Laurbong Gai, a passionate entrepreneur and fashion designer hailing from Salt Lake City, has big dreams. He is a marketing student at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business and the founder of Balmont, a streetwear company and evolving fashion brand with a carefully designed product. Balmont stands out from other clothing brands because of the company’s collections and drops each season, with timeless designs sourcing from sustainable fabrics.
Being born and raised in Salt Lake City is the fuel that drives this fashion brand’s fire and makes it deeply personal for Gai.
At the heart of the brand’s story and message is Balmont Avenue, the street Gai grew up on, and he wants to represent and bring the DNA of his upbringing into the culture and growing arts scene in Salt Lake City.
It all started with a passion for fashion. Gai has always loved clothes. Channeling this passion, he started reselling sneakers and clothes from pop culture giants, such as Supreme, but soon realized he was not only dissatisfied with it but being called to do something else.
Drawing inspiration from Virgil Abloh’s Off White transition to Louis Vuitton and how he continuously reinvents himself and shapes fashion culture by remixing different elements, Gai decided to throw himself into the fashion world and tell his story, or his autobiography, as he calls it, through his clothes.
The dream turned reality after he attended multiple pop-up shops throughout Salt Lake City and decided to do his own at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute’s Lassonde Studios, where he hosted a meetup to launch one of his signature collections in fall 2021.
More articles like this in ‘Student Innovation @ the U!’
Find this article and a lot more in the 2022 “Student Innovation @ the U” report. The publication is presented by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute to celebrate student innovators, change-makers, and entrepreneurs.
