BTB Profile 01: Cartel Bowties

Our BowTieBanditz curiosity was piqued by the funky, fun bow tie lines we discovered on Instagram, as offered by Florida-based Cartel Bowties. Come 'ere! This is what we found out!
 

"What had been a passion for wearing bow ties became a passion for sharing them, and in 2014 Cartel_bow_ties by Fashion Cartel of Orlando was born – launched with a collection of 7 Bow ties. We  expanded our product line to include neckties, pocket squares, and scarves. Over the year, in response to customer suggestions and requests, we have continued to expand our offerings to include more accessories and apparel – for men and women."

Cartel seems to encompass a lot of what's good about the BT Revival (BTR). They are a web-based company, embracing the versatility of the virtual in accepting orders online or via email, offering their affordable designs to all of the U.S. as well as internationally. As an active part of the BTR, they are pretty much content with the bow tie-wearing community. With their feet panted firmly in the camp of both sexes, they thoroughly embrace the idea of the bow tie as a modern unisex accessory. Hurrah!

That said, these Southern Gents believe that it still takes a certain amount of self-assurance to join the BTHood, so what they would really like to see is even more people being confident enough to trade in their neckties and scarves for a bow.


Betty Boop

 
From their website and instagram pages, they cater to all tastes, incorporating traditional block colours through fun patterns and varied textures to entire themes.

Ever since they started, this was the aim of the business - to be versatile and offer a large variety for different crowds, priding themselves in catering for everyone, in every genre and every age group. 




Whilst the Cartel Bowtie signature might appear to be the slim-line standard bat wing, they are happily in the process of offering all styles across their designs, inviting suggestions from their ever-growing clientele.

They realise that with a resurgence of BT
popularity comes a ready-made, alternative channel for self-expression - a way to reflect an individual's different personal and professional needs and interests.

These guys are self-taught and pride themselves in creating each bow tie according to their own hand-making technique. They proceed in the belief that anything hand-made allows greater freedom to be more creative and do more with the fabrics at hand. In short, Cartel believe that a personally-made product is more personable - a definite advantage over being machine-made to “standard”.
 
Of course, creating products by hand also makes it easy to offer a bespoke service, as well as an efficient, custom made-to-order service - another source for the expanding variety of their eclectic, fun inventory.  

A Cartel Bowtie can be made for fans of the self-tied and pre-tied styles, though their clients usually stick with one kind or the other - especially the self-tied lovers. Understandably, it's those clients who are still exploring their personal style, who are maybe new to the BThood, who like to try out different styles and mix 'n' match their options.

Racks

The majority of their inventory is produced in cotton, which is partially a creative choice. Whilst they love working with cotton, they also believe that,

"... creativity is not the material itself; it’s what you do with that material which makes it creative. Cotton is a great fabric to work with, but it is not versatile enough to exclude other fabrics, especially when it comes to elegance. Cotton is more casual." - Frantz Lesperance, Cartel Bowties.

Oh, this 'cotton-picking' has no relation to the Florida heat or humidity, so products in other fabrics are on offer as well.



Black and Gold

We BowTieBanditz particularly like the Racks and the Black and Gold. We love Couture and high concept fashion, but there's something about wearing your wealth of dollar bills so obviously on display, and matching the traditionally demure black with the flash and dazzle of gold... They're both so very un-English, and that appeals to our BTB sense of fun and swag. 

Cartel also offer more unusual designs such as Skyline (above) - a button. On your bow. Seriously original!

Perhaps understandably, the current popular lines are the Marvel Collection and Star Wars influenced designs, which have been selling "... like crazy."

Wonder Woman of
the Marvel Superhero Collection

Trending styles do tend to change throughout the seasons, even in Florida, though these Southern Boys haven't noticed any particular geographical trends in preferences as yet. Perhaps predictably, the more floral, bright colours tend to sell better in the Spring, whilst dark colors sell more in the Fall/Winter.
This is something we know BowTieBanditz ignore with great flair, cutting a dash with colour, florals or monochromes at any time of the year!

Their all-time best-selling bow tie to date is the White Rose.
(Disclaimer: Cartel Bow Ties are in no way affiliated or sponsored by Marvel or Star Wars company brands).  
 
Dreams, Inspirations and The Future


Words, we do not need them

Cartel is optimistic about where they think BT trends might be headed and predict that the market for bow ties will continue to grow,

"... because of new innovations and creativity, giving the people more to choose from."

Judging by all of the great designers and outlets we've come across on both sides of the Atlantic, we agree!

We had a great time delving into the world of Cartel Bowties. As a self-respecting emerging design house, they have gained over 3000 followers on Instagram and Websta, as well as loyal, interactive browsers on INK361. But, they have their eye firmly on a particular celebrity who would be their dream live mannequin. Frantz confessed,

"I would love to see comedian Steve Harvey in my bow ties. I like his sense of style and love for fashion."

Well, we hear that his Day Time TV Talk Show is beginning to rival, if not overtake, Oprah's in popularity and influence! We could only find three pictures of Harvey in a bow tie, and they were all whilst he was attending super-formal occasions. So, if Cartel play their cards right, they still might get their wish!

At the 44th NAACP Image Awards 2013

And as far as designer peers go, they also have one whom they take particular inspiration from,

"Moziah Bridges. He’s a 12 year old CEO who managed to make an income of $150K making stylish bowties." (See our 2014 Round Up)

So, that was our BTB Profile 01 of Cartel Bowties, a brand new and emerging voice form America, having fun and spreading the joy. We're going to enjoy watching them grow!
And we're going to have fun profiling more BT Heroes...Maybe we'll stay home next time...

Follow @Fashioncartel_