What is Vuota?
Vuota is a name I made in 6th grade, that sort of encompasses all the projects I do. It doesn’t really mean much in the literal sense, but it’s been my handle for so long that I’ve learned to love it.
What made you want to start creating?
I think going into it super young and naive kind of helped me ignore the stigma of how hard having a brand is, so yea, I just messed around and had fun and made whatever I wanted to.
What were you creating before you started Vuota?
I had a sneaker account fan page where I’d repost shoes I didn’t have and I’d also make bootleg designer clothes like box logos and, bape hoodies and stuff like that.
When making a piece, what is your thought process?
Just whatever I want to wear or what I want to see my girlfriend wearing. That makes me the happiest.
Do you ever think about how much someone might find one of your pieces offensive or shocking?
Shock is never the objective.
Who are your biggest inspirations that influence your designs?
In chronological order I’d say, Warren Lotas when I first started, then Liam Yori (dasyori) then Vivienne Westwood, now these days it’s just mostly like old 90s screamo bands.
What is your target audience? What do you imagine someone wearing your stuff to look like?
People like my girlfriend, or my friend Gaspard, their style is very eclectic, lots of little pieces of inspiration pulled from lots of different worlds.
How big do you want or expect Vuota to become?
I’d like to become super big hahah, but I don’t ever want to compromise any personal morals of mine.
Do you want to do runway shows? If so, any ideas?
Absolutely, that’s definitely a dream of mine, but I have to refrain myself from doing a janky one on a low budget, cause, the worst thing to me is when someone does a super under budgeted runway hahaha.
How important is quality to you?
Quality is definitely super important to me, I love being able to have something forever. I’ve been wearing a silver Vuota belt, just about every day for the past 9 months and it still looks awesome.
How do you feel about manufacturing your pieces?
It’s definitely hard to put the production of my pieces into someone else’s control as I am quite the control freak, but as long as everything I’m shipping out is perfect I’m fine with manufacturing.
Is there anything about your brand that you liked when you first started it but now don’t?
Uhhhhhh, when I first started I was like sharpie-ing on jeans like top to bottom. I probably wouldn’t do that again.
Why do you keep going?
I love doing all of it so much, if any of it was a chore I’d stop immediately, that’s why it can’t start becoming about money, because once you leave that kind of childish playful state of creating, and start thinking about what’s gonna make you more money, you start sucking.