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Founded in the Winter of 2015, within the confines of a bedroom in Orange, California; Michael Carr II developed an idea that was comprised from the creative industries of photography, writing, and design. The roots of this brand started from a VSCO account that was created by Michael to get all his original photo works out on one page. Each picture was accompanied with a caption that enhanced each image with a certain train of thought. The purpose was to birth an introspective reflection, relating the caption to the picture. Each reflection would be different based on the viewers’ interpretation of the text in relation to the image. Michael wanted each viewer to see something different from the same image. All the photos he put up on this page were very diverse in landscape and portrait. A multitude of places being captured, from his hometown in the Detroit-Metro area, to New York, California, Europe, Australia, and more! There was a deep visualization of different cultures and societies. Michael wanted to push the boundaries outside of just looking at cool images, but appreciation for another’s community and the importance of traveling to expand cultural awareness. Just being on VSCO wasn’t good enough, and after some time Michael realized he had to push this to the next level. So, he scraped the page, returned to the drawing board and soon enough... a brand was born.
MCII OG logo
To the left is the OG logo that started the brand off. After being accepted into his school’s entrepreneurship program, Michael worked day and night to start building his vision. There was no one on his team, no big budget financers, no private mentors. However, he was blessed to have met the right supporters to push him in the right direction with different aspects of his brand management. At the time, Michael was holding a on-campus job, a part-time position at Vans in the Outlets at Orange and getting through the rest of his Sophomore year of college. Overwhelmed and motivated on one thing only, he quit both jobs and watched his grades stagger to continue progress on building the first thing that ever made any sense to him. Nothing was going to stand in the way, discouragement was impossible, and a social life... gone. After about 6 months of planning, plotting, and finessing... the clothes started to come, bringing the brand to life. He started off small with a few different pieces that featured the OG logo (Hats, Long sleeves, Tees and Stickers). Selling to family, friends, and his school’s community he started to spread word about the relevance of starting the brand. The transformation of being the person Michael Carr II to becoming the artist, MCII, was becoming more and more real to him.
MCII cherries logo
Soon after the brand became established and the first round of clothes were sold out, it was time to cultivate a symbol that was representative of what Michael and his vision stood for. So, to put a twist on the cherry, he created the dripping cherries for originality and put a spin on what “The Cherry on Top” meant. At this point, since the VSCO page, it had been almost a year from when he created the foundations of the brand. There had been a lot of sacrifice, a lot of stress, and a lot of personal growth. All with one goal in mind: To eventually get to the point of creating his first collection under the brand’s name. At the time of creating this cherry, he was on the road to working towards completing this collection. So, the point of this symbol in relation to the brand is: “The cherry on top of life. The symbol of everything falling into place if you keep putting in the work and are patient enough to let it happen. Everyone has a cherry moment when it all just works out just as you planned it would.” Michael wanted nothing less of reaching his maximum potential to celebrate that moment for himself and the people he would touch by putting out his work and spreading his message.
Collective-Cultures logo
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