Milwaukee-based Unfinished Legacy, a young streetwear brand with nationally acclaimed designs and partnerships with premiere local businesses, has ambitious plans to expand beyond the fashion scene this year.
From publishing a proprietary magazine to opening a new studio for local artists and embarking on a statewide tour, Unfinished Legacy’s growth is… unfinished.
In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and national civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd, Unfinished Legacy founder and creative director Brema Brema brought to life the company’s first and distinguishing design: a collection of T-shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants clad with butterflies and Black Lives Matter messaging.
After catching the eye of Vogue magazine, which published an article detailing Unfinished Legacy’s origin story shortly after the collection was released, the Milwaukee community followed suit.
2024 saw Unfinished Legacy achieve record sales, bringing in well over its six-figure revenue goal. Today, the company is on track to double last year’s revenue after establishing permanent roots in Milwaukee through its flagship store – opened in 2023 at 201 N. Water St. in the Historic Third Ward – and partnerships with some of Milwaukee’s biggest names.
A decade of collaboration
Brema and Daleshontai Jene Tate conceptualized the brand together after meeting at Milwaukee-based nonprofit organization TRUE Skool, an after-school program educating youths and their families on transformative creative arts and hip-hop culture, according to its website. Tate now serves as Unfinished Legacy’s event coordinator and community specialist.
Brema and Tate’s shared passion for creating community and building representation for like-minded people sparked the idea to develop a brand centered on those ideals.
Brema and Tate, who have now been working together for over a decade, followed their inaugural collection with a series of releases featuring Brema’s social justice initiatives with anti-war messaging, flames, bright red lettering and dynamic prints, designs that would help define the brand as it grew. Its unique style has earned the company a loyal following in the Milwaukee community and beyond.
Between 2020 and 2023, Unfinished Legacy released a myriad of new products – T-shirts, sweat sets, letterman jackets, jerseys – all of which were sold online via Instagram, its website or at local pop-up events. Merchandise was consistently selling out.
New moves
After establishing a subtle presence in Milwaukee, Brema and Tate packed up the entirety of the business and moved temporarily to Los Angeles in search of a new audience, new inspiration and new collaborations.
“We decided that some of the creative energy in Milwaukee needed to be refreshed,” Tate said.
While in L.A., the pair hosted pop-ups and networked with local creators and artists to diversify the brand and gather intel to bring back to Milwaukee. Brema and Tate traveled to New York several times also, acquainting the business with another major metro hub in the country.
Upon their return to Milwaukee, Brema and Tate agreed to consolidate all they had learned from their travels and incorporate it into the design and business model of Unfinished Legacy’s flagship store.
While preparing to open in the Third Ward, Unfinished Legacy announced a new partnership with the Milwaukee Bucks. The “Bucks in Six” collection debuted in February 2023 and included green sweatpants and sweatshirts and white tees with a custom design. The collection launched at Bucks Pro Shops inside Fiserv Forum, exposing the brand to a variety of patrons attending home games.
Later that year, in July, Unfinished Legacy opened its first brick-and-mortar location, setting down permanent roots in Milwaukee, a focus Brema and Tate had at the forefront of their vision for the brand.
“We want to do a lot of things for our Milwaukee community and the Midwest,” said Tate. “Milwaukee is always the flag that we wave.”
The flagship store serves as the brand’s permanent storefront and hub for community gathering events and live screen-printing. Unfinished Legacy prints roughly 30% of its product in house by hand, outsourcing the remaining 70% to L.A. and China.
The brand is also eyeing growth in Brooklyn, New York, with plans to open a long-term pop-up location there, Brema said. Those plans have not yet been finalized.
[caption id="attachment_612537" align="alignnone" width="1280"]
Unfinished Legacy’s signature butterfly hoodie. [/caption]
Big plans for 2025
The brand’s momentum has led to ambitious growth plans and continued partnerships for 2025, including the publication of Unfinished Legacy’s first magazine issue, the opening of another studio-like venue on Murray Avenue in Milwaukee’s Murray Hill neighborhood, its Wisconsin tour, which started at the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay last month, and another collection released in partnership with Summerfest.
On April 14, the company released a new collection in partnership with the Milwaukee Brewers for 414 Day. For this year’s 414 Day celebration, Unfinished Legacy gave away custom Brewers T-shirts to fans at American Family Field. Its custom tee featured a blue and yellow baseball glove with Unfinished Legacy’s insignia and matching butterfly.
Unfinished Legacy established a partnership with Summerfest in 2024 which included a collection of T-shirts with “Music Will Save Us” written on the back, and a glowing Summerfest smiley face logo with Unfinished Legacy’s insignia and butterflies printed on the front. A new collection is in the works for Summerfest 2025 and will be launched at The Cooperage in late May as part of its continued partnership.
Another new initiative began in early 2025 after occupying a studio and production space at 2410 N. Murray Ave. in Milwaukee. The building, about a mile south of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s campus, will serve as a second production facility and “third space” for local artists and college students to gather.
“Our goal is to be open (for events) on Saturdays to give college students and the creative community in this neighborhood something to join,” Tate said.
Unfinished Legacy has hosted several soft openings at the Murray Avenue space but hopes to host more formal events as Brema and Tate flush out the community need.
Unfinished Legacy’s Wisconsin cities tour kicked off on April 25 in Green Bay during the NFL Draft. Unfinished Legacy’s branded sprinter van, packed with merchandise, plans to also visit Madison, Oshkosh and West Allis throughout the month of May.
Photos and stories from customers visiting a pop-up on the tour will be documented and featured in the magazine.
“We want to highlight and represent our community to the world,” Tate said.
The first few issues are going to highlight events and stories from the Midwest and Wisconsin. Issues following could include East Coast and overseas content.
Its magazine will be part of an effort to create more analog product outside of its digital media presence.
“With everything that we’ve been doing in the last couple years, we’ve been trying to figure out how our storytelling and content live beyond social media,” Tate said. “We want to move on to something that people can hold on to and will last longer.”
