GET TO KNOW - CLINTON HUGHES
NOTHING ODDINARY ABOUT DESIGNER CLINTON HUGHES
PHOTOS BY SAL FUENTES
I had the pleasure in meeting Clinton Hughes Designer and atelier for his brand Oddinary Studios; An apparel design and manufacturing studio based in East LA. Creating custom apparel & specializing in tailoring, pattern making, grading & sample making large / small clothing production, embellishments such as embroidery, screen printing, DTG printing and sourcing various Trims and finishings. We had the chance to sit and talk everything fashion, his early beginnings and where he is right now at his LA studio located in DTLA.
How did this all begin for you? What prompted you to get into the fashion industry?
As a kid, I used to be really into cars, bicycles, and designing BMX frames; I always wanted to get hands-on with building and creating. And it started with an interest in metal fabrication, and then it took a turn into more soft goods. Then, around puberty, I became more influenced by the physical appearance, with sneakers, during the Allen Iverson era and early 2000s hip hop era, culture and clothing. Finally, it became something to think about and became authentic in high school, like "how do you want to turn this into something tangible." At the time, my sister attended a community college called Seattle Central Community College, which is now Seattle Central College in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. They had a two-year apparel design program that taught you how to make a pattern, sew, size grades, make tech packs and send overseas, and technical design. She said, "that's a highly reputed program, and you should check it out." So I started doing the prerequisites for that program and got in.
You touched a bit on the Allen Iverson Era; let's talk about how much of an influence that era was for you and the culture on design?
Super influential, late 90's early 2000's, i mean basketball, Allen Iverson, and hip hop; it was all very style-like in a similar way it was kind of east coast centric, black culture. The music was immense, and I initially gravitated toward it because I love music so much. I was a fake baller; I never actually played basketball on a team, but everyone played, and we practiced shootarounds and lived in basketball shorts and shoes. It was the style for our tween-centric world.
Being from Seattle, what was your fav team at that point?
The Sonics were still in town; I wasn't a huge basketball fan, I played baseball my whole life, and then in 7th-8th grade, I got into football. I have a big Football family; several of my uncles and cousins grew up playing football and baseball. We're not so much of a basketball family, but basketball was the rising sport in that 90s/2000s era; dare i say, due to Allen Iverson and pop culture appeal and the marketing campaign of reebok, it was a different time. It was long enough that Micheal Jordan was on his way out, and there wasn't Spike Lee's marketing campaign of the late 80- 's early 90s, so he was our new pop-cultural icon. But to answer your question, Gary Payton and the Sonics. But i have to shout out Ichiro and the mariners in that early 2000s era.
Tell us a bit about your design process; how do you work from concept to construction?
So kind of like what we were talking about earlier, with your process of wanting to do something fresh, you start with a magazine, and it was new at the time, but it gets a little old, so you want to do a book. Same with me, where it's like, it starts with a catalyst or inspiration for a particular era. Essentially, it comes down to a specific garment or a fabric, colors that I see in nature, or a movie character, and I want to recreate that, and then I have to make it. It's not necessarily one thing, but it's something new that I haven't done before because it is interesting trying to figure that out and learn from the process. Learning to do new stuff is fun and exciting, and challenging.
What are some things that get you going that you would consider as inspiration?
I have always been one to like to try and not follow trends. Like back in the myspace days, if you had a song in your profile and someone else was to copy you and put that song on their profile, it's like, "I'm off it, on to the next." It would be best if you kept moving, which is somewhat sad because someone will be using similar inspiration or trying to do a similar style as you, so you are trying to grow out of that. Still, I do pull a lot of inspiration from movies and music. Music and film are some of my main inspirations and have been. I also love the old print but trying to find things that people don't know about, just trying to dig. Even when it comes to music producers, they are always trying to record old samples that no one else has, so it's fresh. Nowadays, with the internet, anyone can look at old archival designers or find extra rare records from a particular era.
Because we are living in a time like that where everything is more accessible, how do you go about trying to find these new inspirations to help you.
You will always have your bag of tricks and your core inspiration that you pull from. But I guess trying to do them in different ways, seeing them in a different light, or even stepping outside the box and trying new things. Meditation has been good for me, and sometimes ideas come by stillness. You're just sitting there blank, and things pop up in your mind. I didn't have to work; it just came in because I allowed the space to be there.
