How Did It All Start?
Glamour Kills founded by Mark Capicotto in 2005, is a clothing company for “youth lifestyle brands.” Mark had set up his first shop in his parents’ basement of their suburban home in New York. He had made five T-shirts as the first templates for the company. He would go to local shows and music venues trying to sell his products. It started to catch on pretty well and finally caught the music world’s eye. He set up his website, glamourkills.com and moved his small shop out to the first warehouse.
What Makes It Noticeable?
If anyone has ever seen any of the company’s products, the most noticeable insignia is the bright pink piggy. The flying pig is the company’s signature and is seen on several T-shirts, jeans, shorts, sweatshirts, decals, hats, iPod covers, tote bags, and bracelets. The phrase “Glam Kills” is also seen on much of the clothing. The company itself uses bright and vibrant colors on many of the products. Glamour Kills takes wild artwork and creates apparel and accessories. Just last May, they released their first line of swimwear.
Everything they sell is made by their company and Mark comes up with the ideas. Mark was quoted on his website saying, “Glamour Kills is a bright, youthful brand. When I started the company, a lot of the clothing that was worn in the music community–which we directly market ourselves to–was very dark or all black. That’s not us. I wanted to introduce something that was bright, colorful and fun, but not overbearing. No one wants to wear a highlighter on their shirt. We’ve found the middle ground.”
The Support
Like any business, support from others is needed. Glamour Kills has its obvious support from their customers who proudly buy the merchandise. As mentioned, the company caught the eye of the music world. Several bands started to wear the clothing and support the company. As anyone would realize, if a band wears something, it serves as good advertisement to their fans to buy the same things.
The bands that support Glamour Kills are A Day to Remember, All Time Low, Bless the Fall, Hit the Lights, Hey Monday, The Friday Night Boys, Cobra Starship, We the Kings, Four Year Strong, A Rocket to the Moon, Mayday Parade, Gwen Stacy, The Maine, With the Punches, Silverstein, The Audition, and Youmeatsix. These bands tour all around the world and make appearances on shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live and MTV, wearing Glamour Kills clothing on a regular basis.
Popularity: Is It Catching On?
Glamour Kills finally got their break and went with Vans Warped Tour in 2009. If anyone doesn’t know about Warped Tour, it is the whole summer where a bunch of bands in the Alternative and Rock venue go to various cities in the U.S. and play. Thousands of people go each year to Warped Tour. Being able to go had given Glamour Kills a large amount of advertisement.
I remember last year when I had gone to Warped Tour in Hartford, Connecticut, I had seen a Glamour Kills tent set up selling their merchandise. I had seen them earlier in the year at Wonka’s Bamboozle Festival in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This wasn’t the first time I had heard of them, being that their store is in Beacon, New York, about 20 minutes from my house. I had been buying Glamour Kills Clothing for a few years and proudly support them.
Glamour Kills Street Team
Being a member on the Street Team myself, I always tell my friends who listen to similar types of music, to join. It does not cost a dime. Basically the team serves as a way to help advertise for the company. You log on every day and you fill in “orders” given by the company. They can range from simple tasks done on your computer in minutes to actually going out to stores. It is run by Fancorps.com, known as “social networking with a purpose.”
With today’s technology, social networking is the way to go when trying to advertise. Some of the orders are to put the Glamour Kills website into your social profiles, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Others are to go to stores and ask if they would sell Glamour Kills clothing and accessories. The tasks are simple, and most require you take a picture of whatever you completed and write a short blurb about it regarding what you did to complete the task. Each task is awarded points and store credit. One store credit equals one penny. When you have enough store credits, you can purchase merchandise made exclusively for the Street Team, such as T-shirts. There are membership groups that are assigned one task such as attending local shows, skate parks, festivals, and stores to help pass out promotional material. The Street Team is all about working together for one goal: spread the word about Glamour Kills.
Where Can One Buy Glamour Kills Clothing?
If you go to their site, and click the tab “Store Locator,” a map of the U.S. will appear. Simply click the state you reside in and a list of the stores carrying the clothing line will appear. Several stores across the country have started to carry the line. Zumiez stores have even jumped on the wagon to support the company by carrying Glamour Kills merchandise. It has even made its way overseas, especially in the UK.
And of course, if you can’t get to the mall or can’t find a store with Glamour Kills Clothing, there is always the website. Shopping online is always easy with the click of a button. Plus, benefit of shopping online is that all products are shown, that you may not have been able to find at a store. Always remember, Glamour Kills has a tent set up at music festivals, like Bamboozle and Warped Tour, as well as at other local shows. They’re always promoting and giving out free stuff.
So Now What?
Whether you may or may not have heard about Glamour Kills before this, check out the website. The company makes items from T-shirts to jeans to flip-flops. They even make band t-shirts of the bands that support the company. Tell your friends about Glamour Kills. Visit them when you go to music festivals. Show your support by joining the Street Team. They’re growing quickly, help them out a little. Spread the word about Glamour Kills and sport their products proudly!
Sources:
http://www.glamourkills.com/the_story
http://www.glamourkills.com/bands_team
http://glamourkillsclothing.fancorps.com/
