Young & Driven
Andrew Christian
Does the name sound familiar? It should. Andrew Christian is one of the most famous underwear designers around. Not to mention he is one of the 15 contestants on Bravo’s newest show, The Fashion Show, which picked up where Project Runway left off.
The show, which premiered on Bravo in May, gives 15 professional fashion designers the chance to get their designs sold in the retail market and win a $125,000 prize by competing in weekly challenges.
I met up with Andrew at his office in Glendale, California which is also his factory outlet store. There on display you can find his famous line, Andrew Christian. As you walk in, to your left starts the range of underwear to lounge wear to casual wear. The fabrics Andrew uses in his line are so soft you really have to feel it to believe it, especially his Almost Naked series.
Andrew has been called the “Panty-Christ” and “the world’s most famous underwear designer.”
Born and raised in Fresno, California, Andrew has been designing his own clothes since he was 15 years old. In high school, Andrew designed outfits not only for himself but also for his friends. He has always had his own style and drive for fashion.
At the age of 18, Andrew attended L.A. Trade Tech where he pursued his dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Andrew supported himself by working in a small boutique in L.A., where he started to sell his designs one by one. Soon, Andrew found himself selling to other boutiques in the area and at the age of 19 he started his company, Andrew Christian, Inc.
From there Andrew continued to dive into the fashion world by attending various fashion trade shows and getting his line distributed across the U.S. Andrew says, “It sort of just grew little by little and basically now I sell my line on every continent, except for Antarctica.” Andrew went on to say, “It’s really great how your designs can be accepted by people all around the world and that they do well in those markets.”
So Andrew…
MIU: What’s a typical day like?
Andrew Christian: [He Laughs] There’s no typical day for me! Every day is complete madness and craziness. You know a typical day can be anything from having a sales meeting with my New York show room over the phone to doing fittings with my assistant designer, picking up fabric, dealing with production problems, of course dealing with customers and making sure they get what they need, working on new design concepts, and getting the samples made up.
MIU: When working on new design concepts, what inspires you?
AC: A lot of it is necessity, like my own need for products. A lot of the times I will just be inspired by the type of fabric I find. Like right now I am using a bamboo fiber jersey (eco-friendly) that is really nice. It is really soft.
MIU: In 2008 you released your women’s line. What pushed you to go in that direction?
AC: I released my men’s underwear line first and a lot of women would see it and be like ‘oh my God, I love this underwear. Do you have this for women?’ And I was like, ‘no.’ they said, ‘You should make a girls’ line.’ So, basically it was women wanting the same styling just made to fit a woman’s body.
MIU: What’s your best seller?
AC: My best selling underwear is actually my butt lifting underwear, the Flashback. It is my best seller of all time.
MIU: How did you get the idea for the Flashback boxer?
AC: I was at the gym working out and saw how hard people worked out doing lunges and squats, trying to get the perfect butt. So, I created the Flashback which is a support system for your rear end. There’s no padding or anything, it just takes what you have and makes it a little bit better. We also just introduced the Wonderwear which is sort of a hot short. It is the female Flashback which has also been really popular.
MIU: What’s your favorite?
AC: [Laughs] That’s almost like picking your favorite child. I guess right now my favorite would be the Almost Naked series. That could change in a few weeks. I go through different stages.
MIU: What is the most important aspect of your job?
AC: Customer service! Listening to your customers’ needs and wants. I think a lot of the problems fashion companies get themselves into is they try to dictate what their customers should wear and sometimes they are producing all these items that people really don’t want. So really, to just listen to your customer and what they want and what they need.
MIU: Has the economy affected you at all?
AC: It hasn’t been affecting us too much. I think we are just trying to stay on top of our game as far as design and producing items that people actually want. The customer really has to want it in order for them to spend that money now. They are not spending their money as freely now.
MIU: What is your greatest accomplishment?
AC: This company and having it survive so long and flourish. To actually do it and have it be something tangible and be a product that people actually know.
MIU: What advice can you give our readers who may be thinking about or are already starting their own business?
AC: Be persistent. Persistence, I think, is the key. You have to stick to your guns and know that success doesn’t happen overnight.
In the beginning, Andrew faced a lot of closed doors, many long hours, and always trying to figure out how to balance the check book while keeping it all going. “It was very stressful but I always kept at it and never gave up. I just gave it my all and kept with my original artistic vision,” said Andrew.
Even if you are accepted into the fashion industry it is extremely competitive and difficult. But Andrew doesn’t let the competition scare him away from getting his line out to the world. Andrew says, “I am always trying to innovate and come up with new ideas.”
So…what can we expect next from Andrew Christian? Andrew says, “For fall I am adding my Black Line which is all “uber-trendy” items that I personally wear to go to parties and red carpet events. It’s sort of like casual elegance. It is dressy but has a little something different to it.”
/By Ed Troxell
