With a minimalist, sleek motif, University student Kevin Nguyen takes a simplistic approach to producing his own garb. His new line, Berreti Clothing, which has a West Coast meets New Orleans skater aesthetic, strips designs and color schemes to their most basic state.
Nguyen, a computer science junior, said his retail business idea stemmed from the urge to create something his own, something fresh that no one else was wearing.
“If other independent designers can do it, why can’t I?” Nguyen said.
Besides the slight spelling correlation with the firearms brand Beretta, Nguyen said the name Berreti was a word ingrained into his mind that he came back to for weeks when deciding the brand’s title.
Although a fundamental layout revolving around a black and white scheme is essential, Nguyen said he draws inspiration for the calligraphy in his clothing line and organization draws from West Coast and European clothing styles.
He said he uses social media, specifically Instagram, to find new ideas and accents for his otherwise simplistic designs.
Nguyen said the design process was rigorous, and learning how to operate the programs he uses to layout his scheme was difficult. But he finally released the first product of his line this January.
“It took a while for it to kickstart, but after a lot of planning and scheming, we finally got it started in January,” Nguyen said.
His newest products include a black and white baseball jersey style shirt, as well as mesh shorts and a five-panel hat. He said his line can be fairly unisex, and he can have a broad spectrum of designs that everyone can wear.
Berreti Clothing highlights Nguyen’s heritage in New Orleans with “504” appearing on the sleeve of one shirt design.
“It starts with the locals,” Nguyen said. “If you can have support from the local [community], then that can be the foundation to expanding worldwide.”
Nguyen said most of his clientele has been centered in New Orleans, but he has been promoting the brand all over campus. He said it is important for the Baton Rouge community to know that he is representing them and is there for them in this new design process.
Purple Monkey Design in New Orleans has been the company printing his shirts from day one, Nguyen said.
Nguyen said he’s sold 200 to 300 products since January to an average of 100 to 200 customers, and none of the profits go to recreational use on his part.
“I put [all the profits] toward pushing out more products to expand the company,” Nguyen said.
Berreti Clothing products currently include t-shirts, a three-quarter sleeve t-shirt, a baseball jersey style shirt, black mesh shorts and a five-panel hat. Nguyen said he would like to one day expand his brand to accommodate more women’s clothing as well as his own shoe design.
Nguyen said the t-shirts range from $25 to $30 and the new baseball jersey will most likely be $50. The mesh shorts are $30 and the hat is $26.
When he is not wearing his own designs, Nguyen said he prefers to shop online at mostly JackThreads, Urban Outfitters and occasionally Hautelook. Though some of these brands can be expensive, he said he recognizes the correlation between price and looking original.
“If you want to look different you gotta pay for it,” Nguyen said. “I don’t like to wear the same thing everyone wears around here.”
You can reach Michael Tarver on Twitter @michael_T16.

Gallery • 12 Photos

Emily Brauner

LSU Music Education junior Shawn Gee wearing LSU student designer Kevin Nguyen's Berreti cap.