A University alumnus transformed one fashion trend into a sustainable apparel company — what was once a line of neon tank tops has grown into a line of custom products for any consumer.
Today, the main clientele of graphic design alumnus Allen Carey’s company The Neon South are fraternities and sororities, but the business also creates all the marketing material for the international transportation company Uber and makes tens of thousands of tank tops for them each year.
Carey said apartment complexes are also a major clientele for the company, including The Cottages of Baton Rouge and complexes sprinkled throughout the country.
Carey began his involvement at the University as one of the re-founders of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity Louisiana Beta chapter in 2004.
Carey also walked onto the LSU football team in 2006 but was forced to quit after one season due to a back injury.
Using his knowledge in graphic design, he started designing T-shirts and eventually became the T-shirt chair of his fraternity. He said this experience opened the door for him to work with various apparel companies and gain knowledge of the production side of the business, he said.
However, Carey said he noticed his chapter usually liked the designs he created instead of the options the shirt companies were providing. This influenced the way his company worked with customers to create custom designs made from a collaborative effort between the producer and consumer.
“Instead of just taking a template off of a website, we’ll let the chapters today tell us exactly what they want, and then, we’ll create something that’s custom just for them,” Carey said.
After graduating, Carey noticed a significant trend in the popularity of neon-colored tank tops. When he couldn’t find the neon apparel he wanted to wear to a concert online, the idea of creating his own line was born, along with his company, The Neon South.
About two months later, the company’s website was up and running. The line premiered at a music festival in 2011 and sold out within a few hours.
The company began by offering various set designs, but they kept receiving requests for customized shirts for fraternities and companies wanting to individualize their shirts. Carey said, at that point, The Neon South became the first company in America to offer custom neon tank tops.
Once it started providing such an exclusive product, Carey said the company basically blew up overnight and has grossed more than $2 million in sales since 2013.
Though the company started with strictly neon apparel, Carey said he remained constantly aware of growing trends in the U.S., and The Neon South line has grown as well, offering multiple products, including long-sleeved sweaters, pocket tanks, custom snapbacks and fanny packs in a variety of colors.
The final design for any customer can be approached in multiple ways.
At TheNeonSouth.com, visitors can choose a previously made design and add their individualized customization to it, or they can submit a detailed description of what they want.
“If they have an idea in mind, we’ll work with that, and if not, we’ll start from scratch to get something that they like,” Carey said. “The goal is always to have a product that they’re thrilled about.”
Carey said orders have reached as far as Canada and the Caribbean, but pursuing interests in Europe and Australia has been delayed mostly because of shipping costs and customers not willing to pay for 50 to 500 tank tops, for example, to be sent overseas.
Though the company’s Kickstarter was the neon idea, Carey said the two main reasons why The Neon South is still successful stem from the variety of designs offered and the quality of customer service provided.
The team of designers work with each order to create something they would want to wear that appropriately represents their client, and as opposed to companies like CustomInk, clients aren’t forced to come up with a design completely by themselves.
Carey said The Neon South tries to constantly recognize new fashion ideas and become trendsetters in casual apparel and stay on par with the times.
“Every season, every year, we’re seeing changes in what people are looking for, so it’s just trying to be on top of everybody else,” Carey said. “A lot of companies try to get into the fashion trends as they’re sailing by whereas we try to be at the very front of it and offer something truly unique.”
You can reach Michael Tarver on Twitter @michael_T16.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Jonah Gilmore

Examples of clothing from The Neon South