Behind the Brand: Lost Files

Lost Files is an up and coming streetwear brand founded in March of 2021 by Estevan Longoria. The brand has gained a lot of attention recently, especially on “sneaker twitter,” where I was first introduced to Lost Files. The burgeoning streetwear line specializes in shorts. I had the opportunity to interview Estevan and pick his brain about how the brand came to life, the process of creating a clothing brand and the learning curve that comes along with starting something new.

How did the brand come to life? 

March of 2020 is when I first had the idea. I knew I wanted to get into the fashion industry somehow, but didn’t know exactly where I could fit in. Shorts ended up being my answer. I started coming up with ideas and a plan for the brand. I really wanted to take my time with everything and didn’t want to rush into things. I made a month by month plan all the way into the next year, planning out where I wanted to be and what I needed to have done by certain months to keep myself on track. I knew I had a long way to go, knowledge wise, before I would even be able to begin thinking about creating samples of shorts I had in mind. It was a lot of reading and researching about every aspect of a clothing brand. Learning about different materials, manufacturing processes, garments, all the way down to things like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. It certainly tested my patience, but I fell in love with the process.

The whole time, I found myself actually wanting to learn more about this industry and not just researching to find an answer, but because I was curious and had a passion for it. The pandemic certainly gave me a lot of time to think about everything I was doing and really focus on the brand. The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for me.

What inspires you?

Being able to work on something that I can call my own is amazing. All the hard work I put in, I can actually see where it goes. All the weekends I spend working, all the days I stay up all night working on designs, all the days I spend packing orders, I’m able to see all of that hard work pay off.

What collection is your favorite?

My favorite designs so far are the three from the corduroy collection. That whole process of getting the licensing agreement and working with their publishing team was really cool. Seeing those go from a kids book I used to read to shorts I made was just a really cool process, so those are definitely my favorite. 

 What collection has had the most support? 

I think the paisley collection is the collection that received the most support so far. Everyone always asks me if I have any left or if I can release those again.

Lost Files is a brand you will be seeing a lot more of. For being such a new brand, they have gained a lot of attention. Celebrities like Lil Yachty, Terrance Mann, Ty Jerome, Jordan Nwora and Michael Mitchell have already been seen rocking Lost Files. Their Instagram @lost.files.clothing and Twitter @lostfiles0 are the best places to stay updated on all things they've got going on. Look out for their next drop on July 2nd at 11am ET.