The Genesis
2017
Entrepreneurship class. I'm presenting a clothing brand idea to the rest of the class, thinking nobody will care about what some previously disengaged student has to say.
(I definitely had style. Don't get me wrong.)
But in a class where only 3 mini-businesses would be chosen for the whole year, what would be the chance?
They voted for it anyway.
That vote changed everything. Not just because my idea became one of the three chosen projects, but because it was the first time school felt relevant. I'd been coasting through high school, making grades but completely detached. From the beginning this was different. I could build something that mattered to me.
We launched as "Triple U" Each U having a different meaning: Underrated, Underestimated, Underappreciated. The concept was bigger than clothing: three business verticals under one holding company. But execution reality kicked in fast in the class. We started with the OG idea: the clothing line under the name "Underrated".
First season: a hoodie, cap, and t-shirt. We sold to friends, family, and people who believed in what we were building.
The usual trajectory was to stop after the school year ended. The class ended. It was just a class project, after all.
But Manu and I looked at each other and said, "Why stop now?"
We were 5 in the team. The other members moved on. Luka, one of mine and Manu's best friends, joined us, drawn by the vision despite not being in the original project. By summer 2018, we'd made our first strategic pivot: dropping "Triple" entirely, fully committing to "Underrated" as our identity.
What started as a school assignment became a real business. More importantly, it became proof that I could take an idea from concept to execution, even when I doubted anyone would care.
The Evolution
What followed was four years of relentless iteration. Each collection built on the last, pushing quality, creativity, and business sophistication further.
Season 2.0 (September 2018) established our visual identity. Our first collection right after turing it into a real business. Everything done ourselves, a push out of the class boundaries. White and black tees, one with the dictionary definition of "underrated" on the back, the other with "STAFF" on the chest. The staff concept created a movement mentality: wearing Underrated meant joining something bigger. We learned that unisex was the way forward and that our DIY photo shoots in America and Portugal had authentic energy that resonated (but that we weren't born models)
Season 3 (March 2019) proved the market demand. A spring collection. Two pieces: a black sweatshirt and a turquoise hoodie, with a first design that shows Est. 2017. That turquoise hoodie became our first sellout and to this day is one of the most memorable hoodies when people speak to us about Underrated. A lot of people still have it and tell us how they love it. This was also the first time we used "Discover Your Value" as a line, and it became our tagline because we believed most people don't know their potential or the limits they can push past. That was the whole philosophy behind Triple U and then Underrated. Society thinks less of you, underrates you, we know, push past that! And "Discover your Value" gave a tagline to go along.
United Edition (Summer 2019) was pure vision. We designed caps and tees with "Differences Unite Us" in gold print, then wore them through Dubai and Abu Dhabi on our trip after our final exams. It was as much for ourselves as our customers, proving we could create concepts beyond traditional collections.
Fall/Winter 19/20 (December 2019) marked a step into a professional shift. First time using actual models and a photographer instead of shooting ourselves. I was managing university in Rotterdam, designing at night while coordinating production in Luxembourg. Shooting mid-December, setting up the website days before Christmas and releasing two days after Christmas tested our belief in the brand. That black hoodie became another fan favourite that sold steadily through winter.
2020 We had big plans. Like the whole world probably.
When COVID hit, we adapted. Project Wallpaper (April 2020) turned lockdown energy into 11 free phone wallpapers featuring photos from our New York inspiration trip we had done just 3 weeks before everything shut down. It was about staying connected with our community when physical products weren't possible.
2020 Collection represented our biggest leap. We launched the 2020 Vision project by interviewing Luxembourg creatives and business owners, showcasing their stories alongside our t-shirt release. It wasn't just about clothes, it was about celebrating ambitious people building their own paths. That t-shirt became our most successful piece ever.
But we also learned hard lessons. The Basic Collection pt.1 (August 2020) was our first major misstep. Despite upgrading to Portuguese manufacturing and investing heavily in diverse photoshoots, we made crucial mistakes with collar sizing and the execution of the idea behind the photoshoot. The collection "flopped" despite being our biggest production investment to date.
