Do you feel you've taken risks with your designs? How so?
The whole reason I wanted to start my own brand was to be able to design and produce products that are risky and fashion-forward. I've come up with designs for a lot of apparel & accessories, but since I didn't have a lot of capital to start with, I had to start with one product. So I chose caps. In my cap designs I use uncommon patterns, colors, and different textured materials. Some I designed to appeal to the masses, and some I designed for the fashion forward risk takers - i.e. brown leather with pink floral underbill. My caps even come in their own boxes which is pretty uncommon as well.
One of your biggest principles is balance. Could you tell us a little bit about what you mean by that and how you incorporated that into your cap designs?
In life, we sometimes focus too much on one aspect and let others fall to the wayside. Relationships with my loved ones, my faith, and my career are huge aspects of my life. So I remind myself to "keep it balanced" and make time for everything important to me. Because without any one of those aspects, I think it would make my life pretty meaningless. As far as incorporating "balance" into my cap designs goes - I decided to NOT make my logo the focus of the cap. I wanted every part of the cap to work together and have the entire cap be the focus. For months I slept in all kinds of different materials, mixing and matching them to see how well the different textures, patterns, and colors looked together to ultimately find combinations that i believe to be very balanced all around.
Ultimately, where do you see your brand headed in the next few years? What other types of apparel and accessories are you looking to delve into?
In the next couple years, as with all businesses, I hope to expand and grow. More importantly though, I hope to create a good brand following based on the quality and uniqueness of my products. There are a lot of things in the fashion world I would love to put my spin on, but I know it will take time to be able to do everything I want to. It's funny because when I design I don't stick to just one type of anything. For instance, the clothing I've designed so far range from t-shirts (not graphic t's) to high-end jackets/coats. There are other men's accessories I'm working on as well. I have a lot of ideas for a bag line but that's a whole 'nother ball game. Admittedly, I'm not that great at designing stuff for women yet, but I'm learning. Overall, I see my brand becoming even more "street-chique/classy" than it is now. I'm maturing as a designer and I think my brand will ultimately do the same.
Ok last point. If you had to give one piece of advice to guys looking to improve their fashion sense and style, what would it be?
Be open-minded. Don't be scared to step outside of your fashion comfort zone. You never know if a look will work for you if you never try.
For more info on Nicolas Martin or to check or his designs, go to www.nicolasmartin.us or head over to the Nicolas Martin facebook page and become a fan.
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