Decorator Profile
Clothing for all, no matter the diff erences
With so many walks of life, almost everyone wants to feel included, and that usually comes with the clothes they wear. Acting editor Benjamin Austin speaks with Lonely Kids Club owner Warwick Levy about how he has tried to build a brand that helps people feel part of something bigger.
A
T shirt, throughout its history, has been a piece of clothing that revels in
self-expression.
From political slogans and quirky catchphrases to simple logos or illustrations, it is a piece of clothing that allows for such imagery in its simplicity – no wonder the New York Times once coined it ‘the medium for a message’.
Printed clothing can allow for personalities to thrive and advertise themselves to the world and fi nd a way to connect to others in a way that regular messages couldn’t – after all, a picture paints a thousand words. By doing so, people can fi nd a community where they feel included and perhaps not so alone in a world that is seemingly creating more and more divides.
Enter the Lonely Kids Club. A small garment printing enterprise working
out of Artarmon, Sydney, it has been providing decorated unisex fashion that it hopes helps people connect with the message and artwork represented on their chests.
Founded in 2011 by owner Warwick Levy, the enterprise has grown from a shed in an artist’s garden, selling fi nished products at morning markets and outside gigs, to a fully-fl edged studio corporation.
It starts with one
Warwick was in Europe when the idea of Lonely Kids Club started forming. He said: “I was studying construction at UNSW and was pretty miserable doing it. I left the degree and went to Europe for a while. By the time I came back, the idea of starting a gender-neutral clothing label was much more settled. That was the direction I wanted to take. “I really like T shirts and wanted to make them. Clothes had helped me feel more like myself and connect
Warwick Levy (artwork by Jasmin Douglas) with people.
“Wearing something a bit weird could start a conversation without me having to be particularly good at starting one. “I wanted to make clothes that did that for other people too. Eventually I decided I should actually give it a go rather than stay in a degree I didn’t want to be doing.”
Though the idea may have been bubbling away, the name was something that seemingly took less consideration, but it is a name that stands out and one that does portray the company’s ethic very nicely.
Warwick continued: “It started as a joke between me and my friend. We were both single while our friends were all in relationships, so we joked about having our own Lonely Kids Club. We even had a pact to get married if we were both still single at 45.
“Around the same time, I decided to leave my construction degree and start making clothes, and the name stuck. “For me, it also meant putting creativity and happiness ahead of what other people thought you were supposed to do. You can like something a bit strange, wear what feels right to you and fi nd other people who get it.” It’s never easy fi nding your feet when starting a new business, and it did take Warwick a lot of sacrifi ces to make the dream come true.
He said: “It was self-funded and started very small. In the early years, I did freelance e-commerce and design work to keep myself going while I tried to build the label. “It defi nitely didn’t arrive as a fully formed, successful business. The fi rst couple of years were rough.”
The message is heard
It wasn’t until 2013 that Lonely Kids Club got its big break.
Warwick continued: “A customer | 32 | November 2026
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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