Paolo Bocchio sits outside Starbucks with piles of sketches covering the table. One of the sketches is a costume designed for a play on campus — another, a sketch of a jacket for his fashion line.
To many, the idea of creating a fashion line is a far-fetched dream, but students on campus have begun to turn that dream into a reality.
Bocchio and the team behind Chief Repertoire Apparel spend their time at the University of Oregon working toward aspirations of making it in the fashion industry.
A UO junior, Bocchio first saw his creative visions come to life during a recent performance of “Hello Stranger,” a student produced play where Bocchio designed costumes.
Bocchio spent countless hours working on costume designs for the play. He had to work to incorporate characters’ personas and make sure the actors felt comfortable in costume.
“First my ideas were on paper, and then they were in front of me. It was a great experience,” Bocchio said.
His designing didn’t stop there. Bocchio has taken on the project of creating his own fashion line, which he plans to have finished by the end of the year.
The line began as part of an independent study that will count toward his product design major. Bocchio is currently in the designing phase, sketching out ideas and seeing what will work together as part of the end product. The fashion line has taken on an “edgy, grungy” feel. Structure and harsh lines are evident in many of his sketches.
Bocchio is simultaneously working on creating material for a jewelry show put on by the jewelry and metal department that will take place on Nov. 26 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Lawrence hall.
His love for fashion and clothing came from something his mother always told him.
“My mama always said, ‘You should always look nice — you never know who you will run into.’ She always emphasized that, so now I don’t care if it’s 4 a.m. and I have to go to the gas station,’” he said. “I will look nice.”
Bocchio gets his inspiration from everything around him, including people, places and concerts. “I take a feeling I get from something and turn that into an article of clothing,” he said.
He believes there aren’t many inventions to be made when it comes to designing clothing.
“Fashion is about recycling what has already been done, but doing so in a new way,” Bocchio said. “A good designer can see elements and put them together in new and appealing ways.”
The young designer focuses on his ability to create new concepts through mixing patterns, colors and textures together in ways that haven’t been done before. Bocchio designed a tutu made of leather, turning something “fluffy” into something more “edgy.”
Bocchio sees his work at UO as a stepping-stone to his dream of having his own fashion line. In five years he wants to be in a big city, working in the fashion industry in someway, possibly designing in Milan, Paris, London or New York.
And 10 years from now, he wants to be designing for himself. “It would be amazing to have people line up to buy my clothes,” he said.
While Bocchio works on creating his first fashion line other students on campus have already accomplished their dream of becoming acclaimed fashion designers. Take Jordan Carter and Kevin Lowe for instance.
Carter and Lowe created Chief Repertoire Apparel in December of 2011 in Portland. Both wanted to start their own fashion lines, but after realizing they could benefit from working together, their clothing line was born. The team has grown to a group of five, three of whom are students at the UO.
Carter and UO senior Tony Le focus on the business side of the fashion line while Jordan Guy and Sonny Tran, a UO junior, are the head designers for the fashion line, though the line is a culmination of each of the team members.
Each member has his respective differences but they come together to give the brand its image.
The team came up with the first part of the company name, “Chief,” because its members wanted to be seen as leaders in the fashion industry. Repertoire, meaning an artists’ best work, was added to the name giving the line a foundation for success.
“We build our line based off of things we like,” Carter said. “We all have these big dreams, but none of us are cocky about it. We want to reach our goals, but we have to remember to stay humble.”
They call their clothes street wear. Chief Repertoire Apparel sells mainly T-Shirts and hoodies, most of which contain their chief logo. The line aims to reach the high school and college populations.
“We have to hit this audience soon before we get too far outside that age range,” said Le, the group’s business manager.
Another one of the team’s goals is making the brand a high-end fashion line that also translates into a lifestyle.
To do this, Carter and Le discussed the idea of opening a store that sells their clothing but also doubles as a lounge.
“These kinds of stores are popular in Europe, and we are looking to bring that to the U.S.,” Le said.
So far, the brand has been successful around Portland and Eugene. However, the Chief Repertoire Apparel team is still working to build the brand’s image and promote locally. The team does personal deliveries on local orders and sells clothing at pdxchief.com.
“We want to create good customer relationships,” Carter said.
The team also hopes to expand their market in the near future. The brand recently got a large order from Japan. A friend of the team purchased $1,000 in clothing to circulate in Japan.
“To see our stuff in another country already is awesome,” Carter said.
Eventually, the team hopes to be doing all of their own cutting and sewing. For now, Chief Repertoire Apparel is produced through collaborations with other local companies.
Earlier in the fall, Chief Repertoire Apparel was successful at the ASUO Street Faire, making approximately $489 in total sales.
“We stocked-out of a lot of our clothes,” Carter said. “There were sales that we couldn’t even make, so we were passing out our business cards like crazy.”
The team behind Chief Repertoire Apparel, like Bocchio, uses time at the UO as a step toward their aspirations of making it big in the fashion world.
“Seeing people wear the clothes we design is one of the most rewarding things,” Le said.
Follow Mackenzie Lamberton on Twitter: @Macklamberton
