Meet Qadri Solarin | Clothing Brand/Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Qadri Solarin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Qadri, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Growing up, I was always interested in the arts, I would write poems and draw. But, the defining moment I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in creating a clothing brand was in my high school Spanish class. One of the activities we had to do was create clothes out of any scrapes we could find, and it was a group project. We started making various clothing products such as jackets, t-shirts, headbands, and jeans from the scrapes we could find. It was so fun and I experienced a feeling I have never felt before. I didn’t want to leave class; everybody was hyping us up, and we won out all the groups. The crazy thing is we named the group Unordinary, this is how I actually came up with the name of my brand. At that moment I knew I had something special, and I have been working hard to achieve this dream of mine. Which is to have a successful clothing brand. Pursuing this also gave me a voice to express myself freely without fearing being wrong, judged, or minimized. When I’m creating, I’m in a space where I’m just flowing and any problems I’m facing all go away, and it’s just me and the clothes. Also, I see the people that are in the space, like my peers or just other brands, and I see that everybody wants to be in high-end luxury clothing of the world which is cool I’m not knocking that. But I want to take a different approach. I want to be like Shaq, and what I mean by that is Shaq could’ve had shoes like MJ, but he chose to take a different route. He sold his shoes in Walmart and made them more affordable so that anybody could buy them. I want to do something like that. I want to be the clothing brand with the best quality and the dopest clothes but still affordable and accessible to people who can’t afford high-end clothing but want the feel of it and the look. I know what it’s like to not be able to wear nice things. I know how that felt, and I want to change that. I have a clothing brand because I love to create something out of the ordinary every day. I love the art of it. I’m at peace when I’m in this space.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Four years ago, I started my brand Unordinary. The inspiration behind starting it was I wanted to create a brand that expresses a lifestyle of being yourself, unique, and different. I spelled unordinary backward because I knew that would get people talking or wondering what that meant or said. In hindsight, it worked and is still working. I started selling T-shirts with my friend Taco. We worked at the mall, and a vendor made blanks. I made some for my homies, and they liked it. Other people started wondering where they got that from, and then I posted my brand online and on social media for custom orders. People thought it was pretty dope at the time. We would sell the shirts for 10$, and the vendors would charge 20 to 25$. I knew I wasn’t making any profit, but the reason behind this was I didn’t care about the profit; I knew that would come eventually. I wanted to get as many people and eyes on my brand as possible. It worked. People were ordering multiple shirts, Taco and I would drop off shirts all day around the city, and then we would ship orders in the morning. The vendors started raising their prices, and it became harder to keep selling at the same price, so I tried to raise my prices. I didn’t have a big following, and the business started slowing down until nobody was ordering. It crushed me; it was a hard pill to swallow.
I tried to find new ways to get customers to shop again, but none of it worked. I got discouraged around 2019. I wasn’t doing anything for my brand anymore. I started watching other brand’s interview and business interviews and became inspired. I decided to research the industry I’m in and become a real student of the game. I realized that the vendors were overcharging me; it only cost 5$ for a blank t-shirt and 5$ for vinyl. From then on, I decided to save up to buy my equipment; it took me a year to get everything.
2020 bought my heat press, cameo printer, and computer, everything I need to make my clothes. It took a while to get good at making my clothes and using the heat press. It was a learning curve. If you don’t use the right setting, the design wouldn’t come out right or stick to the garment. I rebranded, got smarter with my business, and used marketing like TikTok and Instagram reels to grow my business. I started doing a collection of colorways. Soaking up all the game and using what I learned going into 2021, I was confident but nervous about releasing my first collection. After two years of nothing, I drop my first collection, the nude/cream collection. It started slow, but as I kept marketing, it picked up.
