Bringing Back the Jumpsuit: An Email Convo With Onepiece's Thomas Adams
There's not many brands that can claim what Onepiece can. It's a label's ultimate dream for their product's name to pass into common usage. Undoubtedly, this is what Onepiece has managed to do. You're just as likely to hear the term as you are for 'boiler-' or 'jumpsuit', and they both mean essentially the same thing.
But even then, it goes much further than mere words... All those jumpsuits we're seeing now (from Chapter, to APC x Louis W's forthcoming collaboration as well as Supreme's collab with Adam Kimmel and their own SS16 collection) falls squarely within what Onepiece have been doing since the off. Its origins are about as grassroots as they come, with the seeds of the business planted because a bunch of slightly cold Scandinavians decided to sew their hoodies to their sweatpants in order to keep cozy.
But being a leisurewear pioneer is one thing, it's another to be changing the marketing game as well. But again, this is what Onepiece has managed to do, consistently involving their customers, their fans, their community of friends, family, and fellow leisurewear lovers, in their company's growth. Whether it's paying them to be brand ambassadors based on their social media strength or letting them hack down the price and pay what they want for the label's latest collection, Onepiece want people to share in their success.
This was one of the reasons why they won Norway's prestigious Gulltaggen prize at the tender age of one. It's also why they continue to make themselves felt on the global style stage, having recently been invited to the marketing and music master that is Taylor Swift and her annual 4th of July party.
Because of this, and because we quite like just how comfy their product is, we set up an email thread with Onepiece's young co-founder, Thomas Adams, about what it takes to start your own clothing label, successfully take on the industry, and then to win.
Hey Thomas. So what led you to found Onepiece? And why the jumpsuit?
Well we'd been making hoodies and sweat pants for a long time and we were looking for the ultimate piece of comfortable clothing. We used our hoodies and sweatpants all the time, but in Norway it gets pretty cold in winter and when we noticed that when we were lounging on the sofa, the hoodie always kept slipping up, letting in cold air. So we decided to sew it to our sweat pants. To get out of it again, we had to cut it open on the front. We were standing there, thinking: "Wow, that actually looks really cool...". We perfected the design and the first Onepiece jumpsuit was born.
That's pretty cool. You're a bit of a serial entrepreneur, though, is that right? Especially since you started your first company when you were 18. How and why did you start so young?
My first company was a webshop which I ran from my parent's basement. I came across a belt buckle that said "GOT BEER" where the 'O' in "GOT" was a bottle opener. I thought it was pretty awesome at the time so I decided to spend all my savings on this one belt buckle and set up a business. I opened my first webshop and then expanded into more products from there.
What does it take to start your own business then? Do you have any key lessons for others thinking of starting their own clothing brands?
It takes motivation and the perception that this is too good to fail. You need to really believe in the idea, without even having to ask what others think, and if you do, only listen to the ones who like it! Some people will always think it is a bad idea. But if you come across an idea you think is brilliant, even after you have thought it through in detail, just get started and don’t look back. A company doesn't need to start big. Instead, begin small and expand as you see the revenue grow.
What’s it like to lead the creative direction of a brand you started? How does Norway, your personal background and the company’s current global presence influence this direction?
I've always been driven by creating creative campaigns that engage people. It is all about psychology in a way. What makes people want a product? What makes people buy a product? Why is something cool this season and not the next? Being able to work as creative director at Onepiece with an amazing team and creative board is a lot of fun and very rewarding. We are proud to be an international player in the streetwear world, there are not many companies in Norway that have a position like this in fashion. Coming from a small country like Norway with only 5 million people we have always been an underdog, and the brand's mentality is that we will always be an underdog no matter how large we get as a company – we enjoy it. My personal background just tells me that everything is possible. I started with spending my entire savings of $2000 dollars on buying GOT BEER belt buckles and have slowly worked my way to where I am today, getting to work with a lot of amazing people along the way. I tell my employees that just because some other large and respected brands do something this or that way, doesn't mean that this is the only way; we can do things differently, our own way and still make a huge success out of it. Everything is possible.
Did you ever envisage Onepiece becoming as big as it is?
We received very good feedback from our Norwegian customers almost immediately after we started, so the brand quickly carved out its own niche. I mean, we understood pretty fast that we could build this into a full streetwear brand from the start, and one that was different from anything else on the market. But, no, when we were lounging around in our hoodies and sweats, I didn't think it would become what it is today.