We ended the year strong, though. The 2020 Collection Hoodie (October 2020) sold out in five days, and we began our partnership with Max, who became our exclusive photographer from that project on and creative collaborator.
Each collection taught us something new about quality, customer experience, creative direction, or business operations. More importantly, each one proved we were building something that mattered to people.
The Operation
Behind every collection was an obsession with customer experience that most brands of our size never attempted.
We packed every order ourselves. Black boxes, black tissue paper, custom tags, business cards, stickers, later even season-specific passport-style tags for Season 4. In the small country that Luxembourg is, we hand-delivered most orders rather than using shipping companies. It saved customers money and put our faces to the brand, but more importantly, it showed commitment.
Manufacturing evolution marked our biggest operational leap. We started with local Luxembourg producers who sourced blanks from various suppliers. Our goal was always to go directly to a manufacturer and work with them. And by 2020, we'd established direct relationships with Portuguese manufacturers used by major luxury brands. This meant minimum order quantities in the hundreds/thousands, professional design specifications measured in millimetres, and quality control standards that matched our ambitions.
The Max partnership transformed our creative output. We met Max through a friend who introduced us as he thought we could collaborate, and boy, was he right. After one photoshoot for the 2020 Collection Hoodie, he became our exclusive photographer and creative collaborator. No more DIY shoots with friends (or us…) modelling awkwardly. Every subsequent collection had professional creative direction that elevated the brand's visual identity to match our product quality.
Customer service meant responding to every Instagram DM, every email inquiry, every comment. We tracked what people loved about each piece, what they wanted more of, and what didn't work. This feedback loop directly influenced design decisions and quality improvements across collections.
We also built engagement beyond transactions. The 12 Days of Christmas giveaways, Project Wallpaper during lockdown, 2020 Vision interviews, we consistently aimed to create value for our community that had nothing to do with selling clothes.
We also expanded our digital presence beyond traditional social media. I created and uploaded GIF versions of our logos to GIPHY and other platforms: spinning logos, crazy effects, and animated brand elements. Some of these GIFs reached millions of views, giving Underrated visibility in contexts we never anticipated. It was another way to make the brand accessible and shareable beyond physical products.
What started as three friends packing boxes became a legitimate operation with supply chain management, inventory planning, content creation schedules, and professional partnerships. The infrastructure was ready for the next phase of growth.
The Peak
Coming off the Basic Collection Part 1 disappointment, we channelled everything we'd learned into what became our redemption arc.
The Basic Collection Neon (January 2021) fixed every mistake from Part 1. We corrected the oversized collar issue that had plagued the original basic collection. Working with our Portuguese manufacturer again, but this time with precise specifications, we achieved what the first collection should have been. The T-shirt became our best-fitting piece ever, the quality and cut that people (and I) still wear now. The hoodie was even better, heavyweight, 100% cotton, oversized-fit that felt premium in every detail.
The photoshoot with Max captured exactly what we envisioned: neon lights, LED lights, balloons, indoor studio setup that perfectly matched the collection's energy. For the first time, every element aligned. product quality, creative execution, brand positioning. This was the collection that proved we could deliver on our ambitions.
Project Wallpaper V2 (Summer 2021) expanded on the original COVID project with a retro aesthetic. Part of the Season 4 rollout, this time we created wallpapers for mobile, iPad, and desktop. A summer week where I needed to take care of Nox, our family dog, I spent the whole week straight designing. The retro vibe used vintage computer imagery and classic advertising aesthetics to present the designs. It served as the creative bridge leading up to Season 4's announcement.
Season 4 (September 2021) became our creative culmination.
The concept was Flying, travelling, Flight Club meets cloud imagery, elevated beyond anything attempted in Luxembourg's fashion scene.
It started out with me trying to incorporate different designs from other countries in an Underrated way ( I looked recently at the designs, they would have been amazing) and then led us down the Flight Club route.
