IN 2012, A YOUNG VISIONARY NAMED MARQUIS BLACK SET OUT TO CREATE MORE THAN JUST CLOTHES. HE WANTED TO BUILD A MOVEMENT. WHAT STARTED AS A MISSION TO DESIGN PIECES FOR FREINDS QUICKLY ELVOLVED INTO SOMETHING BIGGER. INSPIRED BY THE BLOG-ERA ICONS LIKE WIZ KHALIFA, A$AP MOB, WALE AND THE HIGH-ART ENERGY OF WATCH THE THRONE (JAY-Z AND YE), 

 

MARQUIS RECOGNIZED A VOID IN THE MARKET, THERE WERE FEW STREETWEAR BRANDS THAT TRULY SPOKE FOR AND WERE OWNED BY CREATIVE BLACK VOICES IN AMERICA.​ WHILE MAINSTREAM NAMES LIKE HOLLISTER, AMERICAN EAGLE, AND RALPH LAUREN DOMINATED THE SHELVES, MARQUIS WAS DETERMINED TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE AND CARVE SPACE FOR SOMETHING REAL, RAW AND ROOTED IN CULTURE.

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DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THE ICONIC GROUP N.W.A AND THE RAW ENERGY OF THE "80s" OAKLAND RAIDERS MOVEMENT, MARQUIS SET OUT TO CREATE A BRAND THAT REBELLED AGAINST CULTURAL NORMS, FUSING ART & FASHION 

WITH AN UNAPOLOGETIC EDGE. HE LINKED WITH CLASSMATE AND ARTIST JORDAN PORTIS, CONVINCING HIM TO DESIGN WHAT WOULD BECOME THEIR ICONIC LOGO, AND JUST LIKE THAT "THE NOTORIOUS EMPIRE" WAS BORN.

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THIS MARKED A MONUMENTAL MOMENT IN MARQUIS LIFE, AT JUST18 YEARS OLD, HE BEGAN TO SEE HIMSELF NOT JUST AS A DESIGNER , BUT A BUSINESSMAN AND A REVOLUTIONARY. HE PROUDLY BECAME ONE OF THE PIONEERS FOR STREETWEAR CULTURES IN THE STATE OF OHIO.

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COMING FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS WITH NO GENERATIONAL WEALTH OR FORMAL FASHION TRAINING, MARQUIS BUILT HIS BRAND FROM THE GROUND UP THROUGH PURE HUSTLE AND DETERMINATION. WITH ONLY TWO SEMESTER OF BUSINESS MARKETING UNDER HIS BELT, HE RELIED ON SELF TAUGHT SKILLS, TRIAL AND ERROR, AND RELENTLESS WORK ETHIC TO BRING HIS VISION TO LIFE.

IN HIGH SCHOOL, HE COLLABORATED WITH HIS GREAT GRANDMOTHER WHO HELPED SEW AND TAILOR HIS EARLY PIECES. LEARNING KEY TECHNIQUES THAT SPARKED HIS PASSION FOR UPCYCLING AND SCREEN PRINTING. WHAT STARTED AS DIY FASHION SOON EVOLVED INTO THE FOUNDATION OF A BOLD, INDEPENDENT STREETWEAR MOVEMENT.

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REALIZING THE FASHION GAME REQUIRED REAL RESOURCES AND CAPITAL, IT DIDNT TAKE LONG FOR THE YOUNG VISIONARY TO UNDERSTAND HE'D HAVE TO HUSTLE TWICE AS HARD JUST TO BE HEARD. MOST MAJOR FASHION HOUSES WERE BACKED BY BILLION DOLLAR CORPOATIONS WITH DEEP POCKETS. 

MARQUIS WAS BUILDING FROM THE GROUND UP, WITH NOTHING BUT PASSION, GRIT HUSTLE AND A DREAM.

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FRUSTRATED BY THE INDUSTRYS BARRIERS AND THE WEIGHT OF RESPONSIBILITY AT HOME, HE TURNED TO THE STREETS TO TRY AND FUND HIS VISION. AS THE MAN OF THE HOUSE AND THE PRIMARY PROVIDER, THE PRESSURE WAS HEAVY AND IT EVENTUALLY LEAD TO A CYCLE OF RISKY DECISIONS.

