Unfinished Legacy moving to L.A. to grow, expand
Clothing brand wants to bring resources back home to Milwaukee
Unfinished Legacy, a Milwaukeebased streetwear clothing brand, is moving to Los Angeles to expand production, to make new connections, and to grow artistically.
“It’ll be like playing at a different league, and that will force us to grow as artists and business owners,” said Brema Brema, 24, founder and creative director of Unfinished Legacy.
Brema was born in Sudan and moved to Milwaukee in 2010, and began Unfinished Legacy shortly after he arrived.
He worked on Unfinished Legacy on and off over the last decade. It gained popularity in 2020 when he and his business manager, Jene Tate, were able to focus full time on their products.
After the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Brema created Black Lives Matter shirts that were sold internationally and raised $5,000
in 12 minutes.
Soon, well-known fashion magazines and brands took notice. Vogue has written an article about him, and Levi’s has featured his work.
“It was the first realization that we could do this full time, after applying 110% of our energy into the brand,” Brema said.
Unfinished Legacy makes most of its sales online, making Milwaukee a viable place to do business, Brema said, but sometimes their production is slowed down for weeks to get material to Milwaukee.
A main goal for the Unfinished Legacy team is to manufacture their own blank shirts to improve turnaround and shipping time for their customers.
Tate will focus on making new business partnerships where they can sell their T-shirts in brick-and-mortar stores.
They also are looking into making some products wholesale.
“This is just the start, and once we get the ball rolling, we’ll figure out what our exact next steps are,” Tate said.
One thing the pair know for sure is they want to bring whatever they learn back to Milwaukee.
“Being in a place where we can focus on product development, and find out how to ship those resources back to Milwaukee, is the key,” Brema said. “I see it as a way to go out, network and bring those resources back, experience new things and then bring back the art to Milwaukee.”
The two will host “Until Next Time” pop-up shop and afterparty as they say goodbye, for now, to their Milwaukee friends and customers.
The event will be at Freight 38, 838 South 1st St., on Friday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Admission is $5, and $20 event Tshirts will be for sale.
“I see it as a way to go out, network and bring those resources back, experience new things and then bring back the art to Milwaukee.”
Brema Brema founder and creative director of Unfinished Legacy