DESIGNER PROFILE
Private Party: Hip-Hop-Inspired
Music plays a huge influence in Private Party’s ethos, which features graphics produced from a fan’s point of view. “We love rap music,” said Pat Monahan, who launched the Los Angeles–based line with Jessica Currie last November. “We’re just taking our favorite elements and bringing them to life via sweatshirts. The sweatshirt is our canvas and allows us to express our passion for music and pop culture,” she said.
The line’s crew-neck sweatshirts feature hip-hop lyrics such as Beyonce’s “I Woke Up Like This” or Drake’s “Worst Behavior” and “Versace, Versace, Versace.”
“Private Party works so well because we’re creating pieces that not every person is going to get or understand, so when you wear it, you’re kind of representing this counterculture that is, in a sense, our peer group’s very own private party,” Monahan said.
The Private Party collection launched with unisex sweatshirts and expanded to tees and tanks for Spring/Summer 2014. The sweatshirts have a standard men’s fit with either embroidered, printed or heat-pressed cutout letters. All of the pieces are manufactured in Los Angeles, using a 50/50 poly/cotton fleece fabric.
Private Party introduces new pieces every week. Social-media forums such as Instagram have made it fast and accessible for customers to view their site and place orders. “At first it was just for friends and family,” Monahan said. “We posted Instagram photos of our first few styles, and it really exploded. We’ve had a lot of bloggers reach out to us, so we gift girls and guys who really fit the brand and work on some other guerrilla marketing tactics that seem to be working.”
The sweatshirts are available on the Private Party website and retail for $69 to $99.
Going forward, Monahan and Currie plan to expand to infantwear and pet apparel. “We’ve coined these collections ‘Club Baby’ and ‘Thug Puppy’ with phrases like ‘Poppin’ Bottles,’” Monahan said.
For sales information, email Monahan or Currie at info@shopprivateparty.com.
