Re-verb Apparel, a clothing company cofounded by University alumni and current students, officially launched its spring line, “Re-lease,” on April 1. The company aims to raise awareness about different issues through creative clothing designs.
The company was founded by Ben Kung ’10, Dennis Lee ’08, Derrick Leung ’08, Ted Jeon ’07 and Daniel Song ’13, who is currently the company’s chief operating officer. Kung, an analyst at the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley, is the chief executive of the company.
“The idea behind the company was to use creativity to get a message across,” Kung said. “It can become a conversation starter. We want conversations about these different issues to happening, across friend groups, across campuses and, hopefully, across the country.”
The inspiration for the company came when the creators of Deserts Like Eden, another clothing company-turned-nonprofit-organization that both Daniel Song and Kung were involved with, decided to discontinue the clothing line.
“We decided that we would create our own company,” Daniel Song said. “It was a carry-over in a sense, but it is a new and different company. We want to incorporate the issues we’re speaking about in our designs.”
Re-verb plans to produce two annual lines — fall/winter and spring/summer. For each of those lines, the T-shirts will feature an issue that is somewhat unnoticed, Song explained. “There are a lot of difficult social challenges, but some, like autism and HIV/AIDS, are better covered in the media,” he said. “The Re-verb team focuses on under-the-carpet issues that aren’t as easily caught by the public eye. We contact organizations working for different issues, and ultimately, the team chooses issues that we’re more passionate about.”
The Re-lease spring line focuses on the issue of human trafficking, Daniel Song said. The design features a blinded folded girl.
“It is a challenge,” Daniel Song explained. “We focus on a specific cause for each line, but it’s not like we put aside the previously-focused issue and focus instead on another one. We still continue to support the cause focused on in a previous line.”
There are two reasons behind the company’s name, Re-verb. The company hoped that Re-verb Apparel would send out messages that would reverberate within the student body, its founders explained. “It’s like domino effect,” Daniel Song noted. “One domino falls over and the rest of them fall over. We want that to be a symbol for the company. We want a ripple effect, of people being able to support this cause in a tangible way.”
The name will also change with each season’s line. “Replace the ‘–verb’ with the actual verb,” Daniel Song explained. “This supports the cause that is supported by that specific line. The name for the spring/summer line, Re-lease, refers to lease on life and freeing people from bonds.”
Despite the simple, abstract design of the shirts currently available on re-verb.org, much deliberation and work went into coming up with the design, said Jeongyoon Song ’14, a member of the Art/Design team.
While most of the team helped out with Deserts Like Eden the year before and therefore had a personal connection to the founders of the company, the group expanded through personal connections and those who shared passion for the cause.
Amanda Coston ’13, a computer science major in the Project Development section of the group, jumped on board when she saw that the company’s first seasonal line supported activism against human trafficking, said Julie Hwang ’13, a member of the Sales and Marketing team.
Similarly, the company found its models and technical staff through personal connections. “We found our webmaster through Sam Tang [’13], in the Finances section,” Daniel Song said of Abulhair Saparov ’13, the group’s webmaster.
While each member of the group specializes in one section, the company is more than a simple coalition, Daniel Song added. “The group dynamic is incredible; we’re an enlarging group of friends.”
“It’s been amazing to see how much the students have grown into their roles,” Kung explained. “There’s synergy there — their excitement is feeding my excitement.”
The website recently released photos from the spring/summer photoshoot, featuring Andy Martens ’13, Arun Nanduri ’13, Julie Ditchfield ’13, Rachael Baitel ’14, Kaya Ten-Pow ’13, Jack Thornton ’13 and Matthew Chu Cheong ’13 wearing Re-verb shirts. Posters featuring each of the models can also be found in dorm buildings.
Martens is also the director of blogs and social media for The Daily Princetonian.
“It was a fun, new experience,” Chu Cheong noted. “I learned a lot about photography, modeling and about myself.”
Martens echoed the sentiment. “Looking for places to shoot was really interesting,” he said. “The photographer and Marketing/Sales team took us to Holder Courtyard, Blair Arch, Frist auditorium — the old, stereotypical Princeton — for the first photo shoot, but we moved beyond the stereotypical Princeton idea for the second photoshoot. We took pictures at New Frick, Icahn and the modern buildings.”
So far, the company’s spring/summer line has been received with enthusiasm, Kung said. “People are generally supportive of the idea that we’re using a creative medium to support a cause,” he explained.
However, the process has been slow, Daniel Song added. “It is definitely a challenge. We want people to buy our shirts, and we want to get people to care about these issues at the same time. This challenge drives every decision the company makes.”
According to Chu Cheong, the models have been approached by friends about the shirts. “What attracts people initially is definitely curiosity,” Ditchfield said. “It’s hard to look at them and not want to know more.”
While the group is still in its starting stages, they said they have big plans for the future. “We are thinking of reaching out to different groups on campus, and to YouTube artists. We want to get the word out as much as possible through every sort of medium that’s out there, and eventually make this into a national movement,” Daniel Song noted. The group is also planning on selling shirts at Communiversity.
“When you have a group founded on a certain passion, you know you’ll go far,” Jeongyoon Song explained.
Read More
Lawsuits filed against University after cybersecurity incidents
Shaun KaraniMultiple lawsuits have been filed against Princeton in the wake of a widespread cybersecurity breach.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Princeton in the wake of a widespread cybersecurity breach.
Israeli consulate visits Princeton to discuss experience of Jewish students, follows Tsurkov release
Luke GrippoFor the first time since the 2024 “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” at Princeton, Yuval Donio Gideon, head of the Public Policy Department of the Consulate General of Israel in New York, met with University administrators and campus rabbis to discuss the experience of Israeli and Jewish students on campus.
For the first time since the 2024 “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” at Princeton, Yuval Donio Gideon, head of the Public Policy Department of the Consulate General of Israel in New York, met with University administrators and campus rabbis to discuss the experience of Israeli and Jewish students on campus.
Trump administration announces new travel, visa restrictions in last days of semester
Luke GrippoNew travel restrictions announced by the Trump administration could impact international students returning to campus after break.
New travel restrictions announced by the Trump administration could impact international students returning to campus after break.