Ian Stikeleather said he was in line to get into the Edison but he didn’t meet the dress code for the downtown L.A. nightspot.

But he’s the founder of Stikeleather Apparel Group and he was wearing one of his customizable magnetic shirts. As a result, he was able quickly to attach a collar. Problem solved.

Stikeleather Apparel is a menswear line of dress shirts with collars, cuffs and hoods that attach with snap-on magnets. The downtown L.A. company is working on expanding into men’s outerwear and leather jackets.

Ian Stikeleather wanted to incorporate new materials into his line and believes magnets instead of buttons make his clothing stand out in a world where technical innovations are largely focused on lightweight fabrics.

“No one has bothered to mess with closures,” he said. “I wanted to infuse new materials that weren’t historically used.”

The clothes are manufactured downtown and the magnets are made in Texas. Stikeleather said he is considering finding overseas vendors for his magnets to help lower production costs, which would help make his line more competitive with mass retailers.

His short-sleeve shirts retail for about $150. They come with collars and hoods that are reversible and can be magnetically attached. A long-sleeve dress shirt that also features magnet cuffs is about $240. He also makes $160 ties that come in pieces: a knot and three tails that can be snapped on and off.

The company was founded in 2010 in Zionsville, Ind., but moved to downtown because Los Angeles has better production options and access to clothing vendors. He has one employee. Startup costs were $75,000 to $100,000, according to Stikeleather.

While he has plans to create a mass-market line, his current focus is to maintain the quality of his product, noting he couldn’t afford to recall his goods the way Lululemon did.

“As a new brand, the last thing I can afford is a poor-quality production run,” he said.

– Subrina Hudson