For Katie Cooper, shopping as a queer woman left her empty-handed. Traditional stores didn’t offer shirts that fit her body or her identity and existing gender-neutral clothing lines have “astronomical pricing,” she said.
Cooper hopes to rectify this gap in the fashion industry with her own online gender-neutral clothing company, The Button Brigade, which is launching a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter March 20.
She hopes to raise between $22,000 and $25,000, which will cover startup costs including a first run of short-sleeved button-ups shirts. Ultimately, she expects pricing for shirts to be $95, which she says “kind of sucks,” but is necessary to make a profit because of small-batch production costs. Although the store is online, Cooper hopes to offer tailoring services to customers in the area.
Cooper, who moved to Memphis almost five years ago, is a graphic designer, which is an expertise she used to design patterns for the button-up shirts and develop The Button Brigade branding. While she had no prior fashion experience, she was able to draw on the resources available in Memphis to produce her first designs.
She said she was not taken seriously when it came to the legal aspects of starting a business, like setting up an LLC. The 26-year-old entrepreneur encountered lawyers who assumed she wasn't up to the task of launching a business, but Cooper wasn't discouraged.
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Katie Cooper, founder of gender-neutral clothing company The Button Brigade.“You have to know what you’re talking about or people won’t give you the time of day … But now I feel like I have a good grip on it," she said.
She received hands-on assistance from groups like the Memphis Fashion Design Network, which helped her connect with potential manufacturers. She also took a sewing class at Memphis College of Art. She points to the “encouraging” art community in Memphis, including her videographer Kate Przylepa and photographer Nate Packard, but found the opportunities for small-batch businesses lacking as she had to look out-of-state for manufacturers and pattern makers.
Ultimately, however, Cooper “loves” that her business is starting in Memphis, “because there’s literally nothing here like this.”
“Having a gender-neutral clothing line in Memphis is dope, and I think really fantastic for the city” said Jess Vandenberg, an early customer.
Other than Cooper, Vandenberg was the first person to be fitted for The Button Brigade's shirts, and she has seen the designs transform from an idea to a tangible product.
“I’ve been wearing button-ups from the men’s or boys section since I was 13, and it has always been a challenge to me to find one that will fit. I typically don’t like wearing button-ups from the women’s section because they just don’t fit in a way that is comfortable to me,” Vandenberg said.
However, she said she could tell a difference as soon as she tried on a Button Brigade shirt.
“It just fit my body the way it was supposed to without being cinched in the waist like women’s clothing did. Every time I tried on a new test, it just kept fitting better and better.”
Ten percent of The Button Brigade’s profits will go to small LGBTQ+ organizations because Cooper says creating a community for LGBTQ+ through her brand is one of her main goals. She plans to create a section for sharing stories of LGBTQ+ leaders and projects on the brand's website.
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Michelle Ngo wears a short-sleeved shirt from the Button Brigade. (Nate Packard)
“I think it’s really awesome to have it benefitting LGBTQ organizations and that it’s all USA made. I’m so excited for the Kickstarter because I’ve been waiting for these shirts from the beginning, and I know the quality is A+. I don’t have to search for a shirt that fits; I know these fit my body exactly how I want them to, leaving me feeling comfortable and confident; two feelings I wish everyone felt when choosing something from their closet," Vandenberg added.
Growing up in Kentucky and going to Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, Cooper said she didn't feel like herself until she came out as a queer woman two years ago.
“I want to be a role model to people who feel like they can’t come out or don’t have a support system around them," she said. "I want to have something that makes them feel better about themselves. It’s OK to be yourself. You don’t have to be ashamed. I think all queer people can relate to that.”
Depending on the success of the Kickstarter, Cooper may decide to seek capital investors but believes the exposure of a public campaign better suits her style as an entrepreneur. By using crowdfunding, she's able to build a community of supporters and retain complete control over the product.
Looking forward, Cooper envisions hiring staff to handle logistics, online content and shipping. When asked about the possibility of a brick-and-mortar store in the future, Cooper says she is open to the possibility but is focusing her energy now on a successful Kickstarter campaign and producing quality shirts.
“It’s just a shirt; it’s a button up. But it’s more about [saying] ‘It’s OK to be yourself. You should be able feel confident and not insecure about what you have on. It’s OK if you dress how you want to dress or how you want to identify.' It’s also about bringing awareness to gender and how it’s a spectrum. I just want people to be confident," Cooper said.
“And it’s also a great shirt.”
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