CABAL
The College Collective Creating a Buzz In Limerick With Their Events and Clothing Line
Cabal; a secret political clique or faction.
That’s the google definition of it, but some-how I doubt Limerick students are raving about a political group. No, no, the politics of this group, lies within who can get tickets and who’s lucky enough to swipe one off the Fresher’s page. For those of you not-so-lucky ones – this articles for you, to shed some light on what you’re missing. During an interview last week, Cabal described themselves as a brand, who run events where local creatives are given the opportunity to showcase their music, artwork or fashion.
As the group put it, they like their events to have “a bit of everything in the same place”. This “everything” they’re referring to is music, all sorts of music. The group noticed that certain types of music were attracting certain types of people. They didn’t want their event to be 500 clones so decided to take “something from everything” to create a more wholesome event that everyone can enjoy.
However, the theme of inclusion grows deeper than music-related as the group also wanted to create a space where sober people can let their hair down just as much as the sh*tfaced ones. Inspired by their own sobriety Cabal said, “we always try to make it accessible, we don’t see why anyone should be excluded”.
Contrary to what many believe, Cabal revealed their drive to create this brand did not stem from a burning desire to be the next Warehouse Project but rather to create a clothing line. The idea to make Cabal into an event came from an outsider who seen it as a good way to promote the clothing range- when the event was a success the group decided to stick with it and so here we are!
Unlike most people, the group didn’t let this brainwave become just another daydream, instead they got up and got to work. With one having 5 years of clothing manufacturing under their belt and the others being involved in both physical and digital design, the group dived straight into the fashion industry. The event followed soon after when the group realised they could get a venue and answered the question “are we actually doing this?” with a big, fat, dedicated yes.
Although the collective admits much of their success came from exposure through the likes of Instagram, they note that social media has the power to be a very destructive force. Aside from business purposes, the group run very low profiles online with many of them not even possessing accounts. As Cabal says: “Better to be a content creator than a content absorber”.
Up until now the clothing range has been designed by the group itself, inspired by the likes of Stussy. However, the most recent clothing drop was designed by local outsiders. As the boys explain “we have the platform now to give other people the opportunity to exhibit their work, its not really about us anymore”. So then, what’s their secret?
According to Cabal it’s as easy as “just doing it”. From past ventures the boys learned that talking more than acting can give you a false sense of achievement and demotivate you. They encourage any blossoming creatives to put their ideas in motion; “you’d be surprised how much resources just seem to fall into your lap just by people you know wanting to help”.
If you are interested in working with Cabal drop them an email @ Demos@cabal.ie. They check the email often and are always eager to work with new and upcoming artists.
More FAC
