When we think of high fashion and luxury brands the typical Iconic names come to mind such as Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, and Dior. These have been in the usual fashion-week rotation for decades, with many of these brands focusing on women's fashion until very recently. In a society where men's fashion has been brought to the forefront the market has opened for a slew of new designers, enter Antonio Brown the 28 year old NY born, Houston raised CEO of LVL XII brands. At first glance you can see the Iconic Inspiration of brands such as Giuseppe Zanotti, Christian Louboutin, and even Andriod, however one would be fooled to assume LVL XII is just another Luxury shoe inspired collection. Brown has taken the art of creating a high-end competitor in the men's Luxury shoe market to a completely different level, where as with the aforementioned companies you have a particular style pattern LVL XII crosses all of the barriers giving the consumer an array of styles that are a staple of his company. I am in particular lust with the brand and after hearing what this brand is about Im sure the readers will be as well. Antonio holds a degree in accounting from Western International University located in Houston Texas, upon completion of his degree he began working in corporate america for a period of 7years. When it comes to fashion Brown has always been drawn more towards the business side of the industry.
How long have you been in the process of developing LVL XII, were you hands on in the whole process from sketches, to fabrics, color and every minor detail......
It took me 8 months to develop something that takes most people 2 years and I feel the universe and god conspired in my favor because I really wanted it, and nothing could change my mind. My vice president of LVL XII has connections to factories and has been in the business for over 15 years, for my artistic team I brought on board Brittany Hunter who is the creative director. I was able to literally tell them my vision and they made it happen, one of the most important factors was that I didnt want laces I wanted a shoe that could still function without them so instead there are elastic straps inside of the shoes that grip to your foot. In doing so I have created something that no other companies had the balls to do, we are not a conservative brand that is boring and I challenge the industry to do the same. We are a brand that pushes the boundaries in every way possible of what a
shoe could look like
Anything that one creates is a form of art, how did you feel about possible criticism of your art once it was displayed to the public.....
Im actually open and willing to receive critics, Im not creating a shoe to impress society, I created a shoe out of my pure passion and love that I am making exclusive to represent quality which deserves respect in a luxury market
What was your personal inspiration in doing your line as far as designers, and how did you decide on the proper price points to make a profit, be affordable during this economy, and still compete in a high fashion market....
I took the fact that I loved luxury loved shoes, and didn't mind spending 1200.00 on shoes, it takes alot to launch a brand so I did a brand comparison to shoes in the luxury goods market. I then incorporated my overall cost and put it together with what you are capable making as a profit and set my price point.
What does it for you as far as style and appeal how do you determine that certain it factor, and this reaches beyond shoes into full wardrobe....
Taking chances and thinking outside of the box, Alexander McQueen inspires me because he was known for setting trends and not following them
When it comes to buying season its literally a hard-knock life out there dealing with these buyers, what retailers have you been able to get on board......
Well right now we don't have any buyers on board we will be launching the brand at Project Sole New York July 21st-23rd, and securing a showroom to bring buyers to place orders for the brand
Now I have a problem with this only 3,000 pairs being made (lol) you cant give us such a remarkable product and then take it away from us just like that whats the reasoning behind it......
By keeping the shoe exclusive and setting a price point not easily affordable by the masses, establishes a demand in the market that creates a reputation that is built upon excellence
If you decide to go any further what other labels would you like to collaborate with, because I could see something insane happening if you teamed up with En Noir and did a few limited editions with them......
Im definitely open to those possibilities if it fits the brand
Whats next for Antonio Brown because with a product like this Im sure you have something else up your sleeve......
I have so many ideas one of them is owning an independent record label, and creating a movie and filming it
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