15 CENT: MELANGE CLOTHING
In a world where Kindergardeners are taking selfies and kids get a Facebook before their 8th grade graduation, you don’t often meet a young person who has done as much as Max Sheridan. With less than 2 decades under his belt, he has created Melange Clothing, a street wear brand based in Chicago and New York that has taken streetwear by storm. I talked with Max over the phone to learn how he juggles homework and photoshoots, popping off on Instagram and what Melange means in French.
The Summer of 2012 was a big one for Mr. Sheridan. With the time off of school and a history of interest in fashion, he decided to start Melange clothing. He designed his first shirt, a flip on the classic 90’s Coogi sweater, and took it to New York to market his new brand. While shooting a lookbook in Lower Manhattan, he connected with a group of Soho youth including Ken Rebel, Glyn Brown and the so-called “King of the Youth,” Ian Connor. These young stylish fellas have huge followings on Tumblr and Instagram, which allowed Max to get the eyes his awesome shirts deserved. Since then, he has released a number of new products, each of which have been a big step in the right direction for Max and Melange.
When I asked how important social media had been in this year of great successes and his one word answer was, “It’s everything.” It is not easy to build a following like Max has, especially in such a short time, but this is the power that the little 4G rectangles in our pockets have given to the world. It is the young people of the world like Max who are able to harness this power, who has decided to use it to share his art and inspirations, not his selfies and memes about Drake. Mr. Sheridan is hoping to build a lifestyle around his brand, similar to those linked with Supreme or Bape. These great brands have a history and a culture that extends beyond clothing, something that Melange wants to replicate for itself.
In the young men’s fashion scene, Max sees a lot of copying, a lack of originality and a lot of brands that are too afraid to step out of the box. “People who are stepping out of the box are the ones getting famous,” he says, so that is what he has done. With a few great products coming soon, including an insane all-over print “Playboy” bomber jacket that goes on sale tomorrow, things only continue to look up for Max, who has yet to start looking at colleges, but has plans for a trip to NY to shoot more photos and sell his new gear.
Find Melange at here or at @melangeclothing.