You do more of 1 of 1's than designing a complete collection, which seems like it's much of a collaboration. What challenges do you face when working with a consumer to create a 1 or 1?
Well, for my brand (oddinary. studios), they are only one of one because I haven't done an entire production run yet.
What aspects of the fashion industry would you like to change if you could?
It's so vast; there are so many elements to the industry, and many people are in survival mode. Trying to have enough money to buy food to feed their kids living in the projects of a 3rd world province that is sewing fast fashion on a whole other level than here. But like for me, who's not in another country trying to survive like that, I would say it would be an environmental issue. Not so much a human resource issue, but it's all intertwined, and part of my train of thought is to have everything be done in this country locally to have it more closed-loop on a socioeconomic level. I don't want to contribute to what i consider modern slavery. Which Is a prominent corporate structure, I guess, for lack of a better term, just taking advantage of 3rd world workers.
That's something I would like to see changed as well, but that comes with a cost, and I believe it's important to educate consumers on what it would take on designers having to make their products here in the U.S. Let's take denim for example, some of the best denim came from the U.S.
It still is today; L.A. is reputed as the denim place.
When people see the final cost of these products is where the problem lies, you know.
I'm not trying to point fingers at guys like Phil Knight; however, it comes to the consumer. People still want that $15 spandex top but get pissed off that it only lasts a couple of wears because the seams pop or the fabric is shit. I'd like to say, "Invest in a product that's more expensive," but it's like, does the consumer know what a quality product is, do they know seaming and stitch types and what thread is not going to break.
I think it's more important for brands and publications to educate consumers on the importance of fabrics that they are using and why it costs how much it costs. So many people(even in the industry) don't understand how garments are made, but it's like, when will they get it?
How do you reason your pricing for a consumer when designing your pieces?
It's tough because my pricing right now is what I would like to charge for retail if i did a production run. Even when I price higher than that because it is a sample, which took several hours to make from start to finish, I work in-house with my long-time sample sewer and me.
Pay him a fair wage, and it's not like we're rushing. It's done well, and it might cost 1/2 to 3/4 of that to make it on top of material cost and my time in cutting and finishing. So I am not profiting that much, and that's fine. There are standard multiplication tables for the cost of materials and construction time, and I'm still learning what works for me. I try to compare my pieces with other designers I look up to and try to come in at a similar price bracket, which can be tricky because they have been doing it for far longer than I have. There were probably about three dope stores in Seattle, and I would go in there and look at every seam, pick apart the button-up shirts and jackets, and look at how they were sewn and crafted and be like, "this is what I am trying to emulate." I didn't release my denim jacket for five years because I didn't have the proper machines to do a specific seam. And I was like, "I don't want to put my pieces out there with a five-thread overlock on it and think it's all good." The Japanese market will see this and be like, "um, this is not up to par with classic Levi's or whatever other dope denim brand." No half stepping.
I think it's vital that you take the time to pay attention to detail like this in your designs. You've mentioned finding the right buyers and stores; what does that look like for you?
It's difficult for me because it should be like a Dover Street Market type or a similar store. But I haven't been doing my homework in the retail market that much like sure. The Dover street market is incredible, and there are online retailers like SSENSE and Mr. Porter, Union L.A, and departmento. They are also dope. There are a bunch of good stores, and I want to be in stores that would genuinely like what I am doing and could see my brand on their shelves and believe in it. And that comes back to personal relationships. If they think I'm dope and they know that all of these are made in a DTLA studio, with deadstock fabric, and this jacket took five years to develop, and little details like that. That's what people are going to cling to, besides the fact that they are made well, with unexpected little details that make it that much more exciting and functional. I want to be surrounded by people that would actually covet the work and not just buy it because it's cool, which is a thing too. For example, I've been watching Engineered Garments for 10-12 years because they were one of the first brands I saw with modernized vintage American WW2 garments and Japanese textile, which is a huge vibe to me.
I think you've named four stores that I can see your pieces sold in, especially a site like M.R.PORTER, especially their importance on the brands they sell. Even Union Los Angeles, so I will put that out there in the universe for you.
