For rebels, creators, and all those who have more interesting things on their minds than sleeping after midnight, and think outside the box. The clothing brand 2am is designed for them. Guided by the slogan "Clothing for restless kids," this brand has found an interesting way to actively work on education while providing its customers with quality that, as they claim, "every mother would approve of."
When was the brand 2AM created and what was the idea behind it?
We started in 2016 without any big ambitions, driven by the need to express our creativity. We simply had some ideas and values that we wanted to share with everyone who was like-minded. Although it all started as a hobby, people really liked what we were doing, and over time, it expanded.
What are the ideas and values you wanted to share?
The slogan of our brand is "Clothing for restless kids," and it refers to things that the system, so to speak, does not recognize. On one hand, you have everything that adheres to established rules and is considered right and proper. On the other hand, you have everything that is a contrast, something that is not good. However, the majority of people are somewhere in between, walking that fine line between being a good student and a complete troublemaker.
As a brand, we wanted to embrace that middle ground that encompasses everything. We didn't want to engage in any kind of elitism or target a specific group with our clothing.
On the other hand, we have the "Silencer" logo, which is truly a symbol of the values we believe in - not betraying friends, staying silent, working without speaking ill of others. These are all the values we learned from our parents when we were kids.
Why did you choose the name 2am, or "Two after midnight"?
First and foremost, because 2 am is a symbol of fighting against the system. If you're awake at 2 am, it means you're not enslaved by the system and its values. Whatever you're doing at 2 am, whether reading a book, drawing graffiti, partying, studying... one thing is certain, your day is not divided into 8 hours of work, 8 hours of rest, and 8 hours of sleep. That time symbolizes that you're not conforming, that you're not a cog in the system.
What can be found in your product offering?
We started with T-shirts as something everyone wears, but over time, we expanded into other types of clothing. Today, we offer hoodies, socks, caps, flags, swim shorts... We have over 100 different items.
We're expanding, and our plan is for practically every piece of clothing to eventually be part of our assortment. Of course, we're proceeding systematically and slowly.
We plan to create several different brand lines that would be thematically divided. One would be related to art, another to parties, another to classic clothing...
It should be emphasized that you pay great attention to the quality of what we offer.
We sought out the best people for every step in creating the clothing and set the highest standards from the beginning. We followed the principle that when your mom says, "This is a good shirt," then you really know it is. People have actually told us that their moms said 2am shirts are the best in terms of quality.
Where can your products be found?
From the very beginning, our main sales channels have been our website and social media. However, we also plan to open a physical location in Belgrade. It will be some kind of concept store where people can come, chat, have a drink, and buy something along the way.
We're considering this step because a large community has gathered around our brand. We havean excellent communication with everyone, and we believe that such a place would benefit our community.
Actually, you have very dedicated fans.
We didn't get into this story to make money selling clothes, but rather to somehow showcase certain values that we believe many people support. Here's a statistic that illustrates the tremendous support from fans we have - there are 58 people who have gotten a tattoo with our logo, which is truly incredible.
On the other hand, we have fantastic communication with fans. For example, sometimes there may be confusion, and a shirt that wasn't ordered ends up being delivered to the customer's address. They reach out to us, and even though one would expect them to be dissatisfied, they tell us they will keep that shirt and ask us to send the one they initially ordered.
People have also started recognizing each other through our clothing, and many friendships have formed from this connection and sharing the same values, which we are very proud of.
Who are your fans, actually?
In short, they are people who think for themselves. It's a broad concept that includes both older and younger individuals, graffiti artists, sports fans, rappers, club-goers. In fact, it's quite simple - we don't want only an "elite" to identify with our brand, but rather individuals who think independently.
That's why, with each product, an educational card is included, containing a message that further explains the shirt or garment we're selling, along with a relevant quote from a movie, excerpt from a book, or a line of poetry with a suggestion to read, watch, listen to it...
Our idea is to be an educational brand so that even someone who buys a shirt simply because it's colorful or well-designed can still learn something.
For example, we had a shirt featuring Yesenin, a man who was both a hooligan and a renowned poet. The design portrayed Yesenin wearing gloves with the text "Poets love poeticizing," and on the educational card, we printed his poem "Confession of a Hooligan."
There are probably at least a few people who read poetry for the first time thanks to that shirt they bought, and we're happy if we've contributed even a tiny bit to making the world a better place in that way.
Interestingly, some famous public figures also wear your shirts.
One of the principles we established is that we won't pay anyone to appear with our brand because we believe that in this world of the digital age, we've reached a pinnacle of media and marketing lies, and people are starting to believe in genuine stories again. All the celebrities who have promoted us did so because they genuinely like what we're doing. We have rappers FTP, Smoke Mardeljano, Sick Touch, as well as actors Denis Murić, Trojpec, Aleksandar Radojičić, DJ Vilja Đoković, Lea Dobričić, and even basketball player Nikola Jokić happily wearing our shirts.
Do you have any plans for the near future?
We're soon releasing shirts that will talk about Socrates as a philosopher and some topics that, at first glance, may not seem related to street culture, but in reality, there's a strong connection. It just requires those who are unaware to discover that Socrates, on one hand, was an intellectual but also a very tough guy.
Our idea is to give back to the street what the street has educated us on.
We feel like we're on a sled going downhill, so we're trying to use our feet to slow down a bit from the side. How successful we'll be - we'll see. What we want is to build a bridge between philosophers, graffiti artists, athletes, and even people who may have gone astray, connecting them and awakening the positive values that unite us all.
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