Give us the Arran Studios elevator pitch.

Arran Studios is a way for me to tell stories that matter to me through fashion. Pulling inspiration from American nostalgia and motifs, we weave these stories into unique pieces and story-driven campaigns. There’s no set formula—just an ongoing exploration of interest, heritage, and memory.

The Five Ws

Who is wearing Arran Studios?

Maria Garcia, I have a PR package for you.

What is Arran Studios’ main message?

The thing I really enjoy about Arran is its lack of directory or messaging. It’s essentially just a visual diary—stories about my life, heritage, ambition, memory, etc. In that sense, it kinda lacks direction because I never really know what story or theme will inspire what’s to come.

I feel like it’s easy for brands to define themselves, but once you do, it’s hard to break out of that. You slowly fizzle out, pushing in the same direction you’ve been pushing since the start. I enjoy the freedom Arran has given me. It serves as a vehicle for me to tell stories about my life. Right now, a lot of those stories relate to my family and the ones I’ve been fortunate enough to absorb and now have an outlet to tell.

When did you launch Arran Studios?

We launched our first product, the denim hoodie, in late 2023.

Where are people wearing Arran Studios?

Nearly 50% of our customers are outside of the U.S., which is really cool. It’s been wild to see how our themes connect with so many people outside the U.S., especially when a lot of our messaging and motifs stem from American culture.

We got an order from Greenland the other week. That was pretty cool.

Why was Arran Studios created?

I’ve been making clothes and working with different brands for the past decade, but I always felt a sort of disconnect with fashion as an art form. With other visual arts like video and photo, the storytelling always felt immediate—it felt like an efficient way to express something. But fashion never really resonated in that way for me.

My relationship with fashion always felt more like business, it was about selling. But I was inspired by brands that did both—commerce and storytelling—really well. Arran was my challenge to myself, to see if I could personify different personal narratives into physical objects and tell stories through garments.

I don’t think I’ve done it to its full potential yet, but I’m excited to keep evolving it.

About The Brand

What was the spark that catalyzed the creation of Arran Studios?

My grandma Pat—aka Candy Bar. A one-legged, 350lb stripper from New Orleans. Married eight times, divorced nine. Unlimited stories there.

When did fashion design become a passion for you—and on top of that, an intended career path?

I don’t think I ever intended to do it. I never aspired to be a fashion designer. But I think my love for other creative mediums and my passion for product just made sense together and led me to making clothes.

It’s just been something I’ve done since I was a teenager and never stopped doing. The more I do it, the more I learn, and the more excited I get to keep doing it.

How would you define Arran Studios’ style in your own words?

Bible Belt Retro-Futurism

What do you think makes Arran Studios stand out in today’s sea of emerging fashion brands?

I’m proud of our ability to create interesting garments that still feel intentional, personal, and authentic to me.

I always try to approach new pieces with the intention of pushing my own limits, challenging myself to make something I haven’t seen before. A lot of times, it turns out pretty bad. But the experimentation has led to a very curated release of unique, wearable, and story-driven products that I’m proud of.

Arran Studios stands out for its particularly striking visuals. What role do campaigns—and the visual narratives you create around your clothing—play in the brand?

When I started Arran, I knew I wanted our campaigns to feel like an extension of the pieces—something that rounds out the idea behind them. Visuals give that extra layer of context, and without them, a lot of what I’m trying to get across wouldn’t hit the same.

Film and video have always been the easiest way for me to communicate an idea. I got suspended in 4th grade for making YouTube videos, so it’s been a pretty big part of my life for as long as I can remember. It just made sense to bring that into the brand. I’m especially proud of our campaign “Anywhere, But Here” from this past summer. We planned a full short film, shot across three days all through northern Georgia, and it’s probably the thing I’m most proud of making. The campaign was meant to support some t-shirts we made, but it ended up feeling bigger than that—it set the tone for upcoming collections and became an integral part of our brand narrative.

For this last collection, I tried to step back from that a bit—to let the clothing stand on its own. I’m still not sure if it fully worked, but it was an interesting challenge.

What style codes or eras do you draw inspiration from?

It’s basically just things I like:
“A Boy Named Sue” by Johnny Cash
Billy Howard’s Love, Lust, and Loss
William Christenberry
George Lucas’ American Graffiti
Elvis
Rob Hann
The American rural South
This dude on Flickr who drives down old Southern highways and takes pictures of everything
Evel Knievel
Ed Ruscha
Earl Sweatshirt

On the fashion side:
I love the experimentation of trims and construction from the ‘80s and ‘90s, but I love the character and texture of garments from the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, especially classic sportswear.

What was the biggest challenge you faced when building Arran Studios?

I think just getting in my own way. With something so personal, it’s hard not to be a perfectionist. I take pride in the details—pieces, campaigns, packaging—but sometimes that same attention to detail slows things down. Overanalyzing can make it harder to just let ideas flow, and I’ve realized that’s when the best work happens.

Last year, I caught myself holding back, trying to make everything too perfect. Instead of pushing things forward, I was freezing them in place. I don’t want the brand to get stuck like that again.

What’s next for Arran Studios?

This year, I’m trying to focus on letting things go more naturally—worrying less about perfection and more about just getting the ideas out there in a rawer way.

We have a handful of pieces dropping/restocking this month and in the coming months. Working on some new products and a few passion projects, like our most recent lookbook.

Mostly just pieces I had fun designing—this collection was a challenge to myself not to overthink things. I’m proud of that, and I’m excited to do more of it.