Killbrand was started in 2000 by pop punk drummer Jonathan Smith. While on tour with Tokyo Rose, Jonny ran into a problem faced by many musicians: he ran out of clean t-shirts.
Instead of making a pit stop at the nearest thrift shop, Jonny got creative. He bought a hot pink t-shirt and a can of black spray paint. He spray painted K-I-L-L in huge letters across the front, and took the stage.
His creation turned the heads of punk rock peers and fans. Soon, they started requesting their own “Kill” shirts. Still on the road, Jonny started designing, spray-painting and selling his t’s out of the back of his tour van. Word spread and demand grew. When Jonny returned from tour, he ditched the spray paint cans and invested in a screen printing machine. Though it wasn’t the ideal décor for his studio apartment, it was perfect for officially branding and building Killbrand's line.
Now juggling Tokyo Rose, Killbrand, and teaching surf lessons on the side to make en
ds meet, Jonny started designing and screen printing each t-shirt and hoodie himself, making sure to include his signature word, “Kill.” From designing to printing and shipping, he did it all by himself out of his cramped studio apartment on the Jersey Shore.
"Apparently, the bigger you get, the less money you make…haha. Realize that you're going to have some friends, but there are a lot of fake people in the business"
Jonny soon left Tokyo Rose, but didn’t leave the touring life behind. He set out on Warped Tour and Taste of Chaos, and set up tables at Bamboozle and other music festivals, promoting and selling the Killbrand line solo. Life on tour was grueling, but with each show, Killbrand’s notoriety grew. The grassroots campaigning has paid off.
Killbrand designs have been requested by stylists from GQ Magazine, and featured in Alternative Press and Wonka Vision Magazine. Seth Green, Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, Steven of Steven’s Untitled Rock Show, Nicole Richie and Ashlee and Jessica Simpson wear Killbrand. So do bands such as Second Hand Serenade, Fall Out Boy, The Used, My Chemical Romance, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, and countless others. Killbrand is currently available in Tilly’s, Virgin Megastores, and select boutiques across the USA and Europe, and on the official website www.killbrand.com
All of Killbrand's designs are hand-drawn and coveted by a diverse group of people, from artists to musicians, fashion lovers to comfortwear seekers, and anyone with a taste for unique clothing. Killbrand’s line features over 70 pieces, including men’s and women’s t-shirts and hoodies, hats, bags, flip flops, gloves, and women’s dresses and intimates. All of the garments are soft, comfortable, flattering, and made and printed in the USA.
Killbrand is proud to remain true to its punk rock roots by having strong business ethics, using independently-owned printing companies, and producing unique clothing of the highest quality.
Who are the players on the kill team and what are there fashion/design backgrounds?
I use a lot of freelancers. I'll come up with a design concept and send them out to our designers. We have a lot of young, college age designers that do freelance for us. They're all into the brand so I know they're going to put their heart into the design and not just do it for an hourly rate. The ones out of college studied art or design and have always had a passion for original artwork.
So you are the boss, being so what unique challenges and opportunities does this present?
Well, when I started Killbrand, I never thought I'd spend half my day tracking down money, figuring out why a stores shirts are lost in the Czech Republic or stuck in Russian customs. A small company faces daily challenges. For example, I trusted one of my employees to handle one of our biggest accounts this year- Virgin Megastores. Well, the day before the order was supposed to be shipped to Virgin, none of the shirts or accessories were ready.
They hadn't even been screen printed yet. So, I called up Dogwig, our print shop, drove over there at 6pm as they were closing down, convinced them to stay open, then helped the entire staff screen print about 600 gloves and 1000 t-shirts. We worked hours into the night. After that, my girlfriend and I had to put in
all of the hang tags. I think I worked for 20 hours straight to get out that order. In the end, it got done on time. And that employee doesn't work for me anymore. Ideally, I'd like to concentrate on putting out designs and thinking of different ways to market the brand. That's my favorite part of my job. But at the end of the day, being able to do something I love and am passionate about, it's totally worth dealing with all the other stuff too.
It seems like many street-oriented brands tend to focus towards a youth demographic. That being said, can you foresee this generation of consumers continuing to wear street wear into there 30s and beyond?
It's all what kind of person you are. If you feel like you're confident enough to wear something that's a little more edgy and not some cookie-cutter outfit from JCrew, then you're going to seek out more original clothing. I'm 29 and I'm a t-shirt and jeans dude… though the proper high tops are very important. I still don't own a suit. I have to borrow my dad's jacket on the rare occasions I need one. I think this generation is definitely more inclined to wear original clothing and to express themselves through their wardrobe. I definitely don't want to "sell out" or get too big too quick, because then kids will turn on you and deem you "uncool." I definitely get excited when someone in their late 20s or early 30s is wearing Killbrand. I hope Killbrand can grow with this generation, and they'll continue to look to us and follow us and dig our designs.
How do you intend on keeping your brand image that of one consumers will actively want to associate with?
I think people buy and wear the clothes proudly because we're not over saturated at all. We don't run a lot of ads and force ourselves on people. Even our logo is still a shirt that kids are proud to wear, rather than some logo that was a fad for a few months. I'll go out on Warped Tour and sell shirts and meet our customers first hand, and then hopefully they'll tell their friends that we're really DIY, and not some corporate office. I think people respect that, and respect a slow growth of a brand.
Any firsts for Kill in `08?
We started video-ing some of our shirt designs being drawn from start to finish, to show how it comes to life from a doodle on a napkin, to being hand drawn, to being scanned in the computer, to being screen printed on a shirt. I wanted to show that our designs are totally original and hand drawn and not created by clip art or Photoshop. I really strive to bring original concepts to clothing and I want our customers to know that. Also, I joined up with my a girls-only line, called Love & Lipgloss. 
Do you find yourself more inspired by fashion or things external to the fashion world?
External. Definitely. I don't really watch fashion week, or keep up with trends, which can be good or bad. For instance, our head designer and me have always like old horror movie posters. So we're doing a whole line of tees featuring made-up horror movie posters. Like, Cheerleaders with Chainsaws vs. The Cobra Babies as a Double Feature… kind of like an old Grindhouse Movie. I have no idea if people will like it, but it's fun to be able to try it. We do stuff like this, instead of looking through a magazine and being like, oh, high-waisted pants are in, we should do something with high-waisted pants.
I'd like to say that education is the most important thing… but I've gotten further by just meeting the right people and working hard. Get out there, go to what ever major city is by you and try to meet as many people as possible. I was an intern at Def Jam records just to meet people that could help and have helped.
For some of the up and coming brands, what are some of the overlooked tasks that you had to complete during start-up that they may not be aware of but definitely need to know about?
Apparently, the bigger you get, the less money you make…haha. Realize that you're going to have some friends, but there are a lot of fake people in the business. You really realize who thinks your cool for owning a brand, and who likes you as a person. And Get your overseas trademark!!!
Any last words? Speak now, or, you know the rest.
OBAMA in 08!!!!!!!
Thanks SO MUCH!!!!
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