Video by: Enyo Okeoma

Don’t.

“Do not wear this.” The insecurities ring inside your head after you dare to step out of your comfort zone. Trying on a new outfit for the first time is definitely a large step in your fashion life. For some, there are many insecurities, with trying something new…

Do I look weird? Will people judge me for what I’m wearing? Is there something odd about this outfit?

Although these insecurities are a reality for some students, they are not the case for Antonio Hernandez Clipperton ‘17 who’s not afraid to step out and wear something out of the trends.

What do you like about fashion?

Antonio: I just like to look nice because I guess it kind of shows character and it shows how you are as a person. For fashion I just like try not to follow trends and like yes I would look at stuff  and see what I like but um, I don’t think you should follow trends because it’s something that goes away and it’s not something that ever sticks. So like for fashion, I would like to stay with something that are going to be good and just get inspiration like from what I see

Is fashion a big part of your life?

Antonio: I would say most definitely because, I don’t know I think it’s funny actually because I like to go and look at a bunch of different kinds of fashion on stuff like Instagram. I know like a lot of my favorite designers and stuff. Um, there’s like these icons I know that are like super great like I don’t know I just get inspiration from them and kind of like follow what they say because I believe in a lot of what they say and I think fashion just kind of shows a lot about like how you represent yourself and it can be a good sign of your character.

How long have you been into fashion?

Antonio: I don’t know. I think i’ve always liked it because I always like how people were able to express themselves with it and how different things were able to come out of fashion and stuff and I just think that it created opportunity for people to really express themselves

How would you describe your style?

Antonio:  I don’t really like to wear stuff that are nicer but I do like to add more street style stuff but I don’t really like to have it very nice. I don’t ever wear baggy clothes just because I don’t think that that looks good on people, or, good on me at least because I think it looks very lazy and like your not keeping yourself together but I just like to have things very nice. I wouldn’t ever fret or get worried over one or two things, like style for example. I like having simple colors but I do like to add accessories because I think that, whatever you have, really needs to be together and not just be like oh you have one good outfit and like the stuff your wearing with it doesn’t go with it. I think your outfit needs to be very together and needs to be very fluent and just be very concise.

Is there a specific look you try to go for?

Antonio: I don’t know I never stay with anything specific but I just know that I like to look nice. I don’t ever want to look bad or anything I like to look like I took the time to get ready but I always want to make it so it doesn’t look like I put too much effort into it because I think that’s something really important about fashion.  I think it needs to be very relax with what you’re wearing, and you need to have like a lot of fun with whatever you’re wearing because if you don’t, it tends to be very stiff and like you don’t ever have the enjoyment of what you’re wearing. Whatever look I’m trying to portray, it needs to be one that I’m comfortable with and enjoy. I would say I tend to go more with something more nicer, and when I say nicer I mean like more stuff that you don’t wear casually. For example, collared shirts, or just clothes you don’t see on everybody else. I like to just stand out with that and make my style unique.

What are your favorite brands?

Antonio: So the brands that I like are definitely like some of them are women’s brands just because I like the artist that does it, so one of them is Carolina Herrera and she’s this Venezuelan designer and I think she sends a great message through all of her stuff and that’s actually where I got the idea to like never follow the trends and to always make sure you’re looking nice. I also like Oscar de la Renta because I have one of his colognes and I just think it’s really nice and I just thought the pose that he has is really nice. I think that those are more like for women brands but they also show that it’s important to have your appearance. Then I like Ovarian and Sons just because they’re more casual and stuff so like I combine the two aspects of them.

Do you also like stuff from Walmart and just combine them with other expensive clothing?

Antonio: So literally I have this thing where I never buy cheap clothes. Although it’s like how you portray it. It’s if you have confidence in what you’re wearing because no one ever knows the brand unless you wear it and like market it but it’s more important to wear clothes that don’t show the brand because then you’re just using yourself as a marketing tool. I like to have clothes that just represents me, not representing the brand. So that’s why I won’t ever, ever discriminate against anyone who has really good clothes from a cheap place. I know I would get clothes from H&M I would always look at appearance because I know that what a lot of good things are so I never have anything against like if you ever buy like cheap clothes or expensive clothes because I think that doesn’t really show because I don’t think money shows taste, I think it’s how you put the clothes together, that shows the taste

Do you think that it’s ridiculous how expensive stores sells the same exact thing that they sell in Walmart?

Antonio: So that’s something I hate with some fashion brands. I think it’s more like common brands like American Eagle and like Aeropostale and like those I absolutely personally hate. Those brands, just because they have their logo on everything and that’s something I absolutely don’t like. It’s like trying to wear the brand just to get a reputation and I don’t think that you should be wearing brands, or wearing clothes just to get the reputation. You should be making the reputation with the clothes that you are wearing, not with the brands that you have. So that’s why I like always try to avoid those kinds of brands,. I don’t care how much it costs, or how little it costs. I prefer to just have stuff that doesn’t have any logos. I don’t like having to have myself be marketed for the company.

Antonio: I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,  buying something for  two dollars because  at TJ-Maxx their one dollar shirts and  those are great because then you can use them and you can use other stuff to make them look nice, I think it’s honestly just how you represent yourself with it

Have you ever thought about going into fashion yourself?

Antonio: So that’s actually funny because what I want to do is public relations for a fashion industry or like a fashion house just because I really like it. I think it plays such a vital role in everything I do and I think I always try to put like oh how am I going to look good today like that’s one of the things I have in my mind just because I like to represent myself as someone who cares for themselves and doesn’t just come to school looking like I just woke up and I don’t think that’s a problem with anyone because who am I to judge somebody and say like I don’t like what they’re wearing like you will never hear me say oh I don’t like what that person is wearing.