BAD SON

By the time you read this, it’s all sold out.

Hieu Tran and Conner Lobato are the founders of BAD SON – a sneaky underground clothing label based in Utah that you probably haven't heard of. @badson.us on Instagram has amassed a loyal following of 200k die-hard collectors that quickly snatch up every drop within minutes. Now, word is getting out: 21 Savage, Jaden Smith, Mia Khalifa, Kawhi Leonard, and DJ Mustard are just a few of the high profile celebs that are also in the know.

tmrw has questions.

1. How did the two of you meet and decide to start a fashion brand together?

We have known each other since elementary school and grew our relationship in junior high school thanks to a shared love of sports. Sports played a large part in developing friendships, business relationships, and a sense of style. Playing basketball together in high school taught us the importance of being detail-oriented, having a good work ethic, working as a team, and communicating.

We started this during our senior year of high school by making tee shirts in Conner’s mom’s basement and selling them to friends. At first, we created clothing just for fun. But we wanted to see if we could turn a fun hobby into something more. We graduated high school in 2018 and attended university together during our first year of college. We never knew running a fashion brand together would be something we could do for our careers. We both were pursuing degrees related to the medical field; it was not until our senior year of college that we really believed fashion could be more than a hobby.

2. What inspired your brand’s name, and what does it signify for you both?

Simply put: we don’t consider the brand name significant. The name was taken from a lyric in a Kevin Abstract song that we listened to while we were in high school, and it just kind of stuck.

The name has taken on an identity of its own, similar to becoming some fictional character.

We have a particular focus on the products that we put out rather than emphasizing branding.

3. How would you describe the most recent drop?

Oxygen 2 is the follow-up to our biggest release to date and is one that we had a lot of fun with, as we tried things with the campaign that we hadn’t done before. We worked with a very talented 3D artist, @josepeoon, to shoot/scan a full look book, and we’re excited to showcase what we created. With this collection, we expanded on our ‘Oxygen’ motif by bringing it onto different silhouettes, introduced our racer jacket, and brought a new rendition of our "Overgrowth" denim.

4. Can you walk me through your typical design process from concept to final piece?

When it comes to designing, Hieu likes to research and draw inspiration from the past. Everything has already been done to an extent, so it’s all about improving concepts or fusing various ideas into new ones. After the initial conceptual phase, Hieu goes through a sampling process, which sometimes can take months and many different samples. This process is all about perfecting the pattern, manipulation techniques, fabric treatment, and much more.

5. What role does community play in the identity and success of your brand?

We receive so much love from our supporters; they play a significant role in the brand’s identity. We joke about BAD SON being cult-like because our followers go hard for us all the time. We don’t take for granted the amount of support we receive; it drives us to constantly up the ante and put in countless hours so we don’t let them down.

6. What are some of your goals for the future of BAD SON?

Our goal for the future of BAD SON is to be seen as more than just an Instagram clothing company. We want our company to be seen as a design-first company that sells well-engineered clothing. We aim to be business owners for the rest of our lives. While there are many stressors in owning a business, the rewards outweigh the risks. We have the goal of loving what we do for work; we want every day of work to feel rewarding while being a fun and fulfilling adventure.

7. What advice would you give to aspiring fashion designers looking to break into the industry?

Our advice would be that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what disadvantages you may have; don’t be scared to fail, and take the shot. In the Internet Era, you have the tools online to learn about almost everything on your own. We live in Utah, an area that doesn’t have much pull or traction when it comes to the fashion industry. We didn’t go to school for anything related to clothing/design. We don’t come from money or have any financial backing, and yet we were still able to defy these odds with persistent dedication. If we can be successful, we truly believe that any kid out there, no matter what the situation, can do the same.

8. What are you doing tmrw?

We want to keep growing in as many facets as possible. Our goal is to truly carve out our own lane and have a genuine impact on this ecosystem. Tomorrow, we believe we will keep pushing ourselves to create things we are proud of. We would love to have another in-person event in which we meet more of our supporters.