Not too long ago, Alex MacLean was selling hoodies out of the trunk of his car on the Acadia University campus.
Now, his East Coast Lifestyle label is a runaway success that’s set to follow in the footsteps of Canadian clothing companies like Herschel and Westbeach. The brand now has a staff of 25 and its apparel is available at 80 retail locations across Canada. To date, the company has sold more than 650,000 products to customers in 35 countries. Not bad for what started as a class project.
The DNA of East Coast Lifestyle is simple: it’s about being proud of where you’re from. For the 23-year-old MacLean, a surfer, wakeboarder and sailor, that’s the Maritimes; which serves as the inspiration for the brand’s logo – an anchor – and its subsequent limited-edition collections that feature lighthouses, sharks and other nautical symbols.
But, it’s not just Maritimers who love the label. Early fans of the brand include a bevy of east coast rappers including ASAP Ferg and the Wu-Tang Clan, the latter of which partnered with East Coast Lifestyle on a co-branded collection for the group’s 2015 tour. Celebrity support has been perhaps the biggest driver of exposure for East Coast Lifestyle. Though MacLean has never paid for an endorsement, he’s managed to get a laundry list of celebs to wear his clothes including Sidney Crosby, ASAP Ferg and the Wu-Tang Clan, Classified, Ed Sheeran, James Taylor and a number of NHL players.
Without big brand dollars, he has taken a guerrilla approach to celebrity PR, leaning on social media and personal connections to get his wares in the hands of the celebrity set. When Sidney Crosby returned to their shared hometown of Halifax with a crew of fellow hockey pros, MacLean had a fitness trainer he knew leave a box of branded tank tops in the dressing room. He stood outside and took photos of each the players as they left sporting his brand. When the trainer came out to say the shirts had been scooped up before Crosby got one, MacLean took the shirt off his back and gifted it to the Pittsburgh Penguin.
Each celebrity sighting has been followed by aggressive promo on social media and the brand’s website. MacLean says the celeb connections have paid off tenfold. For example, MacLean reached out to a social connection who works with musician Ed Sheeran. When the British singer-songwriter landed in Toronto to play a sold out show, a box of clothes was waiting for him. That night, Sheeran wore a branded tee on stage and, with a push on social media, the item immediately sold out online.
Beyond the celebrity realm, MacLean partnered with another east coast favourite, Alexander Keith’s, on a capsule collection of T-shirts to give away in cases of beer in 2014. The cases sold so well Keith’s signed on for a second collaboration this year, increasing the run by 1,800 tees. MacLean also spearheaded branded collections for Wounded Warriors and the Canadian Breast Cancer Society, donating partial proceeds to the charities.
And, when he’s not rubbing elbows with big brands and celebs, he is introducing the brand to university and college students across the Maritimes through branded parties and mobile pop-up shops.
East Coast Lifestyle has attracted attention from all over the globe. MacLean says there has been interest from retailers in the U.S. and he’s currently in talks with potential partners in Japan and Australia. As MacLean puts it: there are east coasts all over, and consumers in other countries are eager to use the brand to shout out their own version of the east coast lifestyle.
This fall, MacLean increased his brand’s potential exponentially with the launch of a new sister label, West Coast Lifestyle. Like the original brand, West Coast Lifestyle is about home coast pride, but its logo subs in axes and mountain ranges for lighthouses and anchors.
As the shepherd of two brands, MacLean now has a world of lifestyles to rep.
