Young Entrepreneur Aims to Turn Up the 'VOLUME' in Fashion World

Arooj Ahmad is gearing up to take on the fashion world.

The young entrepreneur just launched his own clothing line, VOLUME, a week ago.

The Libertyville High School junior has seen a solid start in sales over the past week and he looks forward to continuing to grow his brand.

"My mission is turning up your style without breaking your bank," said Ahmad. 

He came up with the idea for the VOLUME line after seeing so many of the popular street-wear brands "regurgitate collection after collection of clothing that didn't match up in quality," said Ahmad. 

"There's an elitist mentality that makes it so their clothing is expensive because of the brand and not the quality of the clothing," said Ahmad.

He wants to change that. Ahmad aims to offer quality clothing at a bargain price. So far, his line offers six types of shorts, all with colorful patterns and quirky names like The Sunny Delight Short and The Perplexing Purple Short. All are priced at $24.99. There are shorts for men and women. 

The shorts are made of 98 percent cotton, which he ordered from India, and 2 percent spandex. Ahmad said adding the spandex ensures that the shorts won't shrink.  

He came up with the designs for the shorts himself. He said the patterns are "digitally printed onto the shorts so they'll never fade, no matter how many times you wash them."

He contracted with a company to produce the shorts. 

"I want to deliver something to the customer that's real and that will last a long time," said Ahmad.

For now, he's selling the clothing online. Libertyville High School students served as models for the clothing.

"I'm essentially just testing the waters," Ahmad said. He's happy with the results so far. On the day VOLUME launched, Oct. 2, Ahmad sold seven pairs of shorts, and sales have increased since then. 

"It's an amazing feeling," said Ahmad. "I was most surprised by the amount of support I've gotten from friends in high school and people who have appreciated the website and everything. Especially starting out so small, that support is definitely the backbone at this point."

He definitely has plans to expand the line, but he wants to keep the future VOLUME creations a secret. Ahmad did reveal, however, that he plans to offer pants. 

He's looking forward to seeing people wearing the clothes.

"I think that would be really cool to see," said Ahmad. "But more so than that, I just want to build the brand. With it being so connected to what I envision, I think it could be a really big thing if I continue with the same perseverance and hard work that I've done."