Shortly after opening its first store in downtown Raleigh, Lumina Clothing skyrocketed to success with the help of the Lumineers, an American folk rock band that formed a friendship with the Lumina team.

Lumina Clothing is a local men’s clothing retailer that focuses on strengthening support for industries that North Carolina has historically thrived on, such as textiles, agriculture and manufacturing. Each piece of clothing is made in the United States.

Much like the inspiration and passion fueling the production of Lumina’s apparel, the Lumineers and the men of Lumina Clothing connected over the American roots supporting their businesses. 

“We’re in a place where we’d like to give back to people who inspire us,” Paul Connor, Lumina Clothing’s retail and marketing director, said. “We thought this would be a great group to get behind and support with some free clothes.” 

The friendship started through a kind gesture from the store, a box of their clothing sent to the Lumineers. 

“The font that they use for their logo is Georgia font, and the font that we used for our logo was Georgia font,” Connor said. “So not only was the name similar but our font kind of looked the same. … It was kind of like a no-brainer that I had to get in contact with these people.”

The friendship took an interesting turn when Connor learned his cousin had actually formed a bond with two of the members of the Lumineers, Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites, who lived in Ramsey, N.J., before they had formed the band they are today. 

“It definitely built the bridge a little stronger,” Connor said. 

After the Lumineers announced they were performing at the Grammy’s, Lumina sent them more clothing they could wear. Facing competition from larger and more well-known designers from around the world, Lumina did not expect to see their clothes on the famed red carpet.

“It’s always been very loose … no contracts, no nothing,” Connor said. “It is always under their will that they put our clothes on.”

Stelth Ulvang, piano, and Ben Wahamaki, bass, both wore Lumina’s clothing during the pre-Grammy performance, on the red carpet and during the actual Grammy performance. Wahamaki also wore Lumina’s “blue and rust” plaid shirt during a performance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Ulvang wore a Lumina “rust chambray” shirt on Saturday Night Live. The clothing received much attention from fans after being broadcast on national television. 

“We saw a massive influx in hits on our social media network,” Connor said.

Connor says the experience of growing in Raleigh has been great and he and the rest of the team are “hand-inspecting every item that goes out … everything comes through [the owners’] hands and it is a very intimate experience.”

Since Lumina is currently the most attainably priced American-made men’s clothing store in the country, the Raleigh-based retailer quickly caught the attention of the federal government. Two days after the Lumineers wore pieces from Lumina during the Grammy’s, Lumina received a call asking them to design uniforms for the security on Capitol Hill. 

“I’m proud that the government is looking to make their uniforms in the U.S.,” Connor said. 

Future plans for Lumina include having their items manufactured in Raleigh, as well as the introduction of American-made quality men’s blue jeans. 

“Buy things that have meaning and buy things that have quality and maintain them so they last,” Connor said. 

As Lumina continues to grow, Connor said they are definitely thankful for being given opportunities from others to spread the word about American-made clothing.