Streetwear brand A.Tiziano sees versatility as the key to success
It can be hard to nail down a style that is meant to look as natural and effortless as possible, and that seems to be especially true for brands emulating “streetwear.” For menswear brand A.Tiziano, though, “urban” style is a challenge best tackled from the ground up — literally.
“Typically, our guy is going to start with a shoe, which is typically a sneaker, and then they build their outfit around that,” said Vanessa Vickers, A.Tizano’s national sales manager.
Now, you may have heard this wisdom before. The sneaker market has seen major growth in the last few years — up 40% since 2004, according to SportsOneSource. At the same time, the year over year demand for streetwear is 281%, according to the RealReal’s Luxury Resale Report of 2019.
But an emphasis on footwear isn’t a magic formula for success. A.Tiziano designer Cindy Molt also uses signature denim to stand out from other menswear brands. For Molt, sometimes that means taking a clean design and adding thoughtful details, like a leather trim or gold zippers. Other times, it means using a terra-cotta wash denim and personalizing it with navy and turquoise dyes. Next to sneakers, Vickers said, denim is the most important element of the brand’s image.
The Seattle-based company also has a solid formulation of who its customer is. A.Tiziano was conceptualized to appeal to men who grew up embracing early-2000s streetwear styles and who now are a bit older, typically ages 30 to 36. That doesn’t stop a wide range of buyers from taking interest in its looks, though.
“[Some of our consumers are] the young guys who are on Disney, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God, he looks like he’s 20!’” Vickers said. “And we might have a guy who’s a little older — in his 40s — wear our brand as well. So we’re very versatile in that way.”
“Versatility” is one of the key terms behind A. Tiziano’s success. Vickers explained that consumers interested in streetwear are more likely to buy piecemeal from several different brands rather than an entire outfit from a single brand. To keep buyers interested, A.Tiziano offers pieces that can stand alone.
“We do classic pieces so that they can always build their existing wardrobe from our brand because the colors will always go back, and we always do styles that will never really go out of style,” she said. “When they come in, they have everything that works back to each other in a simple way. We just do it in a fabric-interest or color way.”
With streetwear, brands must be able to adapt to changing trends and interests.
“I think that is really what our consumer speaks to, because one day — the same guy — might dress preppy one day and then in a suit another day,” Vickers continued. “They dress on how they feel. So I think our brand gives many options to that consumer.”
Another part of the brand’s popularity comes from clearly defining its image and staying true to its vision. Since streetwear is one of the most popular fashion trends for younger consumers, A. Tiziano had to work to distinguish itself from competition.
“It took a couple years, I would say, before we really dialed into what we wanted it to be, and then we stayed in that lane consistently after that,” Vickers said. “You can try to be everything to everybody, or you just have your vision and you stay true to who you are. That’s why we’ve been so successful — we don’t try to jump to different sides.”
The heart and soul of the A.Tiziano vibe stems from Molt’s ability to draw from evergreen styles and time-tested looks and give them her own spin, according to Vickers.
“She takes direction from the market in terms of forecasting colors or forecasting looks,” Vickers explained, “but what she does and what we’re known for is a) the color stories — her color stories are always unique to anything that’s out there, and b) the way that she mixes fabrics. There’s just so much texture. She’ll do an outerwear piece that’s got all different elements to it — maybe three or four different fabrics are mixed into the things she comes up with.”
Though streetwear is a popular category in several areas of retail, menswear seems to be the most viable for A.Tiziano. The brand encountered a bit of a roadblock when they experimented with expanding into women’s and children’s clothing.
“When we developed the label, the rabbit, the reason behind it was so that when we decided to go into kids’ or women’s, we would have that logo to go forward with,” Vickers said. Although some women’s and children’s pieces are still available on its website, the A.Tiziano team discovered that the market wasn’t right for the expansion.
“Unfortunately, because of the workmanship that goes into our product, it was difficult to price the kids’ in a medium that would work at retail,” she explained.
Luckily for the brand, its menswear pieces are having enough success on their own. Vickers reported that A.Tiziano dresses football players, entertainers and rappers among its regular clientele. Again, Vickers said, this is thanks to Molt.
“I think everybody can’t wait to see the next collection, because you wouldn’t think that you could keep having home run after home run, or you wouldn’t think that you could keep reinventing, and she does,” Vickers said. “I’m blessed to have her on our team.”
In terms of the evolving demand for “urban” apparel, Vickers is somewhat critical of other brands and styles that take the category less seriously.
“I think its funny that the ‘urban’ word gets kind of tossed around,” she said. She explained that streetwear used to be a very specific type of style, but now, it depends on the savvy consumer who shops around. Again, she said, buyers are more likely to curate a personal style by choosing different pieces rather than staying loyal to one brand.
“I think that that’s one of the reasons why our assortment is so unique and why we have such a wide variety of consumers,” Vickers said. “You can buy pieces from me that are so unique that they make whatever you have in your wardrobe that much cooler.”
