“We see what others cannot see, we do what others deem impossible, we ‘can’ when they ‘cannot’, we are the possible in impossible, we are the Outliers,” said by senior Nadji Filali via Facebook.

Like many students, Filali wanted to find something to set himself apart from others.

Not being able to afford the expensive brand-name clothes he saw at department stores, he took the initiative to make his own and created a clothing line called Outliers Clothing.

“When I was younger, I wanted to fit in,” Filali said. “I always wanted to be the cool kid, and at one point, I was too focused on fitting in. And it didn’t work out so I focused on standing out.”

When Filali heard the word “outlier” in class one day, he came to an epiphany for his clothing line name.

“I wanted a name that would set me apart, but at the same time represent who I was,” Filali said. “During Mr. Kissel’s seventh period Probability/Statistics class, I was dozing off, on the verge of falling asleep; then I suddenly faintly hear ‘outlier, someone or something that is detached from a normal group, far away.’ It hit me right there, and then, I found out what I wanted to call it.”

Filali has wanted to create a product or invention, although he wasn’t quite sure what. He also wanted to have a specific type of style that defined himself and his company, but wasn’t in the financial position to do so.

“I was shopping at Macy’s looking thoroughly at clothes that didn’t intrigue my interest, were way too expensive and not my size,” Filali said. “I thought to myself ‘Why not create something that takes all three of those variables into positives?’ That same night, I began visualizing images in my mind.”

Currently Filali has a website, OutliersClothingCo.bigcartel.com, which advertises his fitness and apparel brand. For now production is limited to T-shirts, however, he hopes to expand his catalog to include beanies, hoodies, socks and joggers.

“Both my long-term and short-term goals are to open up my own shop,” Filali said. “Or at least, get in a well-known shop. For now, I want my brand name and logo to be known out to the public; we are heavily focused on marketing and promoting. We want to be a well-known and respected brand and hold our seat in the industry.”

Wanting to expand his company and become more successful, Filali’s main priority is improving the current design Junior Chris Clarke is the company’s graphic designer. Filali and Clarke both create designs that reflect their definition of what an outlier is.

“I work with Nadji on basically everything,” Clarke said, “but I focus mostly on everything graphic design, including clothing design, promo material, as well as the website.”

With more than 2,400 followers on Instagram, social media has had a major impact on the company. In fact, Clarke and Filali began working together through Twitter when Filali tweeted something that caught Clarke’s eye.

“I had seen him posting about it on Twitter, and I was pretty interested,” Clarke said. “It just kinda evolved from there. I’m excited to be part of the team though. It’s great to be a part of something unique like this, and I can only hope I can help us achieve our full potential.”