Prophecy Clothing Store Review

This spring, the Wide i team had the opportunity to check out Prophecy Clothing stores’ first pop-up shop of the year. Hosted at the STRONG storefront in Menlo Park Mall. We spoke to the owner, Moise Andre, to get a better idea of what his brand is all about. Read below to hear our in-depth conversation.

Mustapha- I saw on your post that you said this is your first pop-up show of the year. Have you done others in the past?

Moise- Yeah, I've done, like, I want to say, around seven total, so I usually go to pop-up shops or events with a larger crowd. So yeah, this is my seventh/eighth time doing a pop-up shop.

Mustapha- What made you choose this location?

Moise- Oh, I'm actually really cool with the owner. Yeah, it's on right here. I think it's definitely a good place to go. Duke, a great friend of mine, Haitian brother. Super awesome, I learned a lot from him. He's almost like a mentor to me.

Mustapha- Do you feel like mentorship is really important for your store?

Moise- I'm learning how to run a day-to-day business like a retail shop kind of store. How business goes on a day-to-day basis, keeping the inventory on the floor, and its customer service, is all things like that. So he's definitely just been teaching me a lot about that because that's one of my goals later down the line is to have a store. So he's definitely been that for me.

Mustapha- So you don't have a store on your own yet?

Moise- I'm mainly e-commerce right now, mainly online-based. Sometimes I like to do pop shops so people can get a feel of me as an owner.

Mustapha- and in person to get a feel of the clothes 

Moise- It's two different things, because feeling fabric and just seeing it, you don't get to feel it. Yeah, so I get to feel it.

Jose- Especially with GSM and everything.

Moise- Exactly, GSM, different types of fabrics and printing styles. It's different seeing it, you can describe it as much as you want, but like once you feel it

Mustapha- I'm gonna feel it for the quality, this is gonna be something that I’m going to wear.

Jose- Especially with percentages of fabrics, and the blends

Moise- You can fall in love with the fabric just by the touch. So just things like that, makes me want to come out and be a presence more and more.

Mustapha-  Did you design the new clothes?

Moise- Yeah, so I design all my clothes sometimes when I'm like in a creative block, I outsource sometimes and there's no problem with that. I still give them a broad idea of what I'm looking for. I just don't know how to do it myself.

Mustapha- It's more of a collaborative effort that way.

Moise- You don't always have to be the…

Mustapha joins in- The head honcho type because reach out to other people and get to feel what they want to do.

Moise- By the end of the day, these bigger brands have designers. You get what I'm saying? I don't have any shame in hitting anybody up ever saying, "Hey, I have an idea, but I like the way you design, so I want to see if you can make it better than I can.” there's no shame in the game now.

Mustapha- Because you collaborate and you build a community.

Moise-Exactly.

Mustapha- You are building your network, and you build genuine bonds with these people.

Moise- Exactly.

Mustapha- And you never know how far that will take you.

Mustapha- So, can you walk me through the collection?

Moise- So, transitioning to spring. Our sensor shirts are over there. Just a basic nice little logo on the left of the chest. With a design on the back. I'm big on everyday wear. Because a lot of brands nowadays sell pieces that people only like to wear once. It's like staple pieces.

Mustapha- Statement pieces?

Moise- Right, statement pieces, and I feel there's a big demand for everyday wear.

Jose- Kind of like a uniform

Moise- Exactly.

Mustapha- It's a part of your capsule wardrobe in a sense, It's something that you can incorporate in  whatever you wear, wherever you go, whether it's casual/formal 

Moise- And with streetwear, It's a mix between statement and basic. Do get what I'm saying? So you need both. Like someone who's a fashion influencer, you won't always see them wear statement pieces. They might throw in something more basic. So that's why I like to do a mix. I don't always like to hit them with crazy designs all the time. People, there is a market for essential wear and everyday wear. And a lot of people need that to give them, like this right here. This is my essential hoodie. You feel it. French Terry, 300 GSM. I love French Terry because it's just because of the breathability in their clothes. And something like this catches your attention more than this. But this right here, you can wear it every day. This is calmer.

 Mustapha- You feel like you have to go all out with a piece like this.

Moise- If you had a closet full of shirts like this, it's all right. Sometimes you'll need something calmer to make room for your shoes. Say, you like those big red boots. The mischief boot. Sometimes you want to go calm on the upper and go crazy on the bottom. so it draws more attention to shoes. Something like that, you know what I'm saying? going, with essential or everyday wear on the, on the top sometimes could be, good.

 Mustapha- It allows your eye to move to the different portions of your fit and tell a story, "Okay, that's what the stylist wanted me to see. Rather than, you know, having like the basic up top, I really want to show these shoes I got. So I will show you these shoes, through how I put my fit on.

 Moise- So, like this, I'm wearing a blank tee right now. I really wanted people to show this little sample I got. This is actually something I'm dropping. This leather vest. I'm dropping these on Friday, I didn't want the shirt to overpower this jacket. I went blank with the shirt. This is an example of why I like to do everyday wear.

Jose- It's more of a relaxed feel.

Moise- I do drop like graphic t-shirts, of course, I do. But they sell more than, um, the everyday wear. so that's why I really don't have as much now. Then I have the sweaters that I dropped not too long ago. I got sweatsuits and shorts, and then I got hats and fitted.

Jose- How do you feel about people who do their brand all themselves?

