Core Values: Integrated
With the end of summer and the beginning of fall, I am in disbelief with how quickly 3 months have passed. The transition has made me reflect on my summers as a kid. Like many of you, I have many fond nerdy memories of my childhood. I remember carefully crafting my days with friends, strategically dividing up my summer hours between Star Wars, Star Trek, comic books and of course, being an international spy! Similar to your story, I was a nerd before it as cool to be a nerd- and I loved every moment of it. Unabashedly a fan with no social sense or responsibilities to limit my fandom. Then the paradigm shift occurred.
Maturing into my teen years and onto college, my nerdy passions became more covert. I was still collecting comics and playing games, but I concealed my interests and only revealed it to those who shared my same intense interests. There was a lot to do in my geeky closet but I only let a select few experience it. Probably like many of you, this pattern continued well into adulthood and into a responsible life. Cue the next paradigm shift.
Now we live in a new era- an era of nerd freedom. Where not only is individuality celebrated but there are places to celebrate it like comic cons. However, while culture has progressed over the past few years, men's fashion has not. Even though fandom is more chic these days, there are still many environments and experiences that are bastions of conservative fashion traditions. Whether it's the workplace, church or social situations, culture is still trying to push our nerdom back into the closet. This is why I created Hero Within.
Being integrated is one of our core values. We don't just print a bat symbol onto our coats but we fully integrate the Batman logo into the construction of each piece [Batman Blazer]. Why? Because our fandom is apart of us. This integrated design is a reflection that our love for the nerdy things permeates all aspects of our lives. I'm not a Batman fan at home or just on the weekends, but like my childhood, every moment of my existence. From the very inception of Hero Within, it was about merging our personal and public personas- however, there has not been enough fashion options to make that possible. While the renaissance of pop culture continues to expand, men's clothing for the sophisticated geeky has barely evolved past the black graphic hoodie. That is why we have spent many months carefully and lovingly crafting the brand integration into each piece. We only make clothes we want to wear ourselves. That won't ever change.
My desire is to disrupt the status quote. To create a collection that is subversive and undermines the antiquated fashion traditions that has held us in chains for too long. Ralph Lauren (Polo) said it best "I don't design clothes, I design dreams'. And my dream has been to liberate fandom by providing apparel that has fully integrated what we love with what we wear. Each coat is more than yards of fabric and thread, but they represents a change in culture and a celebration of wholeness.
Thank you for joining us on this journey. It won't be an easy one and we can't do it without you. Hero Within is not for everyone- but for those that want to disrupt the status quo and to shape culture, our collection was made for you. Thanks for your interest and support and I plan on sharing more about the other values that have shaped Hero Within.
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