Rising Stars: Meet Eli Red

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eli Red.

Hi Eli, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It all started in 2016, when I worked in luxury retail and how inspired I was to leave my own mark on the world. I knew it wasn’t easy building a fashion brand but because my hand-painted fashion brought so much joy to clients, it made it so much easier to continue this journey to today.

It was June 2016 when I worked at Burberry and was surrounded by so many fashion enthusiasts and people who desired the finer things in life. There was this unique and exclusive group of people from all walks of life that all had one thing in common. They didn’t just like fashion but they loved fashion.

These people lived and breathed fashion and not just any fashion but exquisite fashion. Fashion that was hand made, bespoke, not easy to get and not easy to buy either. As said before, inspired to leave my own mark on the world and provide an experience to fashion and art enthusiasts, I dreamed of ways of how I could execute this new desire. I was never trained to sew nor did I ever attend a design school but I was a natural-born artist with original designs. My earliest paintings date back to when I was 5 and at 7, I was selling them to family members.

One day in June 2016, found a neatly folded pile of clean white t-shirts in my house and I began painting on them. I had a screenshot and saved a photo of Madonna performing at her Like a Virgin tour and asked the art store manager, “what paint did her stylist use to make this jacket?” With no hesitation he quickly said, “follow me.” I had no designs sketched or any ideas formulated; I just painted what I felt. It started off hideous but as my technique got better and I invested more and more into this new endeavor, the garments began to become more of a piece of art you could wear. People were impressed and shocked. They didn’t know something like this existed nor had they ever seen something like this. I myself was surprised often replying to their enthusiasm You really like it?”

As time went on and my clientele grew I sought after the highest quality of cotton I could get my hands on. I swore to myself I would give my clients the best experience and garment I could give and create for them. I was dealing with people who had multiple pairs of Christian Louboutins in their closets and I couldn’t afford to miss any details. It had to be perfect. These people had an eye for design but they also had an eye for quality and detail above all. Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Christian Louboutin were not only competitors but also a mentor at the same time. No one needed a hand-painted garment from ELI RED so I had to make it worth it. My hand-painted fashion had to be just as well made as a Christian Louboutin shoe and nothing less.

I wanted them to leave feeling they made a good decision. Six years in business and only one sales return

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not a smooth ride. That’s a fact but as I look back, I think all the challenges and the current one even during this interview are all tests. Tests to see how much ELI RED SHIRT means to me. During the pandemic, My chase account was negative $1,800. My car note was three months behind and I had a total of eight credit cards on the verge of charging off.

During this time, I had been asked to create a canvas pieces for a company’s lobby. I said yes. My account was almost negative $2,000. I told myself fine if I have to be a poor artist so be it but I won’t be an unhappy artist. In that moment, I knew how much ELI RED SHIRT meant to me. Money didn’t control me anymore. Besides, how much worse could it get? I remember sort of being happy but a bit worried. “Where was my future headed?” I wondered. However, I didn’t let that situation stop me from my mission. It was a time when I showed myself, “Yeah! art over everything”.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Well, I specialize in hand-painted fashion. I use a lot of bright colors and I like to keep things real funky and just raw; cutting edge, you know? I also like to play with dyed and make my own colors to dye the garments in.

Overall, I am most proud of adding fulfillment to my clients’ lives. Spending $500.00 on a hoodie is a big deal especially if the client doesn’t know the designer well and if the designer is not well known in the industry. But for the most part, I am most proud to be able to prove that a new artist and designer on the scene sticks to their word and does what they said they would do and if any issues arise they are handled immediately on the spot. I don’t play when it comes to customer service :). My clients and even new ones, are like an extended family. I care about them.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I thank you all so so much for sticking around this long and I hope to work with you all soon. When you do want to place an order, I like to create each piece to represent that person’s personality.

As an artist and luxury service provider. I aim to get a good feel for a client’s personality so when it comes to creating a garment custom options are available because I wasn’t you to stand out. If you want to fit in, I would say go to the mall but if you want to stand out come to me.

Pricing:

• $175.00-$500.00

Contact Info:

• Website: www.eliredshirt.com
• Instagram: @eliredshirt

Image Credits
Photographer Peter Kronish Model Sim Smith