Patterns that can scarcely be controlled

Branded by cigar boxes, Ghanaian fabric, an airline logo and a taste for casual class, graduate Max Mulvihill and senior Fred Schwier’sclothing label, FLC International, is headquartered in the front room of a house on Indiana Avenue.

“I guess you could say this is where it all happens,” Schwier said as he picked up a tobacco pipe off the floor and took a seat in one of the room’s leather chairs. “We’re a close-knit brand, and we’re just trying to make things personal.”

The original idea for the brand came to Mulvihill when he bought a skew of fabric while in the markets of Ghana on a trip for the Kelley School of Business.

"I wanted to make board shorts,” Mulvihill said. “But when I got back, I talked to my neighbor Fred about it, and he came up with the idea of styling it into a brand.”

Assistant Director for the Center for Education and Research in Retailing at Kelley, John Talbott said when Mulvihill first came to him with the idea of an apparel company, he couldn’t ignore the enticement of the Ghanaian color.

“I have a lot of students come to me with business ideas,” Talbott said. “But when Max pulled out a swatch of the Ghanaian fabric and said ‘I want to make shorts out of these,’ I simply said, ‘okay.’”

Now, Talbott said he commonly wears pairs of the shorts characterized by folk/western/exotic prints of colorful patterns, and said he’s a major supporter of the brand.

"Ghana’s fabric culture is closely tied to the rhythms of the culture’s music,” Schwier said. “It’s constantly changing, and so we incorporated it because we knew it’s an element no one else would have.”

The process that goes into creating each pair of shorts is special in itself.

“After we knew this is what we wanted to do, we realized we needed to go back to Ghana,” Schwier said.

Upon returning, the two were able to meet up with the brand’s original supporter, Jorge, who had been Mulvihill’s tour guide on his first trip.

“Jorge was an inspiration and now a friend,” Schwier said. “So, to kind of recognize that we decided to call the shorts Jorge Shorts.”

After establishing the line’s name, FLC International was able to hire a small team of tailors in Ghana.

“When we’re over there, we get the chance to walk the markets and select what we want,” Mulvihill said. “But when we’re not there, they know our taste and will send a hundred pictures or so of different patterns for review.”

After styles are selected, the fabric is detailed and sewn in Ghana before being shipped to Indianapolis where they are then picked up by Mulvihill or Schwier.

“Occasionally we’ll find notes the tailors wrote to each other hidden in the package,” Mulvihill said. “It’s cool because it’s just a reminder of how personal the process is.”

Recently, the duo traveled to an apparel show in Las Vegas to showcase their designs.

“It’s neat when people ask you who designed your pants or shirt, and you can say it’s yours,” Schwier said.

Mulvihill said the reaction from the show was positive, but the brand is still trying to find its niche beyond online sales.

“We’re looking to sell in Southern California,Miami or some islands around Europe — places we can sell all year around,” Mulvihill said.

Though currently the brand is sticking to summer style, a winter line, blazer collection and possible sister brand are goals of the young label. However, Schwier said he just enjoys creating things that are valuable to him and that no matter what, the brand will maintain its taste of casual class.    

Right now, the designs will continue to be made “bold for bold men,” and the apparel company will strive to establish its larger theme of the world traveler.

“We want to portray energy and life,” Schwier said. “The typical FLC man is someone who just does what they want to do and is driven in whatever vision he has.”

Though many people ask the two entrepreneurs what FLC stands for, Mulvihill said the name was only used to inspire their airline logo and that it should be taken as something that just is.

The red-winged label is sewn into every item of clothing, and it not only makes the brand recognizable but states the number of pairs in existence. Currently, the shorts are produced in runs of six.

“We’ve tried to create a catered brand that really interacts with people,” Schwier said. “Some kind of reaction is all we can really ask for right now.”

Along with the identification number, each pair is shipped in a cigar box and stuffed with a hand-made note in the pocket.

“We’re taking a risk with this, so we want to thank people for taking a chance on us,” Mulvihill said. “But occasionally we just write “Hey, nice shorts.””