Fashion: it’s what our society revolves around, whether you have the trendiest clothes or the latest name brand shoes. Celebrities, cultural icons, royalty and musicians have always influenced the way we dress. Starting at a young age, we see celebrities everywhere and we look up to them and their fashion. From Marilyn Monroe to Kylie Jenner, we’ve been looking up to celebrities for generations. Creativity in the way we dress is so crucial because it shapes the way we see ourselves.
A few students at Norrix have taken fashion into their own hands, making it fun and affordable with a brand that they started: Exotic Trendss.
Exotic Trendss is a clothing brand inspired by Loy Norrix junior Joe Mosley’s ideas. Mosley started Exotic Trendss in his basement during his freshman year. It started out small, with him sketching his ideas and coming up with a plan but soon grew into something much more.
Mosley gathered a team of eight members to help him with his business. The members include sophomores Will Dales, Will Keller, Robert Isacksen and Zayne Apperley, junior Joel Hooker, senior Mark Peterson, and Norrix graduate Miles Preussel. Mosley created this as an outlet for himself and others to express themselves in a unique and alternative way.
Exotic Trendss really breaks the typical clothing standards by using original multi-colored screen prints like for his Dog Dreams hat that features a cartoon dog. His designs are unique and quirky which makes them stand out from other brands.
“I really thought it was a necessary thing to do because I love clothing and fashion so I might as well take my ideas and create my own,” continued Mosley. “Fashion is super important to me, it’s a huge part of my life. My inspiration for this whole thing is wanting to make people happy by making clothing. Not only that, but I have a huge drive to be successful and it’s a huge dream of mine to get to do that every day, so I try my best to make that happen.”
Even though Exotic Trendss is a business and the team takes it seriously, Mosley and his team make sure to have fun and enjoy the whole process along the way.
“I just want to maintain the team and the relationships and just have a good time with it. My team means everything to me. They help encourage me to do my best and always keep it real when it comes to whatever I’m working on or dealing with. We make sure to do a lot of different things, like we may go out to eat and hang out,” continued Mosley. “If it’s not fun then why do it? I just want to make sure at the end of the day it’s all love.”
Joel Hooker is in charge of team support and helps make market sales. For Hooker, Exotic Trendss is all about friendships and close connections.
“My favorite part of being involved in Exotic Trendss is probably being able to help my friend succeed. Exotic Trendss is not only a clothing company but it also brings us together in some ways and, really, it’s just a fun time and that’s what makes it worth doing,” said Hooker.
For  Keller, his favorite memory of Exotic Trendss was when they went on their photo shoot.
“In January we did this little photo shoot with the Dog Dreams hats at Bronson Park, and we just goofed around and had a good time,” said Keller.
Keller sells merchandise and delivers products, helps the brand with expansion and makes connections over social media.
Exotic Trendss offers a variety of different merchandise. They offer hats called Dog Dreams, hoodies with the Exotic Trendss logo, and have a long-sleeved t-shirt coming soon. The Dog Dreams hat comes in pink, blue, orange and purple, and costs $20. The Exotic Trendss hoodie comes in black or gray, and costs $30. The long sleeve will cost $30 as well when it’s released.
The team really hopes to see big things for Exotic Trendss in the future. They’ve come so far and are doing very big things. It definitely won’t be a surprise if they do make it big.
“If Joe keeps up the work he’s doing and keeps getting all the love and support and growth he has now, I can see people really loving it.  Who knows? Hopefully it will really take off,” said Keller.
Mosley sees a very bright future for Exotic Trendss. He definitely has high hopes for the brand and team.
“I honestly see big things for Exotic Trendss, I think it’s going to be pretty successful. I think with the right marketing tools and good strategies and with a good audience and ways to communicate with people and really grab their attention,” said Mosley. “It can definitely grow and become something really big.