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ONE OF THE DARKEST CHAPTERS CAME IN 2013, WHEN MARQUIS LOST  HIS MOTHER. HE WASNT ABLE TO ATTEND HER FUNERAL, AND THE LACK OF CLOSURE SENT HIM INTO A DEEP DEPRESSION. A MOMENT THAT WOULD TEST EVERYTHING HE WAS MADE OF.

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IT TOOK A FEW YEARS OF HEALING, SHIFTING HIS ENVIONMENT, AND CUTTING TIES WITH TOXIC INFLUENCES BEFORE MARQUIS FOUND HIS WAY BACK TO HIS VISION. TIME HAD PASSED SINCE HE FIRST SET OUT TO PIONEER THE CULTURE, AND THE LANDSCAPE HAD EVOLVED. THE BLOG ERA HAD FADED AND GRAPHIC TEES, CARDIGAN SWEATERS, RETROS AND OTHER TRENDS WERE NO LONGER AT THE FORFRONT. RECOGNIZING THIS SHIFT, MARQUIS MADE A BOLD DECISION TO REIMAGINE BOTH HIS BRAND AND HIS PERSONAL IMAGE AND IDENTITY .

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STILL DEEPLY ROOTED IN HIS LOVE FOR ART AND FASHION, HIS PERSPECTIVE CHANGED IN 2018 AFTER WATCHING A POWERFUL, TIMELESS INTERVIEW FROM MENTOR SUPREME BEY (FORMERLY KNOWN AS CHRIS DOUGLAS-ROBERTS). IT WASNT JUST THE WEALTH THAT CAUGHT MARQUIS' EYE IT WAS THE ELEGANCE, THE INTENTIONALITY AND THE MINIMALIST LUXURY IN $UPREMES AESHETIC. INSPIRED BY THAT ENERGY AND MINDSET, MARQUIS REBRANDED, RETIRING THE ICONIC NAME "NOTORIOUS EMPIRE" AND USHERING IN

A NEW ERA: AND IN 2020 "MADE BY MARQUIS" WAS BORN. REEMERGING AND CRAFTING TO DELIVER TIMELESS, COMFORTABLE ESSENTIALS THAT BLEND LOUNGE AND LUXURY STREETWEAR. WHEATHER ITS A NIGHT OUT, STROLLING THRU THE PARK, OR SIMPLY JUST RELAXING AROUND THE HOUSE, MARQUIS WANTED CONSUMERS TO FEEL CONFIDENT, ELEGANT AND STYLISH WHEN WEARING THE BRAND.

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EVEN AS THE BRAND BEGAN GAINING LOCAL RECOGNITION AND UNDERWENT A MAKEOVER, MARQUIS STILL WASNT SATISFIED. HE ENVISIONED SOMETHING GREATER, HE WANTED THE BRAND TO ESTABLISH A STRONG PRESENCE IN GLOBAL FASHION CAPITALS LIKE NEW YORK, PARIS, AND MILAN. AFTER ATTENDING FASHION WEEK IN 2023, MARQUIS GOT A REAL TASTE OF RUNWAY EXPERIENCE AND WAS DEEPLY INSPIRED BY THE ENERGY, THE PRODUCTION, AND THE ARTISTRY OF THE SHOWS. BUT ONCE AGAIN, HE FELT SOMETHING WAS MISSING.

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THE NAME MADE BY MARQUIS NO LONGER FELT ALIGNED WITH THE DIRECTION HE WAS HEADING. TO HIM, IT SOUNDED TOO CASUAL TOO SAFE.

IN 2023 HE MADE ANOTHER BOLD GAMBLE REBRANDING AND UPGRADING THE NAME TO "MARQUIS BLAQUE" A TITLE THAT CARRIED A MORE REFINED, UPSCALE, AND TIMELESS PRESENCE. THIS WASNT JUST A NAME CHANGE,

IT WAS THE BIRTH OF A LEGACY!!! ONE THAT DEMANDED EXCELLENCE, ELEVATED VISION AND THE KIND OF GLOBAL IMPACT HE WAS DESTINED FOR.