He also is looking to branch out beyond sports, leading to the branding change from Swish Authentics, which evokes the sound of a basketball through the net, to AUTHMADE, which emphasizes the authenticity he aims for in his pieces. Vu is now working on collaborations with other teams, with the hope of eventually becoming an official NBA licensee. The Kings collaboration led to another one with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2020, that became a reality, and Swish Authentics developed a collection based on the team’s “city jersey.” In 2018, he finally got a meeting with the Kings, who said if he could make his own clothing rather than altering someone else’s they would consider a partnership. “Going to Sac State and learning about business really helped set myself up to be successful at running a company." - Jason Vu, founder and creative director of AUTHMADE
He also worked to connect directly with the Kings creative team.
#Swish authentics free
He conducted “guerrilla marketing” by direct messaging NBA players on Instagram and sending them free items to wear – which several players did – and his work was featured on fashion-related social media pages. He started by upcycling items such as basketball shorts, taking existing clothing and adding elements he felt made them more fashionable. Still a fan of the Kings but not seeing team-branded clothing that he would wear, Vu in 2017 launched Swish Authentics – the original name of his company – with the goal of creating high-end streetwear. He remained focused on launching a fashion line. “It's great to be successful, but if you don’t have family around you, it's not worth it.” Ultimately, deciding to stay near his family was easy. “It helped build that character, build that confidence to be able to work with the Kings and then meet the NBA and talk with other organizations, and just be confident in what you do and what you're selling,” he said.Īfter graduating in 2014, Vu had to decide whether to stay in Sacramento or pursue his dreams in a fashion mecca such as New York or Los Angeles. That experience – “one of the best” – made an important impact, Vu said. In particular, he remembers a pitch competition that forced him out of his shell and up onto a stage to present to a panel of judges. In class, he gained the self-confidence necessary for him to eventually pitch his company and negotiate with clients and partners. Outside the classroom, Vu honed his fashion design skills. Still interested in starting a business, he enrolled in Sac State’s MBA program in 2012. That program, he said, focused mostly on economic theory. His parents stressed the importance of a stable job, however, so he studied economics at UC Davis to ensure he’d have a fallback should his fashion dreams falter.
“It really made me believe that, hey, this could be something that I could be successful in one day as well.” “At first I was just really intrigued by the clothes that they were making, so I started being curious and trying to learn who made it,” Vu said. In particular, he was drawn to a then-active clothing line called LRG, whose designer was a fellow Vietnamese American. In elementary school, he played basketball, which grew his interest in the NBA, the Kings, and, ultimately, fashion. Vu was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 3 years old, growing up in Sacramento and Elk Grove. “Going to Sac State and learning about business really helped set myself up to be successful at running a company,” he said. His clothing skills are largely self-taught, but Vu’s time in Sacramento State’s Master’s in Business Administration program gave him the skills to successfully run a business.
Vu is the founder and creative director of AUTHMADE, a men’s clothing line launched in 2017 that established itself in Sacramento and beyond through collaborations with NBA teams like the Kings. He brought that swagger onto the court with the arm bands and the headband, just the way that he wore his stuff to the games.” “The player I really looked up to was Allen Iverson,” Vu said, referring to the flamboyant guard who built his Hall of Fame career mostly with the Philadelphia 76ers. Like many kids, Jason Vu was into basketball – especially his hometown Sacramento Kings.Īs NBA players increasingly used their high-profile platform to show off stylish clothing and arena tunnels turned into de facto runways, however, Vu found his eyes increasingly drawn to the world of fashion. AugJason Vu is the founder and creative director of men's clothing line AUTHMADE, which partners with NBA teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Sacramento Kings. (Sacramento State/Andrea Price)
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