THE COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT OF ONE CALIFORNIAN CLOTHING COMPANY
Story by Alison McKibbin
Photos provided by COMUNE
Frank Delgadillo created the COMUNE brand in 2005 as a side project, to “allow a creative platform free of critiques and trend forecasts” and to “fill a void in what was becoming a volatile retail marketplace”. COMUN E remains poised to further develop through the addition of Drop City, “an innovative and economic gallery space made from recycled steel shipping containers”. Plaid caught up with Delgadillo and COMUN E’s creative director, Mike Quinones, to find out more about their unconventionally cool business.
You’ve said that “COMUNE is made for idealists” and not “demographic statistics.” How is this idea expressed in your apparel collection?
To design for a demographic statistic is to have sales run your design department, i.e. “plaid walk shorts were great last year, we need five more this year…”. That’s not us. We design collections and have built a brand identity based on our ideals. If something strikes us as interesting, regardless of how weird or obscure it is, maybe it will get made if we want it to.
How do you continue to run a successful (profitable) business when your brand is described as “a creative platform free of critiques and or trend forecasts”?
We fill a gap that has existed for such a long time in the industry that we feel people are just happy to see product like ours hit the floor. A lot of product over the past few years looked very similar to each other, because it was all trend driven. We still remember bright colored, graphic, all over print shirts – kids couldn’t get enough of them for a quick minute, and ultimately it was to a fault. Brands that you never would of thought of started designing product like this; they designed into the trend. That trend product just sat on the retail floor. Now don’t think that we purposely avoid trends, but we just do not design into them.
What we have going for us is our creativity and our innovation, and that is why people are attracted to the brand. We don’t have a huge backer or financial arm swinging us through the industry with a budget to put our face in front of everyone. When we stop doing our own thing, we are nothing. More then anything, we are able to stay profitable by keeping things lean around the office. Everybody wears more then one hat at all times.
Where is COMUNE manufactured?
We have overseas manufacturing for much of the collection with a newly introduced domestic-made capsule collection produced in Los Angeles. The domestic collection consists of denim bottoms, jackets and shirting, as well as basic knits including slub thermals and henleys. We are expanding our domestic production further as the brand grows.
What is the overall aesthetic of the brand?
We aim to be a timeless, easily worn and accessible brand with a darker color palette. You will never find the collection driven by bright colors, or bright plaids. We don’t need to have a million zippers, appliqués, rivets, patches, or pockets to give product a sense of value. The real value in clothing is being able to wear it for years and years after you buy it, both because of its styling and details as well as its quality. That’s what we try and accomplish every day.
We take a lot of inspiration from typography and the simplicity of its design and purpose. Type is there to communicate, so it must be legible and functional to a point, but can end up being lost with so much other type surrounding it. There needs to be a stylistic approach to type to draw attention, just as there needs to be a stylistic approach to clothing for it to attract a consumer.
Where do you draw inspiration?
Inspiration is drawn mostly from the people behind the brand. Be it contributors, employees, whomever. The de Stijl type movement, 60s Swiss typography, typography in general. I know it is weird to draw inspiration from something so seemingly disconnected from clothing, but when you look at the basic functions and purpose of both they are very similar, and both have similar issues to overcome. They both have a lot to compete with around them at all times, but when they are done right they stand out instantly.
Nature seems to be a big influence, even in your catalogue. How does nature play a role in your design process?
Nature isn’t necessarily an influence to the design process, more a canvas for us to present the collection in. Think of it as a pretty face being used to show a perfectly designed pair of eyewear. The point is the eyewear, but that face just makes for a nice background.
With a heavy influence from skateboard culture, how do you keep athletes in mind while designing your line?
We keep athletes in mind by keeping them involved. They are contributors to the brand and are a huge influence on each collection. In addition, we all grew up skateboarding; it’s in our blood.
Can you elaborate on the idea of creating Drop City? What kinds of events happen there? Does it double as a retail space or is it strictly a creative domain?
Drop City is a creative network setup to attract like-minded people who love to create, in any medium. All of our artists are free to contribute whenever they like to the brand, in any way. They can choose to stop working with the brand whenever. Because we don’t have that huge backer or financial arm, we rely on our personal relationships with each contributor. We don’t go out and chase people to work with. They usually come to us, or it just sort of happens organically. That is important to us, that nothing is forced.
At the moment, Drop City has its own capsule…within the collection tee offering. In the very [near] future, we are going to be expanding into new categories outside of clothing in a much larger way. We have already introduced the publishing section of Drop City with theUNKNOWN . This was a limited, domestically-made denim project for Jose Gonzalez, that includes a hardbound book chronicling his life. To say that he is a colorful character is an understatement. He’s the most stand-up guy I have ever met.
COMUNE’s mantra is “Something better change”. What does this mean for your brand? And what’s next?
Something better change – it’s a feeling that everyone can relate to and [an] emotion that has passed through us all. Whether it be political, financially, personally… everybody has needed change at some point. For us, it keeps us constantly looking at our surroundings, looking for ways we can improve. It helps keep from getting stagnant or comfortable, and is a constant reminder of how fast things actually change around you. For the future, we’re just going keep doing what we are doing. We can’t really do much more then that.
