Watch out Tri-Cities; a local clothing brand is ready to take Tennessee, and the world, by storm.
Two students at King University, Tani Houston, a sophomore digital media and business-marketing double major, and Marzuwq Bholai, a sophomore digital media design major, are the brains behind First North. They met last year at King University as freshmen on the men’s soccer team. The soccer team lives in the hall “First North,” which is where the brand name came from.
First North is described as “an up and coming lifestyle and streetwear brand bringing you the newest styles and trends in the streetwear world.” Streetwear is defined by First North as “a way to express yourself through designs and combinations of clothing. It’s an art, and a lifestyle.”
On a more personal level, Houston describes First North as “a brotherhood before a brand.”
“First North is more than a hall/brand; it’s a family. Some would say it’s a lifestyle,” Bholai said.
“We created the brand because fashion is something that always interested us, and we connected more freshman year,” Houston said.
When asked what made them stand out, Houston responded, “What makes us different is that you know who’s behind the clothes. Like, a lot of streetwear brands you don’t really know the people that are making the designs and stuff personally, and you do with us.”
It is beyond apparent how this is not just a fad for them, just a thing they’re doing to make money in college. This is a passion and something that really puts a spark in their eyes as soon as you bring it up.
So far, they have released one hat in multiple colors and two shirts in multiple colors, all available for purchase on their website, firstnorthclothing.com.
The designs are simple and clean and lend themselves to a wide variety of styles.
In this day in age, when you buy your clothes, you don’t normally know where they are
actually from and who made them. With First North, you know that all the products are made in America. First North is a local brand, supporting local printmakers and producers. No child labor laws are being broken, and they still keep their prices very affordable. Nothing is over $20 on their whole site. What is better than affordable clothing while also supporting a local brand?