What’s going on guys, go ahead and introduce yourself
What’s up everyone, I’m Norma and I’m 19 years old. I was born in the North side; I now currently live in the suburbs.
Sup everyone, I’m Jose, I’m 20 years old, and the owner of BEATT clothing.
Lets start from the beginning, for both of you, what was your first introduction to art?
Norma- I’ve been an artist ever since birth. As a young girl I preferred drawing and coloring, rather that playing with dolls. I first started off strictly drawing. I recently just picked up on painting and graphic design. I started to take art seriously as soon as I got out of highschool, real life kicked in, and I needed to figure out what I was going to do with my life. It only felt right to stick to art; creativity was a trait I always had.
Jose- I really got into fashion in elementary school. I was always into hip-hop culture, so at a young age I was seeing the rappers wear southpole and other brands that really interested me. I would always ask my Mom to get me those clothes. I always had the interest to create my own brand, but that idea really started to turn into real life in highschool. By Sr year, I was really looking to make a brand and take this seriously.
Why did you choose fashion to display your creative thoughts and not a different medium?
Norma- For me, I never wanted to box myself in. I believe Art is very broad, so why not try to get involved with different mediums.
Jose- For me, like I stated, I was just always into clothing and shoes. I always wanted to look fresh.
What is streetwear to you?
For me, I’d have to say streetwear to me is anything that you can wear on a daily basis. Streetwear is a true representation of hip-hop community and the community that you’re from.
Growing up, who were some of the brands that inspired you so much to start your own brand?
I had always wanted to be a skateboarder growing up, but never was good. Skateboarder’s style had really influenced me. Brands like Supreme and LRG were my favorites.
How did you guys link up and start BEATT?
-Explain the meaning behind the name BEATT
We ended up meeting in a drawing class. We developed a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship before we started the brand. When I decided to start the brand, I was always looking for a graphic designer. I never could find one. I knew Norma had the talent, so it made sense to get her to be apart of this with me.
BEATT stands for Beyond Everyone At The Top. I want people to wear my brand and truly feel like they’re beyond everyone at the top.
Describe the creative process behind your guys’ artwork?
Jose usually tends up to come up with most of the ideas, sometimes I (Norma) will though also. Jose will draw up rough sketches and then give them to me so I can develop it. For now this is the method we are sticking with. If we end up needing a far more complex design, we will reach out to a graphic designer.
We saw J.R. Donato of Taylor Gang wearing one of your guys hat. How did that connection come about?
We ended up hitting up one of the members from his crew The Jetsons. One of the members reached back out to us saying that JR really liked our products. From there, we ended up sending him products. With the products we sent him, he ended up doing a photoshoot with one of his photographers wearing our merchandise. You are going to see him modeling for us more in the future. Very thankful for him helping us out.
You have a new collection you’re looking to drop, tell us a bit behind the creative influence of this drop
-What did you decide to do differently this time around?
-Any big ideas on how you’re going to drop this collection?
With this collection we looked to create a couple more logo shirts. We really looked to improve on quality this time around. We put more detail and embroidery into each product. We don’t have any big ideas really on what we are going to do. We really just want to put this collection out. We eventually will look to do a pop-up shop/gallery show somewhere along the line.
In the next couple of years, have you ever thought of transitioning from streetwear to higher-end fashion pieces?
We mainly want to stick to streetwear, but definitely are looking to transition into a higher end streetwear brand such as a Supreme, Palace, or Bape.
Who would you guys love to collab with on a piece or collection?
Norma – For me, I would’ve loved to be able to create a piece with Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol. They were both so ahead of their time.
Jose- I would love to collab with Nike. I think it would be awesome to create with A$AP Bari as well.
What’s next for both of you? What can we expect as 2016 ends?
Our main focus is to continue working on expanding our name and our brand.
Chicago Creatives 