No one’s gatekeeping here. Especially not Gian Frabotti of Undisputed Principles.
Based in downtown Los Angeles, Gian has spent nearly two decades in the apparel industry learning the hard way what it takes to build a brand that lasts. After launching multiple brands, making costly mistakes, and navigating an industry that likes to gatekeep information, he’s made it his mission to do the opposite: share what he knows and help others build their own brands with clarity and intention.
As the founder of Undisputed Principles, Gian approaches clothing as a tool for communication. A way to express values and create a meaningful movement that goes beyond the merch itself. He’s focused on making brand-building knowledge accessible to anyone willing to put in the work.
Below is a snippet from Gian’s full interview.
What separates the creators and companies that last from the ones that don’t?
Intent, which is at the very beginning of what you're doing. I would focus on impact over profit. I've seen it time and time again when people get into this grind to make some money. But money's a means to an end. That means you're gonna be chasing it for the rest of your life and it's gonna be unfulfilling.
Have an impact. If I inspire one person to get up tomorrow and start their clothing brand business, when they believe they couldn't do it anymore, I am fulfilled for the next 30–90 days.
And lo and behold, the income is correlated to the impact. The ones that last have a lasting intent on having impact, a clear mission, a clear goal, independent of the money.
And the ones that don't last haven't found their mission yet. Maybe they haven't found how they can inspire other people.
And by the way, all of us have the gift. I'm not gifted in some miraculous way. Every single one of us has it. It just depends on honing in on what comes easy to you that is difficult for others. Go ahead and do that through your clothing.
A deep clarity on your intent is going to determine your longevity.
What makes a brand feel real versus manufactured?
I instantly know that this person put their soul in it. It could be the way they executed the design. I know this person drew that, even if it's a stick figure. Because it has its own nuances and its own style that I haven't seen anywhere else yet.
On the other hand, it's so easy to see the manufactured ones. The cookie cutter ones. They just go online, they'll look at something, and copy and paste.
I grew up skateboarding and I grew up doing a lot of graffiti. In these two things, individual style is dominant. In graffiti, you cannot copy people. If you copy people, they're gonna find you.
You want to develop your own sense of style. I think people don't want to look stupid and don't want to look whack, so they want to copy someone. They can be like, “Man, let me just ride on their success and I already look good. I don't have to go through the uncomfortable process of sucking.” I know who those are when I see them. And you won't be here next year, I can guarantee that.
So when I see a unique style, quirky, weird, whatever, it doesn't matter what it is, I just know it's you. And that's because I have developed my own style when it comes to my own graphics. So I'm able to see because I operate that way.
And so that's what I think most people avoid the most. Their own authentic voice is what people avoid the most.
What role do you think clothing plays in communicating a message?
It is the main purpose of clothing: to communicate a message. And we need more people communicating their own message. The graphic tee, for me, is the ultimate symbol of self-expression. And I think there are tasteful graphics and graphics with bad taste, but I think that honing into your own message, they're walking billboards.
I think of t-shirts as walking billboards that people must look at when you're walking down the street or wherever you are. It tells me a lot about you. It'll tell me what tribe you belong to. It tells me a little bit of what you think every day, what your values are based on a specific graphic that you're wearing, or more importantly, a specific brand.
Now that the brand has become synonymous with a feeling, emotion or a specific tribe. So in a nutshell, it is the best way to communicate a message. The most important part is to communicate the message and it doesn't have to be with Jumbo graphics. It can be the smallest text across the neck.
It doesn't matter how you execute upon the message, but definitely get clear on that message, and every day you wake up, you keep adding more more t-shirts that help deliver that message,
How important are the materials and quality of garments when it's meant to carry a message?
They're paramount. I think next to your message, your mission, and the intent for your brand. It has to correlate. You have a strong message – the product has to correlate with that.
If your message is something about saving the planet, then you can’t be printing on shirts that use chemicals, my brother and sister. Everything has to be cohesive. The quality of what you intend to do must match your message. If it's streetwear fashion, big prints, jumbo, oversized things… Then go for that. There's a blank for that.
For example, for me, Lane Seven is one of the first big, big blank companies that I looked at and I really fell in love with the Cloud Purple Cloud Vintage Hoodie. I was like, “I love that they're pushing it further.” I love that from blank apparel companies to keep pushing their washes, their fits, and their distressing, because it can get really mundane out there in the market.
And I think that there isn't enough education on the right blank to pick out there. I'm doing all I can to educate people on what blank to choose.
I do get these questions asked every day: What's the best heavyweight hoodie? What should I choose if I'm doing a tactical paintball brand? What blank should I choose? That information is still obscure right now. But it's definitely important that you first get the message, and then the blanks and everything about them should be cohesive with it.
Click here to watch Gian Frabotti’s full interview with Lane Seven. You can find Undisputed Principles at @undisputedprinciples on Instagram. Learn more about starting your own business from Gian at www.stan.store/undisputedprinciples