While leggings may be a recycled trend, New York City-based Silver Seed Clothing has cultivated an ingenious method of not only supplying the masses with top-quality, Made-in-America goods, but also nurturing members of the independent, up-and-coming design world. What sets this small company of newly-minted entrepreneurs apart from the overseas Goliaths who helped set the standard in quality leg-wear is a revolutionary approach to design selection. Put simply, the process is this: buy a pair of Silver Seed leggings and you are granted the option of submitting your own design work for consideration of upcoming lines. The real brilliance lies in the circular flow of the promotional benefits; one of the keys to winning a design slot is a substantial, well-managed social media following. By tangibly representing both their dedication to their work’s exposure as well as a healthy community of supporters, designers can then provide Silver Seed Clothing with a no-cost, built-in marketing network that grows exponentially with each click of the mouse.
Perhaps the most important factor contributing to the company’s strong and steady growth since their August launch has been a focus on choosing collaborations with artists who can not only provide them with access to their key demographic, but who are active and vibrant members of a larger creative community. Through working with such artists as Banksy comrade Matt Smiley, Silver Seed has been able to expand their following wisely, cementing the notion that selling smart is as vital to the vendor as shopping smart is to the consumer. Vowing to give away one pair of leggings for each ten sold, the company has committed to an act of appreciation for those contributing to the word-of-mouth firestorm that’s beginning to build. Silver Seed’s latest social media maneuver has been to provide customers who purchase leggings with a coupon for a free pair given they post photographs of themselves wearing the leggings to their Twitter or Instagram sites withproper tags. These top-notch threads are made in California with buttery material and just enough fabric thickness to blend away the line between “leggings as pants” and “leggings, NOT pants.”With a new launch just around the corner, Silver Seed promises to satiate the growing thirst of its avant-garde following.
Text by Kate Zaliznock
