Boris Chang Jr. fills us in on how he got his start, his take on fashion trends, Charlize Theron and ...the Gucci runway show?
I got my start in apparel just because my mother was in the industry and the excitement of urban fashion and hanging out with hot supermodels gave me the juice I needed to translate my graphic background into something more tangible and interactive with daily life. Ok, I wanted to make cool stuff people wear!
I started off interning at Triple 5 Soul and would later do some freelance for companies such as A|X, Sean John, Live Mechanics, Nike, and smaller upcoming underground companies (just to name drop wink wink*). I'm a full time apparel graphics designer for Puma Int'l, in North America, which would answer "why would you move from NYC to Boston?"
To get paid! ...And to gain a new perspective and skill set in a growing sportswear industry that transcends what a lot of smaller more urban/lifestyle companies are capable of doing. There are its perks and its limitations for working for a large corporation (as I'm sure all of you in the industry know) but for the most part you get a better perspective of how a well established infrastructure works, and how a company with a long heritage has evolved its product, consumer base, and overall marketing strategies to keep up in today's fashion forward role. One key thing that's nice is the sports/lifestyle element that keeps us from being a "streetwear" or high fashion company. We pay attention to performance and function while taking our inspirations from all other niches to create desirable (or try to) merchandise.
So what's hot in fashion? You see the Gucci Runway show?! Classic! It seems like everyone one wants to start a tshirt company or label these days. For a while Ive seen high fashion designers take inspiration from the underground fashion movement! The irony! You go to the major fashion cities of the world and you will find that what defines fashion isn't so much what's on runway, but how the savvy/trendies mix and match vintage, what they have already own, and spice it up with something they found on sale at H&M. That's what keeps the trend cycle moving, the designer's inspired, and style constantly redefined. But the high waisted denim has to go. It looked good on mom by chance, but that's because she didn't have a choice.
And what can I say about fashion in general?! It's the gift and the curse? A cut-throat industry of designers, salespeople, marketers,
merchandisers, colorers (is that a word?), and pretentious individuals somehow allows me to say there's nothing I'd rather be married to! Except Charlize Theron. She's hot.
About Boris Chang Jr.: Boris is a native New Yorker. He graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2005 with a BFA in Graphic Design. He is currently a Apparel Graphics Designer for Puma International and is working on his website iheartboris.com.