A serious lack of brand identity and there are essentially 2 designs in this “drop”. Props on the 5-panels though they do appear to be manufactured to a high quality.

The logo and 5 panels are very nice, but ‘The notorious LSN’ design is weak. If your playing with typography its gotta be done correctly,and as tom mentioned though everything very nice but theirs no brand identity,no mission statement and no strap lines???

Feels like ive seen all this before.

I like what I see here

BASIC AND BORING

@Vin, its some what of a personal opinion. As for overdope, i cant say i am a huge fan. Its a great concept, and the illustrations are well done, but im all about the minimal design that Listen pulls off. This is why i find it an exciting new brand.

Good brands are never cheap and cheap brands are never good.

Sorry guys gotta be honest here…. If this is what is really exciting you guys then it looks like we are heading for some dark days ahead for 2012 street/workwear.

While I applaud the effort of Listen, I gotta say I’d like to see it pushed a bit more. I know as a start up its really difficult to take a lot of risks with a first drop, even if only from a financial perspective…. so I can understand why they might have veered towards playing it safe for this release. To try something new and different in a notoriously fickle and opinionated market is a huge gamble. But then I suppose thats where your research, marketing (eg teaser campaign) and strategy will give you an indication of how far you can push things.

It doesn’t seem like there is a proposition or concrete statement to hang anything off… so overall, it seems kind of vague. Not too much to identify with for the newcomer… apart from the ‘i like to rock a big logo tee’.

The 5 panels for me are the only thing that sparks any real interest, as the photos seem to show a level of quality that surpasses a few other similar products out there.

It all seems to go a bit downhill from there…. a huge script logo emblazoned on a tee / crew… Nothing wrong with that, in essence…but yet something about this just doesn’t sit right with me…… it does seem a bit half assed.

The fit/shape of the tees looks like it leaves a lot to be desired, I personally like a decent structured, fitted Tee. These look like it would be game over after a couple of washes. Either that or they need a good iron. Little things like that

And as for the coaches jacket, without being too harsh, I’m afraid this is a real let down…. so less said about that the better. Typographically it is weak, so i have to co-sign what Kritic said about that.

There is nothing wrong with having clean, minimal design, but you have to remember it may require even more design thought and creative awareness, as by removing some of the superfluous clutter that some brands and designs use to hide their flaws, by having a really clean and minimal focus you open yourself up to showing the errors or inconsistencies in your work, and I think they may be what has happened here slightly. You need to take a step back at every part of the process and analyse what you are doing with fresh eyes.

I know not everyone can be a Norse or a Wtaps, but I would rather see a brand follow a trend, maybe enhance or focus on certain aspect of that, take reference (which by the way is different from flagrant copying or ‘bandwagon jumping’) and cues from the best, and put out something that is still fairly ‘safe’ that shows a real flair for quality and execution, than anything else. Then at least you have a decent grounds to be a bit more experimental with your second drop?

Cos the problem is at the moment a lot of brands cant even get the basics right. If they cant do that then how are they expected to improve, and for us as consumers how can we be expected to part with hard earned cash to buy into their brands?

This is just my personal opinion of course so feel free to interject. But for me the only UK brand on this kind of level that i think hits the nail on the head is Suffoca. I would even say the style of that particular brands clothing isnt even something i would personally wear, but I can appreciate good quality, attention to detail and design when i see it.

A tee shirt should not require any less design concentration or effort than a technical jacket, 5 panel, or crew neck.

Ill keep an eye on Listen, if anything just to see what they come up with next, it’s a half decent effort, once they take criticism on board and progress it should mean better product next time.

I know all this stuff seems like its been done before or its everywhere, but you gotta walk before you can run.

minimal design is where its at, those 5 panels are super tidy. its just nice to see some nicely made clothes, i’m just looking forward to seeing where they take it next.

2 one colour print designs and a cap ???

Are people actually realising what ‘minimal’ means?

MINIMAL: “Smallest in amount or degree”.

Perhaps we might be referring to the size of the collection as minimal?

A massive logo that takes up half the front of a crew neck or almost all the back of a coaches jacket can hardly be described as minimal.

Ok so pretty much every brand has the token logo tee, we know thats a dead cert and a no-brainer for the bulk of your sales. But if that is what you are looking to do then I just think there are tighter ways of executing it. Not every brand can be a Stussy ….. and not every brand needs to shout ‘look at me’.

I think if there was more of an identity, a brand story with this, then that provides the point of interest and a way to relate. A bit of intrigue, something that would help generate interest in the clothes even if they only had the smallest bit of branding or design on.

Then maybe later down the line once you are more established, then you can make it a bit more literal. Even coming back to this post with fresh eyes the following day, I just feel even from this small drop I’ve seen it all already.

Come on peeps, raise the levels.

‘Brand identity’? ‘Mission statement’? God I hate how seriously some people on the internet take themselves, and how up their own arses they make their opinions sound. What you people are fundamentally saying by ‘mission statement’ and whatnot is ‘market demographic’ or ‘niche’, and you’re basically saying you don’t wanna buy it because you have no idea who exactly it’s all marketed towards. Get over it. These are some guys who’ve made some sick tees and some REAL nice hats (everyone’s complimenting the five panels and rightly so, they’re definitely the best part of the release. so comfy and just an amazing quality), and that’s all there is to it. There’s no pretentious drivel attached to it, or whatever the hell else you guys are after, just good quality garms. You guys really need to leave your rooms once in a while.

damn @realtalk just ruined the plans of a 1000 pubescent male plans for their seriously swagga jagga t-shirt brand revealing that font

Good start with this brand. Totally agree with sam and bogart on this too. People should be inspired that folks in the UK are doing something.

“It’s all very reasonably priced too, with £25 tees, £35 5 panels, £40 crewnecks and £45 for the coaches jacket.”

I have one of the 5 panels and dont get me wrong i do like it, ten times better quality then a lot of brands that would be considered to be “bigger” then Listen but does anyone else who owns one believe that the pictures make them look a lot better quality then they actually are, for example in terms of the fabric the pictures make the wool look very thick and sturdy when in fact its rather thin and the hat doesn’t really keep shape very well when worn in my honest opinion. Dunno if its just me or not being overly ocd. However still very happy with the purchase and very impressed for a brand thats so new.

I got one of the Listen caps today and i gotta say the quality is really good. I have tonnes of five panels most of which are made of the standard canvas and cotton twill shit. I like how they have not taken the safe path and used those types of materials and gone for the wool and suede combo, especially for a newcomer to the industry. shows good potential. I have the HUF Outback volly five panel and thats weak as shit, the panels are made of a wool similar to the Listen caps and the material is floppy, Listen one feels better though with out a doubt, thicker. @BLAZE maybe the materials used here are not as ‘solid’ as the common materials that look more fitted or sit better on five panels on the market at the moment. I dunno… maybe you are ocd. Why so many shitty comments are coming out of this i dont know, at least they are trying, on a side note, i like how they added the little touches to my order with the stickers, stamped up box and black tissue paper. thanks!

^ plenty other ‘sick’ brands out there then, getting no time of day.

I like the 5 panels they look pretty fresh, as for the tee’s and the crews it piss’ me off how many new brands think they can just print their name on something and it will sell! I think for a first drop you have to come original with fresh designs and then maybe once you’ve established your brand you can drop some basic shit like this!

@Vin I don’t think they can be compared as their both so different but one thing i like about overdope is the fact you can tell what their about straight away by looking at their designs.

With such a basic first drop I’m looking forward to seeing what listen can pull out of the bag on the next one.