People loved the colorway, the clothes felt good, and the quality was perfect. They loved the design and the photoshoot that went with it. Since then, my business has been growing steadily. I released another collection in the summer called the pastel collection. Now I’m excited to release the earth tone collection in December. I think what makes people love my clothes is the cohesiveness of everything from the clothes to the photo shoot to the models; everything fits the theme I’m going for. All the clothes and pieces flow together to create something dope. Along the way, there were hiccups and still Hiccups. I’m just learning as I go. Experience is the best teacher.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Atlanta is one of the best places to visit for food and different experience. We have anything you can think of. My homies and I, if we are going to brunch or get breakfast we would go to Atlanta Breakfast Club they have the best breakfast food and good mimosas. For lunch, I’d go to Grips. They have the best wings, and shrimp with unique sauce flavors dripped on them. It’s so good. Lastly, for dinner, I’d go to an upscale restaurant, dress nice, and go to Fogo De Chao, a Brazilian steak house. It is perfect, and their lamb is to die for. In Atlanta, there are so many lounges, fun hangout spots, and things to do, but my favorite is Slush ATL they have the best slushes and delicious food, and the music is fantastic. I love art, so another place that is fun to go to is the Art Museum in Atlanta; it’s dope. Just seeing the different paintings, drawings, and sculptures is cool. Also, sometimes they throw little events, so there are sometimes parties and food. Those are my favorite spots in the city, and you are guaranteed to have fun.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost, I want to give Allah all the praises and thanks. Without him, none of this would be possible. Along this journey, there have been key people in my life who have helped me achieve my goals. James, we have been best friends since the 6th grade. He has seen everything: the ups and downs, the wins and losses. He played a significant role in the brand he has supported, invested in, and motivated me. Also, help me sell my clothes at Tuskegee University by doing this it help my brand grow and more eyes on my brand. Thank you, you have been one of the biggest help in furthering my clothing brand. Kindia, she’s my rock, an amazing person help me so much through this journey. Inspired me since I met her the way she can create and come up with ideas. She can always put the missing piece of the puzzle together when I’m stuck. Kindia lowkey is like my creative director, if I have an idea or vision, I’m always going to her to see what she thinks or bounce ideas off each other. Also, she helps me create logos, photoshoot ideas, and colorways. She has always been supportive in every photo shoot I’ve had. Her impact and role in my brand and life are monumental.
Tyler, A.K.A Taco, played a significant role in starting this brand. He was helping me sell T-shirts when I was only selling them for 10$. We would go to the vendors and get them made. Initially, he would drive everywhere to drop clothes off and get them made before I started doing them myself. Taco helped the business grow by bringing his audience to my brand. In the beginning, he would help draw designs or just listen to my ideas, visions, or plans. Taco has been a team player from the start. Daniel, my late friend, rest in peace. He was the motivator. He was the one if I needed advice or some words of encouragement; he was always there when needed. Daniel believed in this and always told me how far I could go. It pushed me always to grind and go hard; that is the only way I will be successful. I keep his words dear to my heart, and I will keep his name alive. Thank you for always believing in me. I will continue to go hard for you. Emmanuel, you’ve always been supportive and always giving me game. Showing off my clothes, just doing what you can to push my brand. I’m grateful I’ve learned so much from you as you learned from me. Last but certainly not least, my heart, my sister. She is always supportive, believes in me, and encourages me so happy for every milestone I hit. She is my biggest fan. One day I’m going to become big off this brand, and you’ll get anything you ever wanted. Thank you so much for believing in me, Kenzie. Shoutout to my photographers genwthaflicks and kayshottah on Instagram their work is amazing glad I’ve got to work with them. To all the people I named, they have been with me, helping me chase my dreams from the start. They all played a substantial role in me getting to where I’m at now and will go. To that, I’m forever grateful. The bigger I get, they will come with me. Without them, this brand would still just be a dream. Thank you all. Thank you to everybody who has helped, supported, purchased, or done so along the way.

Website: https://unordinarycollections.com/

Instagram: unordinarycollections

Facebook: unordinarycollections

Image Credits
Photographer Nude/Cream Collection: Kimiko “Kayshottah” on instagram Photographer Pastel Collection: Genesis “genwthaflicks” on instagram