Article: MATiAS and HOW it all started!
MATiAS and HOW it all started!
Matias is a friend of the store and we met in Las Vegas at a Trade Show called PROJECT TENTS in 2016. This Trade Show is small and full of some of the best contemporary designers in the world who are becoming more established. Matias sticks out because he isn't as well-known, but is literally one of the only designers who sits in these small 10x10 booths and makes his own product by hand. I walked in because the outfit he had on was dark and clean with tonal stitch lines through out each garment — and of course it was all made of denim. I sat down with Matias and we spoke about everything pertaining to clothing, denim, sales, and music. At that time MATiAS (his self-titled clothing line) was a higher price point for our shop and I was not sure we would be able to represent him and his line properly. He is a true artist, so I kept a close eye on him to see what we could pull together in the future.
Over the years, he has been represented by a long time friend, Howard, at AB Fits in North Beach San Francisco. Howard and I always connect at shows and talk about whats new in the market and what up and coming designers are catching our eye. With that being said, Matias is always a favorite. Over the years, he and I have connected on a level of understanding because we both want the same thing. We want to make the best, and sell the best, clothing possible. Items that are different, but not so far-fetched that you can't wear them everyday. Denim will always be a part of our wardrobe, but how can you make it different? When it comes to MATiAS, he does just that. We now represent him at our store F E R A and we bring 1 of a kind pieces from MATiAS. We work to educate and test things out here in our store in Columbus, Ohio.
Tell us about where you are from and the culture that raised you to choose this path in clothing and when you realized this was going to be your career.
My first encounter with handmade goods and sewing was with some of my other artist friends who were experimenting with clothing "hippy" driven aesthetic. I had asked a friend to make something for me..and when It didn't come out quite as I imagined, i got my first home sewing machine and got to work.
My senior year at University, i started my brand as an experiment and found a few retailers to help me out..so for the past 15 years its been a work in progress. Discovering denim and the denim making process really overwhelmed my spirit and I was hooked!
What was your inspiration behind starting your own line?
What is it you focus on to make it better?? What makes your brand different and unique to others?
My work mostly involves denim and/or traditional work wear fabrics that i use to tell the story of Post Heritage. Post Heritage being the thing that comes AFTER what is already in existence and "not like everything else" And although not every piece is a complete deconstruction of traditional denim making..I try to break the rules whenever i can!
The concept of taking something that our industry declares "heritage" and putting my twist on it or completely deconstructing the concept to fit into our post-modern world is what inspires me. (strictly in the artistic and innovative sense)
I first fell in love with this genre because everything I saw looked the same or was a reference to something that already exists (vintage), so for me there was so many rules to break and so much to deconstruct! From the standpoint of "design", I first work with a concept and search for fabrics to help this vision come thru. next i build a pattern and then a sample and its all 1 fluid motion..I do it all, in house and alone with a small team of craftsmen. I'm constantly trying to disrupt the status quo that we know as DENIM.
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