Clothing companies seem to be popping up all the time.  While some are leading the way, others fall to the wayside.  In the apparel industry, every company seems to be “breaking from the norm,”  but what does that even mean if everyone is claiming the same thing?

Tactics recently brought in upstart clothing company COMUNE.  Now, here at Tactics, we do our best to stay on top of the fashion game while remaining true to our skate and snowboarding roots, and we’ve seen several clothing companies come and go, but when COMUNE hit the shop early last week, shop manager Eric Purdy was so hyped on the gear he asked if we could do a little something extra.

In between taking phone calls and processing returns, I decided to get back at Eric and ask why he was hyped on COMUNE.  I expected a response with the usual, “I’m hyped on COMUNE cause the gear’s legit,” or “they have the best team and sickest designers.”  But I didn’t get that.  Instead, I got a forwarded e-mail from Corey Smith via Eric.  Corey who? Oh, he’s the art director at COMUNE.  Act like you know.

These questions weren’t intended for COMUNE’s art director; I was trying to come up with a spot called ‘shop talk’ or something similar that asks our shop employees questions about the brands they’re hyped on.  Well, for this inaugural post, we’ll let Corey explain where COMUNE is at and why Something Better Change in the apparel industry.

How did you first hear about COMUNE?

Corey Smith: Frank Delgadio, COMUNE’s founder, has been toying around with it as a brand for years.  It finally came into fruition when we found a good crew to come together and make it a reality.

What does the COMUNE slogan ‘Something Better Change’ mean for the company?

CS: We developed the ’Something Better Change’ slogan because it summed up all of our general frustration with working for another brand and constantly having to fight to do the creative stuff we wanted to do.  Also, we were all super broke and fed up with our jobs so something had to change and we launched our own brand.  It was kind of a serendipitous slogan choice because it went along with what was becoming Obama’s slogan of Change.  The economy was at its lowest and everyone was going out of business or cutting back, so we though it would be a perfect time to get in when everyone was down.

What differentiates COMUNE from the rest of the brands out there?

CS: I think the biggest difference is that we are able to do what we want on every level.  There’s no shareholders or corporate big boss to answer to.  It’s just us.  Sink or swim.  I also think we have a really eclectic group of people working here.  Everyone has a really unique and forward style, which translates into what we make.  Plus our skate and snow team represents, to me, the most stylish athletes on every level and they help out a lot with development.

Who’s involved with COMUNE and how is it different than Ambiguous?

CS: Everything is different from the bubble, man.  Ambigs has changed so many hands it’s really a shame.  I don’t really have anything to say about it.

Why are you hyped on COMUNE?

CS: Creative freedom.  We’re able to make what we want.  We can make new, original clothing rather than just copy what’s already out there.

What should we look for in the coming months, both from COMUNE and the apparel industry as a whole?

CS: COMUNE will continue to produce solid, wearable, fashion forward clothing.  As far as the apparel industry, I’d say look for a thinning of the herd as well as a greater demand for affordable, quality clothing.

A big thanks to Tactics shop manager Eric Purdy and Corey Smith at COMUNE for making this happen.  Check out the photos below for a glimpse of what COMUNE offers and Tactics for everything else.

[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157621983769866"]