A group of seniors at Henry Clay High School has launched its own clothing brand, featuring a custom-altered line of shirts and accessories that aims to celebrate the individuality of the younger generation.
The company, called Unxpectd, was started last fall by Henry Clay senior Ryan Sullivan, with help from classmates Finley Williams, Dylan Holder and Gabe Richie. The group uses a variety of sewing, screenprinting and embroidery techniques to handcraft its one-of-a-kind designs sold on the company’s website, unxpectd.co.
“We wanted to make the clothing brand about embodying the youth and their individuality,” said Sullivan. “The name [Unxpectd] didn’t really mean anything at first but, as time progressed, the name [came to mean] more about being yourself and not being what’s expected of you.”
Brand founder and Henry Clay High School senior, Ryan Sullivan, is up to his ears in his Unxpectd apparel. Photo by Nina Rennard
Eighteen-year-old Sullivan started the brand using money he’d saved while working at local restaurants. Sullivan said he worked up to 60 hours per week during the summer and half that much during the school year to launch the business.
“We are in high school, so we aren’t adults who are venture capitalists that are trying to make a bunch of money,” Sullivan said. “We’re hand-making everything.”
Unxpectd has posted dozens of short videos to the rising social media platform TikTok to reach its target audience of young people like themselves. The company’s presence on the popular platform has resulted in major growth of its sales and social media followings, Sullivan said. When its 30th video hit 650,000 views, he said, they realized they were onto something big.
“[After that, we] got lots of sales and Instagram and TikTok followers overnight,” he said.
One of Sullivan’s role models for the brand’s positioning and promotional strategy is Gary Vaynerchuk, an entrepreneur with 7.8 million Instagram followers.
“I followed [Gary Vaynerchuk] since freshman year,” Sullivan said. “His messages have always stood out to me about doing what makes you happy, the level of commitment it takes and good marketing strategies. ”
The small group of senior boys has spent countless hours making the clothes, processing orders and working on advertising to promote the company’s brand. Clothing products are ordered in bulk, then customized by using a host of hand screen printing, sewing and embroidering techniques, including dyes, washes and cutting and resewing the fabric. The company’s second collection was released in early February. Within 30 minutes of the release, Unxpectd hit $10,000 in sales, Sullivan said.
Finley Williams preps apparel for a photo shoot. The apparel is sold online an Unxpectd.co. Photo by Nina Rennard
“For [collection 2], the core message was embodying and uplifting people with characteristics like idiosyncrasy and individuality,” Sullivan said. “With the hoodies we have in this collection, all but just a couple are going to be uniquely made every single time; everything is going to be slightly altered. [We want the clothing] to be unique to you.”
Henry Clay senior Morgan Blank is one of Unxpectd’s customers, and an early supporter of the new business. Blank has been friends with Sullivan for a while, and she said she appreciates that Unexpectd’s designs aren’t made by a large manufacturer.
“I told my dad about [Unxpectd] for Christmas presents, and he was really excited about it,” Blank said. “We try to support [Sullivan] and buy stuff.”
Sullivan plans to continue the brand after high school; the team has also been exploring the possibility of opening a brick-and-mortar store.
“I’m intending to continue the brand,” Sullivan said. “We plan on releasing new products at least by the end of spring.”
Founder of Unxpectd, Ryan Sullivan, works on his apparel that is hand-sewn, embroidered, screenprinted or otherwise individualized. Photo by Nina Rennard