Tie dye sweat sets are everywhere and have quickly become everyone’s go to comfy quarantine fit. After influencers popularized the style countless teens flocked to recreate the look, either by directly buying dyed garments or daring to DIY plain white sweats themselves.
Since then, plenty of microbrands have sprouted up and started selling this highly sought after style of clothing. Amongst the sea of swirled colors and soft cotton, one supplier stands out from the rest: Halotied. Halotied’s adorable designs and clever social media marketing has allowed them to dominate the increasingly oversaturated Instagram-based-brand market.
Jojo Nessim is the 19-year-old LA native behind Halotied, who founded it just under a year ago in September of 2019.
From Depop to Downtown LA
Jojo Nessim’s full fledged business began as a more casual arts and crafts project— making tie dye tank tops for her friends’ college tailgates. “We bought a pack of 20 tank tops in bulk, and we had so many extra that I decided to sell them on Depop.” From here, demand built up on the app and requests for specific colors and more styles started rolling in. One of Jojo’s friends saw the entrepreneurial potential present, and encouraged her to make an Instagram dedicated to displaying her tie dye clothing creations. But Jojo was hesitant. “I was super embarrassed, so I kept the Instagram inactive for a while but during that period of time I was making more and more tank tops.” Jojo revealed that she has always loved using her creativity and crafty skills to make things, but often shied away from showing it off to others.
Luckily, she got over her social media stage fright and began using the platform to her advantage. The contagiously cute clothes quickly caught on and with an active Instagram and new website, Halotied was born.
The increasing demand for trendy tie dye sets soon outgrew what Jojo could supply herself. So she decided to expand her production and venture to LA’s fashion district for distributors and dye houses capable of supporting her growing operation.
Q: As the founder of Halotied, what are your duties and responsibilities?
“I do my website and my Instagram, and almost everyday I go to Downtown LA to check up on different places. Now I have a dye house that does my tie dye, and I also have a cutter and a sewer and someone who screen prints. I’m doing a bunch of new stuff so I just have to go and check up on everything. I also package all the orders at my house and I’m always doing the Instagram stuff, especially since I get like a hundred DMs a day.”
Clout & Collaborations
As Halotied started gaining traction online, a DM from one of the D’amelio sisters helped expose the brand to an even larger trendy Gen Z audience. Jojo described her surprise when prominent influencers, such as Dixie D’amelio, reached out early on to say how much they loved the clothes. In response, she sent the sisters plenty of tie dye tops and sweats— which have now been featured in countless viral Tiktoks and Instagrams. And even when they don’t explicitly tag Halotied in a post, the D’amelio’s innumerable closet account fan pages have helped bring immense attention to Jojo’s brand.
In addition to viral influencer endorsements, Halotied has also secured some impressive collabs, most notably with the staple high end shoe store Cookies n Kicks. Earlier this year, store co-owner Eli Hayman reached out to Jojo and together they created hoodies combining Halotied’s signature tie dye pattern with Cookies n Kicks’ classic bedazzled font. Jojo reported the collection did even better than she had initially anticipated, and looks forward to doing more collabs in the future. “It was such a cool experience and it honestly sold out so quickly, I was shocked. I love collabs and being able to have two people come together to make something even better.”
The Future of Halotied
Q: What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs and young creatives?
“Definitely to not be scared. Everyone’s always nervous to start, I was too, but just do it. Even if it’s not growing quickly, it will. It takes time, just be patient and work on it. And make sure that you love what you’re doing— don’t do it if you don’t like it. Put time and effort into it and you’ll get good results, always.”
Jojo is relishing in her new found stake in the fashion industry and is grateful to see her lifelong interest in crafts and creativity thrive as a business. Despite the success of this venture, however, she recognizes that the tie dye trend isn’t going to last forever. To ensure her brand will endure beyond the fashion fad, Jojo’s working on diversifying the clothing selection that Halotied offers. A brand new collection, Halotied Athletics, will be dropping August 22nd and features new designs beyond the traditional tie dye.
Q: What do you hope to see from the brand and where do you want to take it?
“I want to go away from tie dye a little bit and start doing more of my own designs. And I’m hoping that next summer I’ll be able to have a pop-up in LA somewhere around Melrose, that’s the dream.”
Keep up with all the exciting things in store for Jojo Nessim and Halotied on Instagram @halotied and shop at halotied.com
Want to learn more about the people behind viral brands? Check out Lolita Jade Bags Are Your Next Must-Have.
