Byron McGhee is starting his new fashion line at the beginning.

The communication junior is developing a line of clothing called Shione, which means beginning.

“Right now we just have T-shirts, and we have baby T-shirts for the girls,” he said.

McGhee works with two companies to supply him with the T-shirts. New Life Screen Printing in his native Chicago and Meridian Screen Printing & Design Inc., 3362 Hulett Road in Alaiedon Township.

McGhee describes the T-shirts as for everyone and coming in all colors with the word Shione on them.

“We have a lot of people wearing it,” he said. “It’s very global, Mexican, white, black, very global and very urban. That is what I wanted.”

McGhee said he had always dreamed of his own line of clothing and decided last summer it was time he started work on it.

“I realized I was spending too much money on clothes,” he said.

For now the company has been relying on flyers, free T-shirts and word of mouth from friends and family.

“We go to a variety of places like the barber shop and we just gave some free shirts away,” he said.

But McGhee has plans to expand his line in the future.

“I would like to move into sweaters, pants, and I really want to get into leather jackets and long-sleeved shirts,” he said.

Dreams aside, McGhee may have plenty of work ahead of him.

Patricia Huddleston, an MSU professor of merchandising management, said the market can be tough.

“The apparel market is one of the toughest businesses out there,” she said.

Huddleston said a direct selling approach would be much easier for McGhee to market his clothing.

“He can gain real valuable experience at least in this particular market for one thing,” she said.

Otherwise McGhee would need to supply an entire line to a corporate office and present it before its company buyer.

“He hasn’t picked the easiest market to get into, he will have to have some competitive edge,” she said. “Over the long run you have to have something that will give you an advantage.”

But having youth may be a valuable tool for McGhee.

Larry Meyer, chairman of Michigan Retailers Association, agreed staying small right now might be smart. Meyer also said logistics can be another problem.

“If you are going to work through established stores you have to want the volume that they may want,” he said.

But Meyer said he might be closer to his target audience.

“The test is if you can make something the market will buy, that decision is made by the market,” he said.