We were lucky to catch up with Josh Alston recently and have shared our conversation below.

Josh, appreciate you joining us today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.

If I were to start to over and just go back to the very beginning, I would just make sure to stay consistent on everything I do including things outside the business. I feel like when I started my clothing brand back in 2018 i honestly was in a dark space and had a negative mindset towards a lot of things, so I feel that also affected how I handled things in the beginning. Saying that if I had the mindset I had now back then, then a lot of things would definitely be different today. Honestly i’m no where near I want to be, but i’m still glad everything played out the way it did up until this point.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Growing up here in Memphis, Tennessee I always knew I was different than the average person, rather it was the way I dressed, the music I listened to, or even my thought process at times people would always look at me differently and I was always cool with that. Most of my life, I had dreams of being a professional football player and I had it made up in my mind no one could tell me otherwise not even my own mother, but regardless I always knew I would be a star in whatever field I was in and have a huge impact in whatever I did. Once I got a little older I realized football wasn’t my route that’s really when I decided I wanted to have my own clothing brand. I have always been passionate about my clothes and attire since I was in elementary school and having my own brand only made sense. I knew school wasn’t an option for me because I have never been a fan of it and I definitely was not about my waste my time nor money on that when I could build my own legacy on my own knowledge and learn from myself. During high school when I lived in Michigan, I started my first brand with an old friend of mine and we decided to name it “Simp N Sins”, but shortly ended in 2018. Although It only lasted for about a year i’m still grateful for that experience and everything I learned from that. I ended up started up my own brand “Ignored” once I moved back to Memphis I thought it would be great to have my own clothing brand and just work on it independently. I came up with the name ‘Ignored” for all the times I’ve felt ignored and all the times I’ve felt people truly don’t understand me and where I’m actually coming from. I felt really lonely at times my first two years back in Memphis and that no one truly was on my side, but I had to realize that everyone is on their own time. Back in 2019, I dropped some long sleeve shirts and It didn’t necessarily go the way I planned, but it really was just the beginning. I ended up losing my job and had a MAJOR setback after that, not knowing what to do or what my next move was going to be I was in a very dark place. Fast forward two years later, I ended up being involved in a pop up I had my first opportunity to showcase my brand and sell clothes at an event for the first time ever. This year I definitely planned on dropping more clothes, I had a small drop in february I dropped my collection “Born A Star” and I honestly thought it was very slept on. That helped me realize I need to focus more on my marketing and just find better ways to get my product out there to the people. The thing i’m most proud about this year is the way I’ve been able to budget and invest most of my income back into myself, and also just focusing on things that matter the most not letting myself get easily distracted about things that’s just temporary. Also this year I have been able to add other things to my resume such as interviewing a few upcoming artist which is something I want to do more in the future, I definitely want to incorporate in my brand to help upcoming artist get the platform they deserve.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My main goal is to just be able to live freely, being able to get up and go whenever without any worries finically or mentally is definitely the main goal im looking to achieve for myself, friends, and family. I also want to change the world in a way by helping those struggling with their mental health, I want them to know that they’re never alone in this world and that their voices are always heard. Lastly I want to be able to show the kids that anything is possible and you can be whatever you want in this world regardless of where you’re from or how you came up. Also I want them to know that school isn’t your only option to be successful, there is a thousand ways to be successful WITHOUT school.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I honestly wish I knew more about Alibaba when I first started, Alibaba is an online business where there are a lot of overseas manufactures mostly in China and Pakistan. They will literally make your product exactly how you like and ship it to you, some even offer to ship it straight to the customer if they ordered it off your website. Living in Memphis, there really isn’t a lot of resources for clothing brands in the city and the few that we do have over charge on a lot of things. Alibaba provides a nice service where you can build a relationship with a manufacture, they will make the things you need exactly how you need as long as you are very clear with them how you want it and they will give you great wholesale prices. Its not the only source I use to get clothes manufactured, but it definitely is one of my favorite ways to get new product in and it has contributed a lot to my recent success. And also to upcoming brands YOUTUBE, YOUTUBE, YOUTUBE! You can literally teach yourself anything you want to do just off of watching youtube videos and a lot of successful clothing brands throw a bunch of free game on their channels so definitely use that as a resource as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: Ignoredclothing.store
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ignoredjosh9 https://www.instagram.com/ignoredclothing901

Image Credits
Photographers: Kai Black (@Kaiiblack)
Devin Martin (@blackhawkvisuals)
Matthew Wright (@mangomaat)
Josh Johnson(@J.6sh)
Models: Josh Alston, Austin Powers, Trail Johnson (@Choppertrail_), @Blkkstar