How COVID era, NIL jump-started USC guard Destanni Henderson online clothing business
Destanni Henderson was left alone with her thoughts.
Much like every other athlete across the country in March 2020, the pandemic ended her sophomore season of basketball short of the NCAA tournament. South Carolina had just won its fifth SEC tournament championship in six years with Henderson being named to the all-tournament team.
All that was gone, though, with the void of the court leaving much to be desired. So, Henderson took it as a sign.
“I’ve always been into fashion and things of that nature, but what really, really forced my hand was when COVID first happened, because everybody in the world and basketball kind of stopped,” she said. “I was just wondering … I have so much time on my hands, like, what can I do?”
Fashion and starting a clothing line was first on the list as she transferred her focus on athleticism to creativity. From there, Clothing by HP was born. Two years later, Henderson’s business Instagram account has 12,800 followers and two sold-out items on the company website.
The HP stands for “Hennything is Possible,” which is a play on Henderson’s last name. “Henny” became a way to differentiate her from the other Destiny (Littleton) on the team. The mantra is not only displayed on various articles of clothing, but a testament to Henderson’s success as a businesswoman.
“I’m really proud of Henny for what she’s done starting a company in college, a clothing company at that,” Gamecocks center and teammate Aliyah Boston said. “It’s pretty hard and she’s done a great job. You see people around town wearing her clothes. … She’s making money off of something that she enjoys and something that she’s passionate about, so I’m just really happy for her.”
Starting up
Before starting her company, Henderson sought answers while coming up with ideas and concepts.
She drew her own designs while researching trustworthy manufacturing companies and designers with Instagram being a key resource in the process. Starting her business came with some snags along the way, though.
When reaching out for help, Henderson was surprised at how few people were willing to provide advice and feedback on how to start a clothing line. She didn’t take it personally. Sometimes, that’s just how business goes.
“At the end of the day, I can say that I did it on my own, and I really didn’t have help doing it,” Henderson said. “So far, it’s been great and working in the best of my favor.”
About three months after she got the idea to start a clothing line, Henderson had found a manufacturing company and received her first piece of clothing. It was a plush pair of colorway sweatpants, referred to as cozy sweats, with one leg purple and the other gold as a nod to the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
Henderson seeing her dream come to life was a weight lifted off her shoulders. With little guidance, she saw that starting a business was possible. The next step was promotion and advertising.
Getting the word out
Social media has its good and bad points.
As a college student trying to get her business off the ground, Henderson capitalized on it. The Gamecocks’ senior guard has over 94,000 followers on Instagram and over 54,000 followers on Tik Tok, essentially free advertisement for her budding business.
Henderson would post photos and videos of her wearing her brand and inquiries about where to purchase the clothes ensued. That led to her creating a separate social media presence for her line as the word began to spread.
“I just started building relationships with people who would wear my stuff,” said Henderson, whose celebrity supporters include rapper DaBaby and singer DaniLeigh. “Give it to them for free, of course, for them to wear it as well, and post about it and tell friends about and tell everybody who’s following them about it.”
At the time when Henderson first started her clothing line, athletes weren’t able to profit off their name, image and likeness. Despite not seeing a return on her products, she kept going. It would be worth it in the end, she told herself.
“She was just doing that foundation for herself because she knew at some point she would be able to sell her clothes,” Gamecocks junior guard Zia Cooke said. “I think that’s just — that’s a Wonder Woman move right there, to be able to start your business just because you know one day you will be able to attack it and go ahead and sell your clothes.”
That day came on June 30, 2021 when the NCAA adopted an NIL bill that allowed student-athletes to make money from their name, image and likeness. After almost a year of building her business, Henderson could finally make a profit from her work.
“I feel like the earlier that I started the better for me, because I already have something to roll with,” she said. “I already been doing it for a little minute, so it just felt really good … because I could really start making money off of it.”
Clothing by HP has a variety of items that range in price from a $55 “HPU World Champ” Hoop Tee to a $150 red skeleton zip-up jacket, one of Henderson’s favorites to date. Much of what she makes is inspired by her own personal style, fashion trends she sees on social media and feedback from those who comment on her Instagram posts.
One-woman team
On the court, Destanni Henderson has a Gamecocks-leading 122 assists on the year for an average of 3.7 per outing for the squad. Off the court, the 5-foot-7 Florida native is her own one-woman team.
Sans making the clothes, Henderson handles everything herself. After receiving the finished product from an overseas manufacturer, she started off sending orders through FedEx. USPS is now connected to her website, which makes it easier to make shipping labels. The young entrepreneur packages each item, creates the labels and ships them out every other day.
Orders take one to three days to process before shipping, which is another three to 14 business days, according to the Clothing by HP website.
The business and being in the midst of another deep NCAA tournament run along with being a student has kept Henderson plenty busy, especially this time of year, but she manages it well. As a senior criminal justice major, she only has one two-hour class on Mondays that she’ll be wrapping up in the next two weeks. The extra time frees her up to put more of her energy into continuing to build her brand.
“I done seen them all over the world,” Cooke said of Henderson’s apparel. “I’ve seen them on TikTok, people DM’ing me about how can they get her clothes. I think that’s going to be an everlasting brand for her.”
Eventually, Henderson would like to have a physical store where people can view the designs and clothing in person. Whether that’ll be in Columbia or back in her home state of Florida is yet to be determined. For now, she’ll enjoy what might be her final season with the Gamecocks and seeing how much further Clothing by HP can go.
After all, Hennything is possible.
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "How COVID era, NIL jump-started USC guard Destanni Henderson online clothing business."
