As sorority rush has come to an end this school year, you may have seen sororities taking over social media. But, one aspect of rush has gained a lot of notoriety in recent years – the merch.
Emerson Crooks, a junior at Boise State University, has taken her sorority apparel chair title to the next level, creating her own merch design company.
Proud of her designs, Crooks uploaded a TikTok video to her page @emersoncrookss last January showcasing her favorite merch designs. Little did she know her life would completely change.
The video now stands at over 830,000 views. It has hundreds of comments inquiring about how Crooks made the designs, buying them, with even non-sorority members asking for merch.
“I’ve just gotten hundreds of DMs from girls. Since then I’ve made an Instagram account for it, I don’t have a website or anything yet,” said the 21-year-old. “But also, I can create anything. A lot of girls will be sending me designs that they found from Pinterest or other Greek apparel businesses and be like, ‘Can you recreate this? I wanna work with you.’”
Since her sudden TikTok fame, a Greek merchandising agency reached out to Crooks and hired her as a sales representative. They also offered her a Spring internship to run their TikTok account.
“It’s just a silly little TikTok video that I posted and now I have an internship from it. I’m kind of exploring this whole new realm,” said Crooks. “It’s really fun and it’s been an awesome opportunity to see where it’s gone. I’m a full time student right now, so I don’t have a ton of time to do as much as I would want to, but after I graduate this December, I’d love to kind of see where I can take it on my own.”
How Crooks Started Her Company
Surprisingly, Crooks doesn’t have a background in fashion and marketing, and instead majors in Communications with a minor in Business.
However, designing wasn’t completely out of left field for Crooks, whose parents have owned a corporate apparel company for decades.
“They’ve always worked from home, so I’ve just kind of grown up watching them do that. So, when I became the apparel chair for my sorority last year in the fall, I realized this would be a great opportunity. I can use any supplier that I want,” Crooks said. “Like, let me see if I can work with my parents’ company and do this.”
After being elected apparel chair of her sorority, Crooks branched off of her parents’ company, which she calls EGC Apparel.
“I just sat down with my dad one night and I was like, I got this position, what can we do. I was just figuring out how I could leverage our family’s business to create more Greek-oriented merchandise,” the entrepreneur said. “And that’s kind of when I decided I should create my own little brand.”
Since her election win as apparel chair, Crooks has been re-elected and works hard in her role.
“The first year, I did it solo, and now I have an assistant who helps me, especially now that I’m doing orders for a lot of other chapters,” Crooks said. “It’s a lot to keep straight, so I’m glad that I have an assistant to help me at least for my own chapter.”
What’s Trending In Sororities
Inspiration strikes Crooks in various ways, as she shared her creative process.
“My dad connected me with a freelance graphic designer, that’s what I work with to create like all my ideas. A lot of times I’ll just come up with them, or use Pinterest as a huge source of inspiration,” said Crooks. “So I’ll send him, like, I love this, can we do this? And he’ll be like, yeah. And then, he makes it for me.”
Crooks also loves taking inspiration from popular brands and then putting her own Greek-life twist on them.
“I also love designs or brands like Dairy Boy, White Fox, Aviator Nation, or cult culture. I’ve been able to take inspiration from their brands but then make it more sorority. Instead of saying cult culture, they say Zeta tau alpha,” said the student. “Playing off of brands that are already super popular that girls seem to love, that’s gonna be a really big thing in the Greek industry.”
Crooks further explained some of her most popular designs and her thought process when making them.
“I really like playing around with current trends, like in the fall, I did, like a cheetah print philanthropy sweat, brown was really in,” said Crooks. “Another thing that my chapter at least didn’t really do before I took over was matching sets. Like a matching crewneck with sweatpants. It’s one of my favorite things, too, because you just throw it on and go to class. It matches, and you look put together.”
Advice To Students Who Want To Pursue Design
Crooks transferred to Boise State University from Texas Christian University after her freshman year. She was able to find community in Idaho in her Zeta chapter and work on merch designing.
“The girls were super nice and it was really cool because I was a new girl when I rushed for the apparel chair, but they were like, let’s give her a chance,” Crooks said. “And it’s gone really well. I was super grateful for that opportunity.”
Still, handling apparel isn’t without its challenges, like making sure everyone loves the design but also keeping them affordable.
“It’s tough. I have like 200 girls in my chapter. You’re never gonna make every single girl happy with what you do,” said the business owner. “Then just budgeting. My biggest struggle would be when I have a really cool idea, like embroidery or a five to ten color design with a stitched hood, all of these added expenses, and we just don’t have room in the budget for that project. So you’re constrained a little bit with your creativity of what you can fit in the budget.”
For those aspiring to create their own business or designs, Crooks advised to get as much hands-on experience as possible.
“I would say just run any way you can to get involved. It’s also just a great way to build connections. There’s also a lot of Greek merchandising companies that hire campus reps. Honestly, if you just DMed them on Instagram and were like, ‘I love your brand, I’d love to work with you,’ that would be a great way to get your foot in the door,” Crooks said. “I feel like there are a lot of ways to start. Whether it’s just designing for like a student club or creating custom pieces for a group that you’re a part of. Anyone can try.”
