Openism

My latest offering for Spring/Summer 2018 is titled ‘All California,’ named after the oil distribution company I started a year and a half ago. I initially started my oil business to maintain the independent financing of OPENISM, and help carry out all our projects. But, inevitably, as a clothing designer simultaneously working in the sale and distribution of oil, I couldn’t help but find areas for improvement in my clothing. The Dickies and Carhartt pants I would wear while working in our warehouse or delivering and pumping drums of oil to mechanics did not fit correctly. After creating my first pair of ‘work pants’ – which featured an overload of pockets – and wearing them on the job, I received a host of compliments from customers and mechanics. Their interest in my style pushed me to create a full ‘work-ready’ collection inspired by my oil business.

The clothing is functional, made using fabric entirely from Japan with twills and denim cotton naturally dyed olive, off-white, and purple. Pieces in this line are reminiscent of my past collections; the jackets have sham collars instead of a fold and the pants have lower drops and slim down at the ankles for better mobility. An all black outfit comprised of double dip dyed black denim trousers, sham oxford, and light jacket serves as the most work-ready outfit, fit to withstand everything from mechanical wear and tear to oil stains.

Ultimately, I also plan to use cheaper manufacturing to produce a limited run of work-only outfits, which would be sold to those in the field only. In this limited collection, I will switch out the light olive denim for heavy duty black cotton and the RIRI zippers for heavy YKK hardware.

While working on this collection I have become very comfortable with what I do, in what started as just a business to fund OPENISM I’ve learned about everything from the cost of life, the power of cash, credit, communication, and sales. Recent discussions surrounding the purpose of designer clothing has inspired me to move away from clothing companies that are chained and mandated by production costs. Designers, buyers, editors, and readers alike have made the claim that we don’t need all these clothes. This current discussion added with all the other upheavals in the clothing industry have helped me find comfortability with having an alternative source of income and separate company that provides a much needed resource.

ALL CALIFORNIA is not only my inspiration and aesthetic, it’s also my livelihood. In uniting both sides of my life, I’ve exemplified the ethos that clothing is not an industry for profit.