International trade and finance senior Travis Mamon is building his interest in fashion into a full-blown career.
Mamon’s current clothing line, Young Kings Society, has a casual urban aesthetic, marketed mainly toward college students. He is also in the process of opening 7 Exchange, a sneaker boutique, in Atlanta later this year.
“I love fashion,” Mamon said. “Growing up, I looked at Kanye West and Pharrell. I kind of based my brand off of theirs.”
Mamon was a senior in high school when he started Young Kings Society. In a business class, he was asked to design and present an original product. He designed Young Kings Society’s trademark pharaoh logo and started making T-shirts.
“At first, I was just selling T-shirts to my classmates,” Mamon said. “They all sold out in the first week, so I decided to keep going.”
The designer continued on with the brand, originally only intended to help him afford more sneakers. However, since he brought his business to LSU, he’s been met with continued success and has been featured in a few fashion shows.
Young Kings Society produces T-shirts, pins, baseball caps, beanies, tank tops and hoodies. Mamon said he wants to start working with denim and plans to design a windbreaker for the spring.
“It’s an urban brand,” Mamon said. “If you’re running late for class, you can just throw on some jeans and a YKS shirt and you’ll look good for class.”
Along with the T-shirts and beanies, Mamon’s passion for sneakers was the inspiration for 7 Exchange, the sneaker boutique he’s opening in August.
Mamon will open 7 Exchange’s flagship location in his hometown of Atlanta. He’s going into business with his roommate, general business senior Ottis Johnson, who will be opening another location in his hometown of Houston. The Houston location is also set to open in August.
The designer explained that they are able to open two locations fresh out of college because of their unique business plan: strategic investments and personal savings.
“I’m going to try to push both businesses,” Mamon said. “Either way, if 7 Exchange has success, I’ll see that as Young Kings Society’s success.”
Mamon is currently working to secure contracts with major sneaker brands like Nike, Adidas and Puma. He plans to continue selling Young Kings Society merchandise at 7 Exchange.
At the moment, Young Kings Society merchandise can be ordered from Mamon’s website, yksociety.bigcartel.com.
Mamon urged other LSU students who have a business idea to chase their dreams.
“Entrepreneurship can be very easy,” Mamon said. “Anything is possible. I’ve definitely found that out.”

Gallery • 6 Photos

Zoe Geauthreaux

General business senior Ottis Johnson models a shirt released under the Young Kings Society clothing line on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016, near the Design Building.