It's hard to believe that Threadless, the community-supported, crowd-sourced T-shirt e-commerce site is 10years old already. What was initially an experiment in sociallynetworked design has now become a phenomenon, a model for the market,and the subject of a doting video on Dell's website, Motherboard. Click on for more.
Comprised of interviews with both the intrepid cats who launched Threadless and members of its community of addicted shoppers and even moreaddicted designers, the video takes through the history of a site andbusiness that employed the tricks of the social-network trade beforeFacebook was even a gleam in Mort Zuckerberg's twitchy eye. Founder JakeNickell says the focus of his site isn't so much the clothes they sell,but the art they collect. "What if a 15-year-old kid is making reallycool stuff in his basement?" He asks, "How is it ever going to be seen?"Almost as if to answer the question, Dell's videographers head into thebasement of designer Brent Schoepf, an actual teen.Says Schoepf, who's had many of his creations printed by the company,"Threadless, for me, has basically been my art school." Says Nickellabout his attached community of creators, commentors, and shoppers,"This company will grow to where the customers want to take it." Now,granted, that's the case with every company—but for Threadless it's doubly true. Now ask yourself, how can you engage your customers on a different level? How can you create a craving for what you do? We can't supply you with the answers, but between this video, this blog, and our Behind The Seams event, we're here to help you ask the questions.
Thank you for using the Fashion Industry Network. Have you helped another member today? Answer questions in the forum. It brings good luck.