Quality Peoples
Co-Founder and Co-Creative Director of contemporary surf fashion clothing brand, available in high-end stores across the US, Europe and Japan
Quality Peoples —
Cult-status Contemporary Surf Art Fashion Brand
Role: Co-Founder, Co-Creative Director and Managing Partner
Timeline: 2010 – 2019
Location: Remote (Mexico & Hawaii)
Overview
Quality Peoples was a globally distributed independent fashion label that blended surf culture, art, and contemporary design. Co-founded with a creative partner in Hawaii, the brand offered limited-run t-shirts and apparel that explored themes of identity, travel, and nostalgia through drawings, scribbles, art, graphic design and photography.
Case Study
Goals
Create a design-forward menswear label rooted in surf culture but positioned within the global contemporary fashion market.
Build a brand with visual storytelling, unique collaborations, and a global retail presence.
Maintain lean operations while reaching international distribution.
Challenges
Sustained creative consistency across international remote collaboration.
Balanced niche creative expression with the commercial needs of global wholesale accounts.
Managed global fulfillment logistics and production timelines with limited team infrastructure.
Process
Collaborated remotely with business partner on all aspects of brand identity, creative direction, and collection design.
Designed all t-shirt graphics, drawing from a mix of typography, photography, and conceptual art.
Managed day-to-day business operations including sampling, production, inventory, and fulfillment.
Built and maintained the e-commerce website, while coordinating wholesale orders.
Developed marketing campaigns, art-directed product and lifestyle photography, and created branded collateral.
Coordinated with showroom sales teams in New York to grow wholesale relationships with high-profile stockists.
Spearheaded brand collaborations and special edition drops.
Outcomes & Results
Distributed in over 100 high-end stockists worldwide, including Mohawk (LA), Barneys (Japan), Ron Herman, Journal Standard, Colette (Paris), and Odin (NYC).
Collaborated with major partners such as The Gap and Mike D (Beastie Boys).
Featured in top fashion and trend media including Vogue, The New York Times, WGSN, and The New Ordinary.
Cultivated a loyal global following and established the brand as a respected voice within the surf/art niche.
