Bringing new meaning to the term "monkey business," AZU Brand has arrived on the scene to give fashion a new face - that of a cartoon monkey. Launched less than a year ago by three friends who detected a bit irony in their corporate desk jobs, the AZU team decided to explore some of the ways that monkeys can resemble human beings. By illustrating some of these concepts onto t-shirts, AZU is gaining speed as a fun and accessible t-shirt brand for consumers of all ages. On March 25^th, you can catch their designs at the I Want Now fashion show event at Tenjune alongside some of the fashion industry's most promising new talents. I spoke with Cara Hall, one of the founding members of AZU, about the brand and why they decided to ditch their desk jobs and start monkeying around.

What is AZU Brand's mission or creative goal? And how would you describe your brand?

The goal of AZU Brand is to bring a fun, fresh and affordable edge to fashion and have a lot of fun doing it. AZU doesn't take itself too seriously, so we went into it with a tongue-in-cheek approach. We all have spent a lot of time in very corporate jobs, sitting in front of a keyboard, typing away and thinking, "even a monkey could do this." So this idea got us thinking of what other types of odd situations we could put monkeys into.

What does the name AZU mean?

The name AZU is a different way of spelling "a zoo." Life can be a zoo at times and AZU brings a fun edge to that sensibility.

What does the use of monkeys mean to AZU? What statement are you making by featuring them in your designs?

The point is to have fun with it, to put our own spin on things, and if it makes you laugh or think - that's a bonus. There's a definite humor to our designs and we'd like to think that it's an intelligent humor - although that may be giving us too much credit. 

Do you have a style icon? 

Our style of clothing is a sort of hybrid between skater and hip hop style. It's hipster-y in the sense that you could see someone like Ashton Kutcher wearing it, but it could also appeal to someone like Jay-Z. These people do their own thing and set their own trends.  We admire that attitude and would love to have anybody that likes to do their own thing wearing AZU Brand. 

You're an attorney by day, right? Was a career in law something that you had always wanted to pursue? 

It sort of developed. I originated in the entertainment industry. I went to school for music and was working in the music industry when I met an entertainment lawyer who was pretty influential in determining my career path. I saw how versatile a law degree is and how many doors it opens up. So I decided to pursue the law end of things and marry it to the entertainment world.

How were you inspired to co-found AZU? Can you tell me how the three of you came together?

The idea evolved out of the image of a monkey at the keyboard doing our jobs, doing repetitive tasks, and then it just started snowballing. If monkeys could do our jobs, what else could they do? Steve [Bibby], a close friend of mine from college who works in sales, helped us develop concepts and a strategy. Aaron [Henderson] has experience in launching new companies and products and works on the business side of entertainment. 

And how did you guys decide to split the responsibility between yourselves?

It helps that the three of us have a different set of focus areas. I come from the legal side of things, Steve handles sales, and Aaron handles marketing and business development. We do a lot of brainstorming and we bounce ideas off each other. The goal is to provide the consumer with the best design on a great quality shirt to make something that they will respond to. Right now, we're working off a master concept list that we've created, and we do a group vote on what the best ideas are and what twists we can add to make the design the best it can possibly be.   

How did AZU go from an idea that you tossed around in your mind to a fully fledged and legitimate t-shirt company? 

We all sat down to talk over the idea and develop a business plan. From there, we went to the drawing board with designs and had some samples printed out.  We did some focus groups to feel out what people thought of the shirts, we did a charity event in November, and after getting a lot of positive feedback, we decided to go full steam ahead. We came up with a strategy to come to market, we started working with Chanel [Omari, who is hosting the fashion event for Haiti relief on March 25^th at Tenjune] who has been a delight, we developed a website, and now we're participating in events. March 25^th is really going to be the first launch event that we're spearheading.

Was it difficult for you to mediate your creative impulses and your career ambitions?  Was AZU a tool in helping you bring both worlds together?

AZU is a great hybrid between those two worlds of creative and career. It's creative and exciting and we have a lot of fun doing it, but it is a business, which means there are the day to day operations, contracts, negotiations, etc.

Do you have a recipe for success?

There's not what we'd really call a "recipe." There's nothing the three of us wouldn't do to help the team accomplish our goals. We live by the idea that the best idea should win out, because you never know where the next source of inspiration will come from. Cross marketing and social media marketing alongside targeted promotional tools help us increase brand awareness. The recipe for success to us might be the idea that you just keep plugging, keep an open mind and if you put yourself out there then good things will happen.  

How are you using social media as a marketing tool?

Facebook is so dominant now partly because it's a great way to send out a lot of information to people. People tend to click on a link a lot less reluctantly than they will take a shopping trip to check out a brand that they haven't heard about.  It's an easy and effective tool to reach mass amounts of people. We have several celebrities and people in the industry that are excited about our brand that will help blog and twitter to help us get the word out. We plan to use these resources to help us drive awareness of our events, new product, and promotions.  Social media is a great way to reach people that you might not ordinarily get a chance to sit down and talk to.

What advice would you give to people aspiring to launch their own apparel line? 

Know your market. Know who you're trying to reach. Who do you want to be wearing your apparel? And have something unique - bring something new to the table. You don't need to pander or worry about whether or not people are going to like your product. Make sure, first and foremost, that you are excited about what you are doing. If it's something that you're passionate about and truly believe in, then make it happen. 

Are you planning on expanding the brand? 

We're definitely dreaming big. We feel the AZU brand and concept has broad appeal, so we hope this is just the beginning. We are considering adding different animals into other lines with it all revolving around being one big zoo. We'd like to expand out to hats, boxers, onesies, dresses, sweatshirts, and then see about a personal favorite of mine - shoes.  We don't want AZU to be a short-lived trend or flash in the pan.  But we know we have to walk before we run, so check back with us in a year! 

You guys launched in June 2009. How did the economic crisis factor into your launch?

The economic crisis has obviously impacted a lot of people's lives in our country and it makes it more difficult for small businesses to start up and get capital. We've been fortunate to secure funding so the crisis hasn't slowed us down like it might have. Our idea has always been to start with the most affordable and basic element in the fashion world- the t-shirt. While people have slowed down their spending habits, at the end of the day you always need t-shirts and if you see one that you really like, you're going to buy it. A shirt that puts a smile on your face has value and a place in the market.  We hope people will agree with us on that.

What is your affiliation with PETA? And do you have any thoughts on the near-obsessive use of fur in many of the presentations seen at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week?

AZU donates a portion of our profits to PETA. We believe in their cause, and we're passionate about animal rights, so none of our products will be using fur or anything like that. We respect designers and we respect their visions. However we do not believe that animals need be harmed in the process of articulating our creative visions. 

What's next for AZU Brand? 

We're very excited about this year as there's a lot on the horizon for us. We're kicking off with the fashion show and Haiti relief charity event at Tenjune on the 25^th, which we're really looking forward to. A lot of great people have come together to make this happen and all for a good cause.  After that we'll be offering our designs through a variety of specialty stores, larger chains, and exclusive designs available online. We're really excited about all the opportunities and we'd like to thank Joonbug for helping spread the word about AZU Brand.

Don't miss the star-studded I Want Now fashion event at Tenjune on March 25^th, hosted by Adrienne Bailon and Joonbug.com. AZU Brand, along with Recession Denim, Regine Basha, and many more, will be showcasing their talent for Haiti relief, with all proceeds from the event going to Project Mediashare.