What was it that won Onepiece Norway’s Gulltaggen prize in your opinion? What did it mean for you and for the brand that you’ve helped establish?
This was absolutely a huge win for us. This is an incredibly prestigious prize and we won it when we were less than a year old. More than 15 000 people voted for us but I think this came out of the blue for everyone, even the people running the awards. We were not even invited to the award ceremony, but got a call only a few hours prior saying we were invited. Then we knew something was up. I think Onepiece won because of the way we do our marketing: we never look at what others do and we never try to imitate anyone else. I think people like genuine brands that are not a result of a multi-million dollar marketing budget, but more a result of creative thinking and pioneering. A close friend of mine always said, "be you, not them" and it's a phrase I really think describes Onepiece.
So what was this early campaign that won you the Gulltaggen prize then specifically? And what other campaigns have you been proud of?
We won the people award, which was an award that everyone in Norway could vote for online. We had also launched a new website made by my friend Jørgen Winsnes and his company Good Morning which displayed all our products in a 3D animated video style.
Other campaigns that have been very successful is hacktheprice.com, where our customers can hack down the prices on our webshop collectively by sharing the campaign page. More than 12,000 people hacked the price and we sold 8,000 products in 28 hours. Which is pretty cool.
Also our ambassador program powered by Brandbassador.com has been a great success for us. It engages our fans and customers to be a part of the brand and drive sales and awareness.
On a similar note, how did Onepiece get an invite to Taylor Swift’s 4th of July party?
What can I say, Taylor loves Onepiece!
What's 'Brandbassador'?
Brandbassador.com is a platform that lets people work with brands and get rewarded. It's centered around social media, but basically anyone and their mom can use the system to earn cash, earn gift cards, and get free products from their favorite brands. It's a multilevel marketing platform on social media steroids. It was first created at Onepiece and drove more than 10% of our revenue, and then a lot of brands came to us and wanted to use the system too. So we created a separate company from it called Brandbassador.com. Some of our best ambassadors earn more than $2,000 USD per month through it.
Onepiece is a pioneer in the leisurewear category, but do you see the brand moving into other territory with its clothing? Your "SLOW/MOTION" FW15 collection, for example, seemed aimed at the fitness and athleisure sector.
We are still a young brand in the scheme of things. We are still learning what works for us and what does not. The core of what we make is centered around being comfortable, fun, young, brave, bold and unique. Onepiece will continue to make clothing that makes people happy because it is extremely comfortable, and of course, our jumpsuit gives people supernatural party powers. Come to a Onepiece party and you will understand what I mean.
Talk us through Onepiece’s new FW16 collection then. What’s new, what’s returning, and what are your personal highlights?
My favorite new piece in the new collection is the Rain jacket. It's made in transparent PVC and comes in colorless and black. It has a great cut and works just as well for women as it does for men. In addition, we've a lot of new jumpsuit designs, especially some new ones for women, which I really like, but, y'know, can’t wear.
Overall our jumpsuits have undergone a fit update though. Not only for comfort purposes, but to keep up with the current fitting trends. In addition, the fabric across our entire collection has been improved.
I think, our Merino jumpsuit, Merino pants, and high neck zip are definitely cool newcomers too. This is a style set which adds dignity to our slacker collection. Clothing that can work as a crutch or stand-alone. I like that.
The Out Hoodie is also without a doubt a personal favorite, as well as popular with everyone. It's nothing new, but breathing life into something as banal as a hoodie deserves an applause.
So what's the ethos of Onepiece now? It started as a brand with a very sharp and distinct, almost slightly political, way of thinking. What's the thinking now?
The ethos has always been the same: We do things differently. In the fashion industry we are the kid in the back of the classroom throwing paper planes at the teacher. Even though we have grown up a bit since the beginning and do not scream as loud as we did before, we are still a rebel without a cause and the bastard son of slacker and street culture.
Onepiece is six, where do you see it at age 10?
World domination.
Onepiece's FW16 collection drops September. In the meantime, check out Onepiece's current collection for summer via their online store.
Everyone needs some style inspo. Check out our exclusive editorial shoot with Onepiece in the middle of a French motorway here.
