Doctrine: In More We Trust

Since 1991, George Latos has been cooking up fancy embellishment treatments for everything from denim and T-shirts to prom dresses at his Los Angeles–based contracting and product-development operation, Los Angeles Creative Embellishments. Now, Latos and his team are turning their focus away from trim contracting work to Doctrine Apparel, a contemporary men’s and women’s brand that launched in late 2006.

“We’ve been developing new ways to add value to garments for years,” said Latos, who watched many of his clients prosper with Los Angeles Creative Embellishments’ “more is more” brand of work, which included laser cutting, caviar beading, high-density glitter prints, intricate screenprints, high-rendered prints and laser textile engraving on polar fleece. The company, Latos said, hit a snag when its customers began going overseas for more cost-effective embellishment work. “We have to keep evolving. Our future is Doctrine,” he said. Los Angeles Creative Embellishments has severely scaled back its client roster, now only maintaining a few key brands.

Doctrine, which began retailing at select specialty stores earlier this year, is the culmination of Latos’ experience, he said.

For now, with only basic cut-and-sew silhouettes in its arsenal, Doctrine is relying on its graphics to get the brand noticed. Packed with fleurs-de-lis, swords, skulls, eagles and tattoo-inspired graphics, Doctrine’s offerings range from $18.50 to $120 wholesale. “Just about every piece has something special on it, whether it be a dye treatment or some sort of embellishment,” Latos said. Grommets, studs, patches of sequins, foil, embroidery and fabric appliqueacute;s are Doctrine’s trademark touches. As if that weren’t enough, Latos said he hasn’t given up developing new embellishment techniques. “We’re always tinkering; we have to have a way of distinguishing ourselves. I’m a big believer inembellishment—always have been and probably always will be,” he laughed.

Doctrine’s offerings, which feature slim fits, are targeted at men ages 20 to 40 and women 20 to 35. “There’s a rock ’n’ roll sort of feel to the whole line,” Latos said, which he thinks appeals to a wide swath of the contemporary market. “We’re not exclusively for [anyone]. Our styling and direction isn’t overly aggressive or limited.”

Everything, with the exception of fabric knitting and dyeing, is done at Los Angeles Creative Embellishments’ 33,000-square-foot vertically integrated facility. Launching with heavily embellished tanks, T-shirts, thermals and hoodies for men and women, Doctrine is following the example of other Los Angeles brands that launched with T-shirts and grew into other categories for inspiration, according to Latos. “Eventually, we’d like to become a full collection,” Latos said, adding that he has plans to eventually add a designer as Doctrine expands into other categories.

For more information, call (800) 929-5166.—Erin Barajas