By Lindsey Murray | ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship
CYstarters Spotlight: A 14-part series highlighting student entrepreneurs pursuing their business ventures as part of the CYstarters 2024 summer cohort. Through this program, students have the unique opportunity to prioritize the development of their own startup or business idea. Each individual receives $6,500 and access to resources such as mentorship, networking opportunities, and educational sessions on entrepreneurship and business startup.
Kai Huntoon: Bridging the Gender Gap in Fashion with nutrl.
Meet Kai Huntoon, a senior in Apparel Merchandising and Design at Iowa State University. Kai brings to the table a deep desire to represent people groups that are unrepresented in the media today. He is choosing to do that through fashion design. His brand, nutrl., is not just another name in fashion—it represents gender inclusivity, offering adaptable clothing for genderless and gender-diverse individuals.
Kai’s journey began in the suburban town of Urbandale, Iowa. Growing up in a conservative Midwest environment, discovering and embracing his queer identity was a challenge. “Fashion and fashion design have always provided me a safe space to express myself, and it’s also been an area where I can represent the queer community,” Kai reflects. From a young age, he found himself immersed in the world of fashion, often playing dress-up in his grandmother’s closet. This early fascination with clothing became a lifelong passion, heavily influenced by his mother, a creative director at Meredith Corporation.
Growing up, everything Kai did was driven by his desire to be creative. As a student at Iowa State University, he continues to cultivate that same desire. Kai works as the graphic design manager for Innovate 1858, the student-run retail store located in the Student Innovation Center. He has also spent the last 4 years working with TREND Magazine, the student-run publication focusing on fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Kai started designing fashion editorials for Trend, and now designs the entire magazine, cover-to-cover. He has also designed garments featured in the magazine.
Garment designs by Kai Huntoon featured in TREND Magazine.
Despite his clear creative inclinations, Kai didn’t initially see himself as an entrepreneur. “Entrepreneurship is often portrayed as something intimidating and unachievable,” he admits. It wasn’t until his involvement with CYstarters—a program that supports student entrepreneurs at Iowa State University—that he began to reshape his understanding of what it means to be an entrepreneur. “Anyone can be an entrepreneur. All it takes is taking the initiative to do it.”
Kai’s venture, nutrl., was born from a class project in technical design. What started as renderings and theoretical designs evolved into a brand committed to filling the gender gap in the apparel market. “Clothing is really only made for male and female body types,” Kai explains. “Regardless of how you feel about gender identity, there is a market in between the male and female genders. That’s where nutrl. comes into play.”
Inspired by brands like SKIMS, Kai has focused on creating garments that are both innovative and adaptable. His first design, a long-sleeved t-shirt made from spandex, features four ruching channels that allow the garment to transform in length and fit. “You can undo those ruching channels, and it could almost act as a dress, or with the ruching pulled tight, it will sit higher like a standard t-shirt. It accommodates both male and female body types by adjusting the structure based on how it’s worn.”
Kai’s journey hasn’t been without its challenges. Ethical manufacturing is at the core of his brand, but finding affordable, responsible production options was a difficult task. When he discovered that ethical production would cost $30,000 for just ten shirts, Kai decided to take on the manufacturing himself. Additionally, his ambition to create a new sizing system to combat size shaming has faced hurdles, as it introduced new problems and potential confusion among his customer base.
Despite these obstacles, Kai has made significant strides. At the beginning of CYstarters, he had only a prototype. Now, he has refined his design and built inventory ready to sell at Demo Day. His designs come in various sizes and colors. He is also working on developing a marketing campaign complete with print media and professional photos to use on the website and social media platforms he is creating.
The community aspect of CYstarters has been particularly beneficial for Kai.
The program has created a collaborative environment where like-minded individuals work towards big goals, supporting each other along the way.
Register to attend CYstarters Demo Day, where Kai and his fellow cohort members will present their business ventures to the Ames community. It’s an opportunity for the public to see the progress of CYstarters ventures and support these young entrepreneurs. As Kai puts it, “The only thing stopping you from doing it is you not doing it. As long as you hold yourself accountable, you can be successful.” Let’s celebrate their achievements together. Register at www.isupjcenter.org/event/2023-cystarters-demo-day/.
