Interview With ContemporaryGoods: The Streetwear Brand That’s Changing The Game

In an industry dominated by expensive clothing and overpriced accessories, finding an up-and-coming streetwear brand that focuses on keeping their prices low is a breath of fresh air.

I stumbled upon ContemporaryGoods through Instagram. The tagline on their bio ‘We’re changing the streetwear industry. No middlemen. No unnecessary markups.’ caught my eye and I clicked through to their website.

The first thing I noticed was, well, how plain the clothing was. Not in a negative way. The clothes seemed like the perfect amount of minimalism that I liked to have in my wardrobe. Why not? I checked out their store.

When you usually check out a new streetwear brand the first thing that turns me off is the prices. $100 for a sweatshirt with your random logo? No thanks. That’s what struck me most about ContemporaryGoods. No logos, and low prices.

I shot out an email to them for an interview. I wanted to know about their brand, what made them want to be different from other small streetwear clothing companies. Within the hour I got an email back from Miles, the Operation Manager for ContemporaryGoods, saying he’d be more than happy to do an interview.

Your clothing definitely seems to be created for the customer, by cutting out the middleman you’re able to offer the best prices. What inspired you to offer premium clothing at such a low cost?

For over seven years I’ve been working in the clothing industry. When I entered the industry it quickly became apparent that the traditional retail model is full of inefficiencies, difficult for brands to break into, and expensive for the consumer. While I was a fan of what designer brands were producing, I wasn’t willing to pay the prices they were demanding. Additionally fast fashion wasn’t of much interest. Brands serving this market often provide a mediocre customer experience, and poorly made products.  

Contemporary Goods was founded to bridge this gap. We sell directly to you, and bypass many unnecessary steps including tradeshows and retailers. As a result, we can deliver a more affordable product. We also believe that the customer experience is hugely important, and devote a majority of our time and effort to customer service.

What has been the most difficult part about creating your own streetwear brand?

Creating a brand is full of challenges. Bringing the right team together has been crucial, and has definitely been difficult but well worth it.

What’s been your favorite part about running a small brand?

Receiving customer feedback has been one of the most enjoyable parts so far. Contemporary Goods was created to give customers access to the products they wanted, the experience they deserved, all within a feasible price range. Hearing from our customers that they like what we’re doing makes it all worth it.

Do you want to always stick with essentials, or do you want to branch out into your own unique style, with the same quality and price?

While we do try to incorporate our own style into everything we produce, we also think it’s important to make everything timeless in a sense. When designing a collection, we try our best to make sure it’ll not only look good today, but also a year from now.

As we grow, you may see some more avant garde looks, but we’ll continue to make pieces that won’t go out of style.

What brands do you personally admire/aspire to be like?

Some of my favorite brands include A.P.C., Common Projects, and lululemon. Marketing campaigns and hype aren’t the reason these brands have been successful. The products have built the brands. This is something I hope to accomplish with Contemporary Goods.

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Miles was kind enough to provide StreetSumo with an exclusive 15% off coupon for our interest in the brand.

What do you guys think of ContemporaryGoods’ style? Too basic? Just right? Let us know down in the comments below!