“I don’t consider myself a fashion designer — I consider myself more of an artist, and (clothing) is my way of communicating,” Doherty said. “There really isn’t a big clothing label out there that is really concept-oriented, with some meaning behind each design.”

Clothing from DEFYE — which stands for DEFine Your own Existence — ranges from shirts and jackets to hoodies and hats, all hand-printed with custom designs so that no two products are the same.

The designs range from collages of science-fiction-esque mechanical lines to basic sans-serif print.

Doherty set up a DEFYE shop for the holidays in the center of Meridian Mall, 1982 W. Grand River Ave., in Okemos.

Last year Doherty began a sociology doctoral program at MSU, but felt the need to communicate his life experiences with people in a different way, and so DEFYE was born.

“I started designing shirts … about three years ago,” Doherty said. “I liked it so much that I just kept designing shirts and got into jackets and hats and all kinds of things, and it’s just really taken off.”

Doherty originally launched his line under the name NEVR SURRENDER. But after running into trademark issues, the name was changed to DEFYE.

“It was really difficult in the beginning. No printer thought that what I wanted to do could be done,” Doherty said. “I had to figure out my own way of doing the printing, so I started out by putting shirts in my own oven so that the ink would set.”

Since then, Doherty’s enterprise has expanded and he employs about five people to help with the clothing line.

Avi Banerjee, a friend of Doherty’s, is in charge of marketing and events for DEFYE.

“Everyone who works for Michael is motivated by the message he puts across in the label,” Banerjee said. “The designs are great, and are about finding purpose in life. Immediately there was a connection for me.”

Ryan Daniels, a 2008 MSU graduate, met Doherty in one of his art classes. Since then, he has helped with most of the screen-printing for the clothes. Daniels said the concept behind the clothing was a big attraction for him.

“I’ve been at other stores and decided not to buy something because I didn’t know anything about the clothing line and it didn’t have any meat to it,” Daniels said. “Knowing DEFYE and knowing what that means, I think is very important.”

DEFYE also is carried in The Refinery, 115 Albert Ave., and Doherty is looking to have DEFYE carried in other stores nationwide, such as The Buckle.

But Doherty is still unsure of his plans for his line’s immediate expansion.

“The newest feature will be that people can bring in their clothing and we can print on that for them,” Doherty said. “We can custom print on anything. We have over 100 different styles of clothing to choose from.”

Despite the struggles that he has gone through to make DEFYE a success, Doherty has remained true to his interior philosophy of defining his own existence and that of his clothing line.

“You have to be willing to risk it all and to fail. If you have that kind of mentality, you will end up succeeding.”