side, New York. Now we are selling in multiple states, Australia, and a few online stores that can be found on our website, 10thtribe.com.

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