Creating Catholic streetwear

Maria Montemayor

Thursday, January 9, 2025

The “8am Mass Club” t-shirt was inspired by Nate's parents who have been steadfast and disciplined in making sure that their first hour of the week is spent with the Lord. Photo courtesy of Nate Nagello.

Fashion and clothing designed to draw people closer to God can inspire and even sanctify others. Nate Nagello, the CEO and owner of the Toronto-based Sanctified Collective, hopes the clothing he creates can provide opportunities for conversation, engagement, and evangelization.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

When and how did you come up with the idea for creating Catholic streetwear?

November of last year is when I got laid off from my previous job. I was responsible for speaking to different brands and retailers. When I got laid off, I figured I had more time to serve my community and do something of my own, and that’s when I came up with Sanctified Collective. I decided to pursue Catholic streetwear.

I’m a big fan of streetwear. I’m a big fan of the process and the creativity behind it. I didn’t feel like there were a lot of brands out there that were geared towards streetwear that was inspired by the Catholic faith, and I just wanted to be a part of that. And God has been so good in terms of being able to provide designs and provide the opportunities to market the brand. It’s just been a fun process ever since.

Why did you choose the name “Sanctified Collective”?

It was actually inspired by 1 Corinthians 6:11: “You are washed, you are sanctified, and you are justified.” You know, from the origin story of starting Sanctified Collective, it was a rough part of my life. I had never been laid off from a job before, and I’m engaged and a lot of what I was saving up for was for the wedding. So, in a lot of ways I felt I failed in life.

“Sanctified” is one of my favourite words. For some reason, when I was going through that particular verse, that word just stood out to me. A lot of people are hard on themselves and it’s similar to how I was feeling at that time. And so, I think we’re very blessed to receive God’s grace and God’s love. We’re all sanctified, we’re all chosen, we’re all holy to be set apart. A lot of people just need a friendly reminder of that love. So that was the story behind the name, that was the inspiration in terms of why I decided to go with Sanctified Collective.

The “Come, Holy Spirit” t-shirt. Photo courtesy of Nate Nagello.

Who does your clothing cater to? Do you have a specific targeted demographic?

When I was coming up with the brand and what I wanted to produce, I didn’t have a particular target audience in mind. I just asked myself, “What would I wear?” When I’m going out, what would I wear? And that’s sort of the inspiration in terms of the pieces that I was making.

I realized that around the young adult, or maybe even towards teenagers as well, towards that young adult age, is who I am targeting. That took a lot of discernment and prayer as well. I realized that a lot of people at this age, being a teenager to a young adult, a lot of people love to share their faith. To do that, the streetwear is just a channel but the design is the message.

How do you hope your clothing inspires Catholics?

There’s that preliminary message of letting everyone know that we receive God’s grace and part of that is we receive God’s love. [I want] Catholics to realize that, to understand that they are loved and they are chosen to be set apart. But I think the biggest goal from the Collective is starting a conversation.

Personally, I’ve grown in a lot of ways in terms of wanting to speak up about my faith. That’s something I never really thought of doing before, and I never found the courage to do. But over recent years, I’ve found that strength and felt like I’ve found the calling to help spread that message. I know for a lot of Catholics especially my age and just being in a very secularized world, it’s very hard to do that. But I’m hoping through streetwear people feel a little bit more comfortable about having that conversation.

I’ve seen ways in which non-Catholics have come up to me when I’m wearing something and they’ve asked more about it, “What’s on your shirt?” A good example is the “Behold the King” shirt that we have. It’s an image of a monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament and a lot of non-Catholics don’t know about that. And to be able to share that part of our faith is just so beautiful. And so, I would say those are the goals. To help others feel loved, of course, by the Lord and then also to be able to spark a conversation with people in your own Catholic community or outside of that as well.

The “Behold the King” t-shirt. Photo courtesy of Nate Nagello.

Some of my favourite glory stories that people reach out to me about is, “I had a great conversation with somebody because I was wearing your shirt.” We started this because we in part wanted to build a community and build a safe space for people to talk about their faith and share their faith with other people.

Is there anything more you’d like to share?

We’re just so thankful for all the support from our friends, our family, and so we’ve seen so many blessings come our way. There’s so much more in store, just like any ministry, you’re going to go through challenges but you’re also going to have your successes and your wins. We’re just so thankful for all of it, anything that comes our way. Serving and being able to use this company as a channel to serve the Lord is our primary mission. To see us grow to where we are now is obviously a testament to how good the Lord is and how hard we work. But it’s more than just selling clothes, it’s about building a community, building a ministry to help those that need it the most. We love what we do. It’s hard work, but we love doing it.

Sanctified Collective sells all of their apparel on their website. You can subscribe to their emails to learn about exclusive news, promotions, discounts, and new apparel drops. You can also follow them on Instagram; they welcome direct messages with any comments or questions.