Thank you. With time, too, I have not been trying to rush anything. There's always been some pressure to make it before 30, and I just turned 30 at the end of March, but I'd instead be not popping when I'm 30 but popping later in life if that means I'm going to have more longevity. So I don't think it's necessary if and then, but more like, gotta stay true to myself and keep moving forward.
Let's talk about your bucket hats; give us insight into your signature style on these bucket hats.
oddinary bucket hat - Photo by Riley Polanski
On the outside is my label, a little double box logo; that is my un-branding branding, which I'm pleased that I developed back when I was in school for my "final line," called "oddinary" back in 2012. Yes, I realize K-pop stray kids who just dropped their E.P. called Oddinary is also a thing right now, but it's all good; I just had to acknowledge them. I am pretty anti-fashion fashion and anti-branding branding. I love fashion and hope to afford it someday. That's also been one of my motivators. Back in the day (ten years ago), going to Totokaelo or Jackstraw in Seattle, which used to carry Engineered Garments, and be like, "ok, dope, i can do this" after looking at all the seams and getting that inspiration and motivation and then going back into the studio and trying to emulate that……
In the '90s, it was such a heavy branding era; I remember my sister being like, "that's super corny," and that's mainstream. And even then, her being like, "that's not cool," stuck with me. So even though in my younger years, I had to fight the urge to not put a big ODDINARY on something, even though i was like," i came up with this name intentionally because it's such a cool name. I'd love to plaster it on sweatshirts and hats, but I must not do it that way; it's too easy. The name itself can be interpreted for whatever people think it is. "I don't like to define it, and I refuse to. And that is also good design, creating some shape and having people be like, "that is that brand."
I came out with these styles initially; shoutouts to my buddy Jeffery, who runs the brand 'And Austin', he gave me the remnants of this fabric for this brown bucket hat, and it's all waterproof Japanese nylon Japanese corduroy. The black colorway is made from Pendleton knitting mill wool flannel, an Oregon-based mill specializing in wool. The blue colorway is made from American military wool and corduroy from American mill Galey and Lord. The purple one is kind of like some shit i found that i thought was fire, some purple corduroy that i found at this one fashion store in L.A. had all of these remnant fabrics that you have to get while it's there. The side ties coming down are strictly for function because I would wear the bucket hats While whipping the Razor scooter in Seattle. After all, I lived close to my studio and work and would scooter everywhere in a trench coat and bucket hat. After all, it was raining all the time, but my hat would fly off because I'm going pretty fast, so I could tie this shit to my chin. It doesn't rain in L.A., but it's an ode to Seattle. It's lined on the inside to clean up everything because I didn't want to expose the seams, and I thought it would look a little nicer.
I love the tags, by the way. I love a label that's capable of telling a story. It's sticking true to your craft and your beliefs regarding environmental awareness.
Thank you. Yeah, a functional product is a good design to me; if it's not functional, it's not usable, it's not usable or wearable, why is it even a thing?! That's poor design. I pull from many design schools; I think Scandinavian and Danish are known for their ergonomics, like furniture and minimalism, which I believe in. The function is essential, it has to be aesthetically pleasing and beautiful, and that's why we dress up because we want to feel and look beautiful, and it has to perform. So my label on the inside that you're talking about, i want to let people know that if you wear this and have it for a long time, then great; if not, make sure it goes into the hands of people that will treat it with respect and love it as much as you did when you first got it. And if not, then send it back to the company, and we will give you some per diem or some kind of kudos that still need to be figured out, or we will fix or tailor it or repair it(not for free). I believe in restoring something to give it more life.
Share a quote or a saying with our readers that inspires you daily.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. - Albert Einstein. And that, to me, is about being able to come up with creative solutions. The most extraordinary people in the world are who I believe to be the most clever people. Although finessing is often used as a negative connotation. I'm always impressed by the people who can talk their way out of any situation. They're strong problem solvers and creative thinkers. Good designers are people who repurpose things in really creative ways. And to bring the interview back full circle, Hip Hop, in general, consisted of people taking nothing and making it something beautiful. It was repurposing a turntable to scratch a record or using trains as a billboard before bringing that art/ messaging into a gallery and making it high art. Creating creative solutions is a skill, and it takes a lot of time to perfect it unless you're born with it. Even then, it has to be refined.