The fashion world is fast-paced and ever-changing. What may be popular and trending one day will be out the next day, and student Juan Echeverria said he intends on always being ahead of the curve.
Echeverria is a communications major and fashion merchandising minor who has a passion for all things style. He is also involved as a designer and stylist in the Fashion Inc. Spring which will be held on April 1 at 4:30 p.m. in the Satellite Student Union.
This year, designers in the show are using inspiration from a film of their choosing for their collection.
Echeverria chose “Dope,” a 2015 coming-of-age story starring Shameik Moore, Zoë Kravitz and A$AP Rocky. A$AP Rocky — known for his rap music — is the reason Echeverria chose this movie as the inspiration for his collection.
“[My inspiration] is ‘90s to present street fashion, and we want the collection to bring about that without having to say what it is inspired by,” Echeverria said.
For the fashion show, he is styling his collection using both the clothing he has designed and clothing from thrift stores mixed in as well.
Echeverria is planning to release a clothing collection on the summer. His interest in fashion and designing started with one important aspect of style: shoes.
“At a very early age with Michael Jordan and all of that, the shoes to get were Jordans,” Echeverria said. “They were exclusive, hard to get and expensive.”
Growing up as a first-generation Mexican-American in the United States, Echeverria wasn’t able to get the expensive shoes he wanted. It wasn’t until he started working as he got older that he was able to fuel his budding interest in shoes and fashion.
“I go for exclusivity,” Echeverria said in regards to the kinds of shoes he seeks out.
He has a collection of shoes from a variety of time eras. Echeverria said he has waited in lines for up to 12 hours for a pair of shoes.
His most expensive pair, a collaboration between Nike and Kanye West, the Air Yeezy 2 commonly nicknamed Red October, cost $2,500. Echeverria’s collection of designer pieces and shoes inspired him to design his own clothing under the name We-Digital Clothing.
For his own clothing, Echeverria is inspired by the collections shown by designers and brands each season.
“Details matter to me, and I feel like some companies have that detail,” Echeverria said. Details like the distressing of fabric in his clothing, he learned from studying other collections.
His own personal style and his lifelong dedication to presenting himself in the best way possible is a major influence in his work that he got from his mother.
“My mom always dressed proper, formal, and it was always an occasion, not even to go out, but to go to the store, and my mom would always tend to get ready,” Echeverria said.
He said he hopes to get more experience in styling, which he has more of an interest in than designing.
“I feel like I can walk into a thrift store and pick out the best outfit for under $20 or $30,” he said.
In the future, Echeverria hopes to travel the world, specifically to Japan.