B.Unique is one of the baddest up and coming clothing brands that you probably haven't heard of. These guys are serious business. I've been following the company for a few years now and everything from their promo videos to hangtags reek of style. This year things are really poised to pop off with them, so it only seemed appropriate that we tell their story. Without further ado BNQT brings you a behind the scenes account of the rise of b.unique and co.

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In an upscale high rise on New York’s Fashion Avenue sits the offices of Culture Apparel Group. The space is home to a mix of offbeat clothing labels like B.U.M., the mass-market sportswear brand popular during the 1990s. Reading the short list of companies falling under the Culture Apparel Group family reveals the reason for my visit - a boutique-sized brand called b.unique and company.

Brothers Christopher and Courtney Brown launched b.unique & co. out of their Manhattan apartment six years ago. Starting with nothing but the money earned from selling their Sony Playstation the company has since followed a path worthy of a Hollywood movie script.

Upon arriving at the showroom I'm greeted by Courtney Brown, who escorts me down a hallway to the b.unique showroom. A colorful array of patent leather high top sneakers line the back wall, while racks overflowing with t-shirts and hoodies cover the opposite side of the room. Courtney's brother Christopher walks in and takes a seat on the couch. Following closely behind is their longtime friend and collaborator Lanelle Hector, a 22 year old resident of Soho by way of Harlem. Mr. Hector's personal style is an improbable combination of high fashion and hip hop. A style the Brown brothers understand well. It’s the embodiment of their self-described "young modernism" ethos. More on that later.

The Beginning
In 2002 Courtney and Chris Brown were still high school-aged teenagers. The two spent their days going to school, listening to music and skating. Inspired by these disparate activities the Brown brothers launched b.unique later that year.

The beginnings of the company were humble, says Courtney, "...after we sold our Playstation we made up like 5 shirts at Kinko’s." They gave the shirts to their skater friends who then wore them at local contests. "My boy Alex Nunez went to a skate competition in Queens wearing one of our shirts. He beat all the pros...we started getting a lot of interest in b.unique after that" says Mr. Brown. Still going to school, the brothers spent their spare time parlaying the initial exposure into a full-fledged business.

Balancing work and school brought with it the obvious conflicts of interest. "It got to a point where we started having to handle business while sitting in history class, needless to say I didn't do too well in history" said Mr. Brown. The struggle to manage an education alongside a growing business came to a head in 2004 while Courtney was attending his freshman year at Fordham University. "The window of opportunity (for b.unique) would only be open for so long and I knew school would always be there." Following in the footsteps of famous college dropouts like Kanye West and Bill Gates Mr. Brown left to pursue his company full time.

With younger brother Chris in-tow the two wasted no time expanding their operation. Within a couple years they opened one of the only indoor skate parks in the five boroughs. The b.unique park occupied a sprawling 7,500 square foot underground space that quickly turned into a mecca for skating, music and parties. More importantly it served as the home base for the growing B.Unique lifestyle. A lifestyle that was quickly adopted by young trendsetters in the New York sports and music scene. For a time it was not uncommon to see then up-and-coming rapper Jim Jones hanging out with the skaters, and for DJs to host wild parties for crowds of would-be A-listers.

Their efforts landed b.unique on the radar of corporate America. Companies including Vitamin Water and The Cartoon Network lined up to sponsor the park. The "ultra-cool" lifestyle that B.Unique had been cultivating eventually attracted soft drink giant Mountain Dew. Dew ultimately funded a 30-city tour that brought b.unique-sponsored skaters to shopping malls, arenas and parks across the country.

Media
Courtney and Chris' aptitude for clothing design was matched only by their skill behind the lens. "Even back in 2002 we were getting into film production, movies" says Courtney Brown. Adding "all elements that were needed and necessary...everything that we would need for the company we had to learn ourselves..." The two were producing MTV-quality promo videos for their skate team using only hand held digital video cameras, desktop editing software and a shoestring budget.

The videos told a convincing story for the brand. They featured young skaters clad head-to-toe in b.unique clothing doing impossible tricks, posing in front of luxury automobiles and hanging out with famous rap artists. The clips were later assembled into a feature-length film called Freestyle Rolling. It premiered in 2006 to a star-studded audience at one of the largest movie theaters in Manhattan.

Strategic Alliances
Their promotional projects caught the attention of R&B producer/artist Ryan Leslie. Mr. Leslie enlisted the Brown brothers to produce a pilot for a TV show he was hoping to sell to a major network. Although the project was never sold, it brought them face to face with music industry titan Tommy Mottola. These chance encounters gave the Brown brothers a front row seat to the fast-moving society of NYC business moguls.

A New Era
The skate park was closed in late 2006 so the brothers could focus more closely on the clothing line. In 2007 they entered into a joint venture with Culture Apparel Group. Mr. Brown was reluctant to give detail about how the deal materialized, saying only that "It started last year when we felt ready to take the next step, and we've been fortunate to still be co-owners and have full creative control over our brand." Vague as the details are, few were surprised to see the Brown Brothers and their brand get scooped up by a major corporate backer.

With the line now available in specialty shops across Europe, Japan and the US Courtney and Chris are preparing for significant expansion in 2009/2010. Consisting mostly of t-shirts and sweatshirts the line will soon include denim, sneakers and outerwear. More than ever they are pushing their "young modernism" style. Courtney describes this as "a reflection of the new consciousness, the new intelligence that young people have adopted." More specifically, their style appears to combine the worldly, cultured aspects of high fashion with the edge and street smarts of sports and music.

When asked about his philosophy for success, Courtney simply replies with "the time is now, people need to get our there and play in traffic. That's how you get hit."

Their path to a corner office was not attained through standard means. In fact, it's more like a game of Frogger gone wrong. Courtney and Chris Brown relentlessly throw themselves in front of opportunities, capitalizing when necessary, walking away when appropriate. Playing in traffic has never looked so good.

click to view b.unique and company's Spring/Summer 2009 website