We secured an actual airfield in France with private planes as our backdrop. The designs featured 3D cloud elements, real wool stitched onto heavyweight hoodies and premium t-shirts, creating tactile experiences you couldn't capture in photos. We also produced caps with matching stitched cloud details.
The photoshoot redefined what was possible. Models posed on airplane wings, inside cockpits, around aircraft. Max's photography elevated the entire production to editorial levels.
The operational sophistication reached its peak. Portuguese manufacturing, professional design, inventory planning for multiple SKUs, coordinated international shoots, and comprehensive customer experience from packaging to delivery.
We'd built something that started as a high school project into a legitimate fashion operation that competed on quality, creativity, and execution with established brands.
Season 4 represented four years of relentless improvement crystallised into one collection. Every lesson learned, every operational upgrade, every creative breakthrough culminated in a product and campaign that exceeded our original vision.
We'd reached the summit. (for now)
The Reality
Success brought new challenges. Running a brand on the level we were required a serious financial commitment.
We'd proven market demand, achieved quality standards, and built operational sophistication. But scaling meant bigger minimum orders, larger inventory investments, and higher upfront costs for each collection. As university students, the financial runway was getting shorter.
The customer base presented another complexity. We had loyal followers who'd supported us from our school days, but many still expected earlier pricing despite dramatically improved quality and production costs. Educating the market about value takes time and marketing budget we couldn't sustain indefinitely.
We even came close to retail distribution that could have changed everything. Through a friend working at Luxembourg's biggest streetwear store, we connected with the owner. After a two-hour meeting where he liked our energy and vision, we had a verbal agreement to stock The Basic Collection Neon in their store. But COVID restrictions hit right after New Year's 2020. With stores facing uncertain opening policies and every cent counting to pay bills, the collaboration fell through. Retail partnerships require timing as much as quality.
We started planning a complete rebrand to signal the evolution from student project to professional brand. New identity, new positioning, new price structure that reflected our actual costs and quality. But also rebranding requires significant investment in design, marketing, and most of all time & money.
The decision came down to business fundamentals: continue burning cash, hoping for breakthrough growth, or pause strategically while exploring other opportunities that required less capital intensity.
We chose to pause Underrated while launching VegaSnacks. The skills we'd developed, brand building, customer experience, and creative direction, transferred directly to our new venture.
Underrated taught us how to build something from nothing, scale operations, manage setbacks, and make tough strategic decisions. Most importantly, it proved we could execute ambitious ideas even when starting with zero resources or connections.
The brand remains paused, not closed. The infrastructure, relationships, and brand equity we built still exist.
The Vision
Underrated was never just about clothes or the brand. From Triple U to "Discover Your Value," the core philosophy remained consistent, most people don't recognise their own potential.
The brand became our vehicle for challenging that limitation. Every collection, every photoshoot, every customer interaction was designed to show that exceptional quality and creativity weren't reserved for established players. A high school project could evolve into Portuguese manufacturing. DIY shoots could become editorial-level productions.
"Discover Your Value" applied to us as much as to our customers. We discovered we could build supply chains, direct creative projects, manage inventory, and make strategic business decisions. We discovered that starting with zero connections or resources wasn't a limitation, it was the start.
The lessons from Underrated directly shaped every subsequent project. Brand building principles, customer experience obsession, operational thinking, creative direction, these skills transferred to VegaSnacks, and every other project I laid my fingers on.
More importantly, Underrated proved that execution matters more than credentials. The vote in that entrepreneurship class started everything. It was about presenting an idea people could believe in, then following through relentlessly.
That philosophy continues to drive everything: the newsletter, the personal brand, the future business ventures. Don't wait for permission. Don't accept the limitations others place on you. Build something that matters, improve it consistently, and trust that quality eventually finds its audience.
Underrated remains paused, but the vision it represented, that anyone can create value beyond what others expect, continues in different forms.
That's the real legacy, not the collections or the photoshoots, but the proof that ambitious ideas backed by consistent execution can create something meaningful from nothing.
See Underrated Profile on Instagram: @underratecloth
-> UNDERRATED ASSET LIBRARY (with Designs & Photos from every Season and more)