Moise- I feel like people who screen print and do it themselves. they could be dedicating that time to something else. I like to let the professionals handle it Because I want my stuff to be top-tier. When you heat press it yourself, You get little errors and you burn yourself out. because technically, you don't have a limit. Because you could just buy blanks for the heat press. And that's another thing. I don't like to use blanks. you don't have a limit to what you could sell. Because you could just buy a blank, sell it, print it, and ship it out. You're gonna get burned out, especially if you're growing and growing. With the way I do it, right I customize my garments. So, I do the sizing myself. I don't use blanks. So my garments are gonna be different sizing and different fit Then a lot of other people's brands use blanks because they all have the same size. And the material is gonna be a little bit different. And I got custom tags on the inside of my stuff. The little details like that allowed me to stand out more.

Jose- It gives you time to think about those little details, it adds value to what you’re selling 

Moise- That's why I don't, I personally don't do the screen printing, I don't do the printing at all

Mustapha- Do you feel like that's a good starting step for somebody that's starting off 

Moise- If you want to start, you could start doing screen print. I would just go to a print shop, but somebody might not wanna put all their capital into a print shop. They might wanna do it themselves to save money. But when you grow, You're not gonna really have time. My goal is to have a team dedicated to doing it. So, that way, I focus on a more high-level income type of decision. I'm gonna have a warehouse.

Mustapha- You have to have your hands all in the production. You could put your...

Moise- That's where you save money. When you have your own machine.

Jose- I only really ask that 'cause I do it myself.

Moise- You screen print?

Jose- Yeah.

Moise- That's a skill a lot of people don't have skill

Jose- Trust me, It took me a lot It took a lot of money out of me. Just to get it down to it.

Moise- This is gonna be my first drop. This spring. And I got a bunch of shirts I'm dropping. I wanna do like every other week. I wanna drop a shirt.

Mustapha- You have a particular date on when it's gonna drop because I know you say you're dropping this Friday.

Moise- I'm dropping this Friday. And then I'm dropping more shirts in production. I have a bunch of stuff in production right now. Like samples. I try to order a sample every week.  And I'm just doing it every week and every week, And every time I confirm a sample, I put it into production. So, it takes like three weeks, three to four weeks. And then when you keep doing that every other week, it's like you got rotation. But a lot of people can't do that because it's a lot of money. bulk is not anything cheap.

Moise- So, my spring is about to start rolling in. real smooth.

Mustapha- What season do you feel like you can really go nuts over?

Moise- Ooh, fall!

Mustapha- I had an idea that that would be the answer.

Moise- My fall this year is going to be insane. Jesus Christ. I have so many ideas. I'm always trying to look at how to be different. And I think I've finally really found what my niche is.

Mustapha- You feel like your niche that you are like right now Do you feel like it's oversaturated?

Moise- No, no, not at all, Not at all, Not at all. so vintage streetwear. So a lot of brands are like They're like more hip hop. Like more like what rappers wear. They're like that. I’m more… skateboarder essence, really.  I'm more like open-minded streetwear. Like a lot of people aren't gonna wear this vest. Like people who are really like...into fashion. They're gonna be a little bit more open-minded regarding my Pieces.

Mustapha- They're gonna want to try stuff out.

Moise- Even this pants sample.Yeah.

Jose-It was probably one of the first things that caught my eye.

Moise- These are samples, 13 pockets, I think I'm gonna say these are for fall.

Mustapha- 'Cause I'm gonna come to cop me a pair.

Moise- I just like to be different. So, yeah, I would say vintage, sacred streetwear is kind of my niche.

Mustapha- Now you tapped in, then you know how you really want to like...Take it to the next level.

Jose- And what would be your position on fast fashion?

Moise- Fast fashion?

Mustapha- Yeah.

Jose- This means when you look at sheen, you look at higher brands that are selling child-made clothes.

Moise- It's cool. It's cool, but the quality isn't there. In my opinion. It's inconsistent. I just feel like it can't be good if you're selling garments for that cheap. It can't be good.

Mustapha- Or it's unethical

Jose- Myself. I like to call it a landfill.

Moise- Landfill?

Jose- Stuff you know is not gonna sell, but it's already posted up as, oh yeah, it's selling. It's like very basic clothing or low-quality stuff that they're printing and selling. It's like this is gonna end up in the landfill. Maybe give it a year or so or six months.

 Mustapha- You gotta think about it. You've got pieces from your backstock from last spring, right? Most of the stores would have sent that to the landfill. Most retailers are like, hey, this is just gonna go to Marshalls for the cheap, And even if, most people don't shop at Marshall's, it's still going to go to the landfill. 

Moise- Yeah, I get what you are saying. I just feel like most of my sheen clothes aren't gone now.

 Mustapha- Because you started making your own clothing, like you know what you want to wear now because you know what to look for.

Moise- Yeah, that and, it doesn't last long.

Mustapha- Now, right now, is it just you? Everything is run by you. Besides some mentorship from your mentors, it's just you.

Moise- Yep.

 Mustapha- Got you. Do you look to bring on a team of designers?

Moise- Not right now. I just feel I have to outsource a little bit. Because even sometimes, when I make a design, it may be a little bit better. So I'd be like, yo, you think you could do this better and end up being okay, I like how you did that.

Mustapha- Like a peer review.

Moise- Something like that. That's what I like to do. When I scale to the level, I'm going to scale to. Of course, I'm gonna have People that are better than me.

Mustapha- So you really just want to master your craft right now.

Moise- Exactly. I want to completely automate the business and make it into something… Crazy.

Mustapha- It's really nice meeting you, man can you let the people know where to find you?

Moise- Yeah, so @mogamozas on Instagram, and you can follow the clothing brand, @Prophecyclothingstore on Instagram.

Mustapha- All right, man, I appreciate it.

Moise- No problem, man.