Micah Horne talks about her love for fashion and marketing and how it inspired her growing business venture. Photos by Lauren Hough.

MADELEINE HALL | STAFF REPORTER | mghall1@butler.edu

Micah Horne, a sophomore strategic communication major, is known for her clothing brand ASYM, which is often seen worn by her friends around campus. Her style can be traced back to familial influences as well as musical artists she often listens to. Not only does she feel inspired to design her own clothes for her brand, but she also is passionate about the advertising aspect and uses that to help her market ASYM.

The Butler Collegian: How would you describe your style?

Micah Horne: I feel like some people like to thrift a lot, and some people like to buy higher-end clothes – I feel like I meet somewhere in the middle where I do thrift about half of my clothes, and then the other half I like designer brands a lot because I just like fashion in general, so it’s a good mix of that.

TBC: What kind of things influence your style?

MH: For a while, my dad had a big influence on my style just because he likes to dress very nice. If he’s going into the office he’s always wearing a suit, or if he’s lounging around the house his lounge clothes match nicely. I feel like I picked up a lot on that because my lounge clothes have to match or I’ll dress up nice even if I’m not going somewhere crazy. So I feel like I get a lot of inspiration from him, but a lot of the musical artists I listen to I find have really good style too. I listen to Tyler the Creator a lot, and I know that he is known for his style. He has his own clothing brand that I buy a lot from because I really appreciate the style and really appreciate what he brings to the table. It kind of just depends on what I’m feeling. Sometimes I’ll go to Pinterest, which has good inspiration for anything for outfits.

TBC: Could you tell me about your clothing brand? What was the inspiration behind it – and why [did you choose the name] ASYM?

MH: I feel like my dad and I talk about fashion a lot – going back to him again – and there’s this popular designer brand called Comme Des Garçons, and they feature a heart with two eyes as their logo. My dad said, “they’re making millions, their clothes are expensive, you could do something like that.” And I thought, “you know, maybe I could.” I gave my little brother, who was six at the time, a pen and paper and told him to draw whatever he felt. I looked through all of those and landed on the main monster logo. I decided to call the brand ASYM because it stands for asymmetrical, and all letters in the logo are asymmetrical themselves. 

TBC: How do you come up with new ideas for ASYM? 

MH: It is a lot of what I wish I had in clothes and incorporating that into the designs. I like to doodle a lot anyways and I like the idea of a graphic tee, but sometimes a graphic tee can be too overboard. I feel like as you get older you don’t wear a lot of graphic tees, so if it just has one basic drawing on it I feel like that’s more approachable than buying a full scale graphic tee shirt.  

TBC: What has been the coolest part of creating your own clothing brand?

MH: [ASYM] was starting to get popular in my high school before I left for college, and it was so cool to see my friends choose to wear my shirt over anything else they had in their closet. I love seeing everybody in it, but I also love the advertising side of it: whether that’s making the videos for it or taking pictures of my friends as models for it. I try to theme the website with every launch which may seem tedious to other people, but that’s the kind of stuff that really makes me happy about doing the brand. 

TBC: What do you hope to do in the future with ASYM? What direction do you want to take with it?

MH: Best case scenario, which everyone with a business hopes they will have, is to make it big. I would love for that to happen obviously, but realistically it will probably be something I do on the side. It’s not about making it big; I just like the clothing brand so much in itself that I would keep doing it regardless of whether or not it gains a huge following.

TBC: What are your top three favorite pieces in your wardrobe?

MH: One is a higher-end piece from this brand called Gosha Rubchinskiy. It’s this blue crewneck sweater with two collars; one is blue with a grey one behind it. For Christmas, my mom got me this sweater [another favorite in her wardrobe] from a Tyler the Creator drop, and it’s this knit type sweater which I think is really cool. My third piece would have to be from the first drop I ever did, so two falls ago; it was the first time I had ever done hoodies. It had this leaf logo with the word ASYM in the middle, and everybody just went crazy for it. It was so surprising to see how well it was received – it sold out so quickly. I think it is super nice and comfortable and chill, and everybody who bought one wears it a lot. 

TBC: What’s some advice you have for people who are struggling to find their own style or the confidence to wear what they want?

MH: Most people worry about what they’re going to wear and how it’s going to be received by other people, so if you can be that person to dispel that and say, “if everyone is so worried about themselves, then this is the perfect opportunity for me to embrace something new.” I used to be the same way where I struggled to find my voice, and I didn’t really know how to dress very well. Dip your toes in slowly. Take a couple [of] pieces outside your style, even thrift some items that you may want to see yourself wear or the type of style you want to see yourself wear in the future, and just go from there. Don’t be nervous to find your own style because it’s really just like everyone is struggling with that. Even though I feel like I have the wardrobe I want, I still feel a little self-conscious stepping out in something I maybe haven’t worn before, because it’s new or out of my style. It’s okay, you just have to trust yourself.

Check out Micah Horne’s website and follow her ASYM Instagram here.