Speaking with Designer/Owner: Marc H. Charles for Living The Dream
CA: What inspired the name for Living The Dream? LTD: Everyone has their own take on what those three words mean. What inspired the brand itself was to get my ideas out. I have always had my own sense of style so to speak. Every idea and every design comes to me differently. I had the concept in my brain but to actually make them, it took me a year. A lot of the designs I attribute to my daily commute. It sounds like the clichéd answers that every artist seems to give. When you find yourself in that life, everything will seem to inspire you.
CA: What lessons have you learned from running your clothing brand? LTD: Nothing is going to happen until you do something. The only thing I know of that takes care of itself is a pimple. It comes on its own and leaves on its own. Your brand won’t grow if you don’t try to grow. I have learned everything that I do is only going to go as far as I take it. I have also learned nothing happens in 20 minutes. For me, I had to learn patience in the five years of doing this brand. To a lot of people that sounds like a long time and in my personal opinion, its not.
CA: Do you have some short term and long term goals for the brand? LTD: To put this project together for ‘insert project name’ that is a phrase which came to me naturally. It makes so much sense. Science you can control what the outcome can be in regards to the controlled variable and etc. Science relates to fashion. If a big designer says blue pullovers are no longer in, people will stop wearing them. This is just like science because that person has the power to control what comes next. For art, it is completely the opposite. You can’t standardize art. This relates to style. You can’t standardize style. You can say someone is not fashionable but you can’t say someone isn’t stylish. That doesn’t make any sense to me. This is the short term goal to create this collective which grows off each other’s talents. Long term goals is to have a boutique somewhere in Brooklyn. I won’t think beyond that right now. Currently, it is to get into a spot where the brand can sustain itself while still being able to expand.
CA: What is the goal for the collective you mentioned in the short term answer? LTD: Everyone is going to be doing what they are doing regardless of the collective. They would still be doing what they were doing and progressing at that. When you surround yourself with that positive energy, that progressive energy it will only make you better. This is why I decided to put myself around those type of people to be around that type of energy.
CA: Do you feel like work from rivals can inspire you to get you to another level? LTD: Friendly completion. Without it, what do you have? Unless that person has tunnel vision to continue towards to their goal from point A to point B, which is a amazing in itself. The rest of society, I feel like friendly competition is very healthy. It does take the right state of mind. He/she is doing good, I have to step it up to keep up. The person you might be chasing will continue to elevate themselves and it is the perfect shadow to follow.
CA: Where did your furthest purchase come from? LTD: Cleveland. I don’t know anyone in Cleveland and it was amazing someone out there found my brand and bought stuff from it. He is really consistent too and posts pictures up as well.
CA: What is the best advice you can give someone with a strong desire to create a brand? LTD: You have to have a lot of patience and you have to work. My work ethic has changed so much since I started doing this. I used to play xbox five days a week. When I started this I realized if I didn’t put the time into this, who will? This goes back to the premise nothing will take care of itself.
Follow Living the Dream on IG: @livingthedreamapparel
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