A touch of class with Alex of HOMEROOM

We got a chopped it up with Alex of HOMEROOM. He broke down the balance between graphics and cut & sew with a worldly eye.


(hard at work as usual)

You have a strong tailoring back ground on your mothers side of the familly having a generational occupancy in the garment business. Did
you always know that this is what you were going to do?

Growing up I wanted to make money, that was about it. We were so broke. All I ever cared about was having a room that I didn’t have to share with someone. I had fantasies of being a WWF wrestler or a Jet Pilot. In High School I went and took the ASVAB test (which determines your job qualification in the military). My score was high enough to be accepted into the wings program, but unfortunately I didn’t pass my eye exam. So, I went the college route and got a double degree in Finance and Marketing. Through out all this I was always designing and making my own clothes. I never thought of having my own brand. One day the opportunity fell into my lap and homeroom began.

What did your mother do in the garment business?

Mom’s is a “G”. She did everything. A full fledge designer: from illustrations, to pattern making to sewing. She has a great eye for color and always pushed me to be brighter and take more risks. She always said “the world has enough darkness”.

Did you learn from family prodominently of did you take on any formal tautlage?

I don’t feel like I learned formally. From what my mom tells me I used to try to draw clothes onto my stuffed animals with markers, cut off the sleeves on my jackets, and practice threading needles at age 3. Which I guess leads to where im at. So, its been a natural progression I would say. Haha

What do your father do for Adobe, and how nice is he graphically?

My dad worked on the Adobe team from 1996-2000. He was one of the programmers on the Adobe photoshop teams. Graphically he’s a “G” too. His work is amazing in my opinion

Does he ever give you any tips and tricks?

I got Photoshop when I was 12. I started playing with photoshop everyday like it was a video game. I made all my class report’s and presentations on it. I was the only kid in school that knew how to ess with PS. Everyone would hit me up for album, covers and fliers. 8 years later pops was going through my room trying to find shoes that I had borrowed and ran upon my graphic folder. He had no idea that I had been playing with photoshop for 8 years. After that time, he has showed me a million and one things to do with Photoshop. Illustrator though I have learned on my own.

What do you think is more important for a line strong cut and sew or
strong graphics?

Cut and sewn all day. I think that’s a lost art. It near impossible to learn the techniques of sewing now. With graphics any body with dedication and a computer can pick it up. It’s an art the now mostly exists over seas and not in America.

What part of Europe were you born in and what other parts did you
live at?

I was born in Ukraine, I lived in Vienna, Austria, then we moved to Roma and Milano, Italy.

What prompted you to move so much through out EU?

It was a number of things. One of the reasons was my mom Jumping from job to job.

At what age did you move to Brooklyn and how much was it different
from living in EU?

Brooklyn was a SHIT HOLE to me when I first moved. A shit hole that I came to love. I went from playing soccer at 2am in the streets to being home right after school. I went from farmers markets to bodegas, un supervised to supervised, black sand beaches to Manhattan beach, gelato to frozen pops, smiles to frowns, Italian to English, playing sports to watching TV. I had a hard time adjusting. I thought Americans were missing out. Still do.

How would you measure up living in San Francisco to the other spots
that you have been to?

San Francisco for me is the best place to draw creativity from. New York is the best place to get business done and LA is a mix of those. Europe is on the other side of the spectrum in regards to everything.

What sports do you play/ love to watch?

I ride track bikes, snowboard, skate and play soccer. My favorite thing to watch is the Warriors at the Oakland coliseum. Live B-ball is the best

How would you describe your personal taste level and what is the tale
that you wish to tell when you get dressed?

Im all over the place, I dress like my mood. I like to mix and match with textiles. Gauze like loose weaved cottons with nylons; layers. That’s what I’m tasting right now.

Where did you come up with the name HOMEROOM

?
There’s a deep meaning to that, one day I’ll reveal it.

When did you know that you had something worth building upon with
the line?

The day I made a 21 jumpstreet hoodie. The first day I wore it, I was stopped everywhere I went. That day I got stopped by a stylist that gave me my first styling job and a scout for complex magazine. Right there and then I stopped focusing on my financial career and started focusing on what I love to do.

What do you think will be the next evolutionary step of the market as
we see it?

We live in the post-post modern time. Everything shall be reborn again until we come up with a new technology. We are only as creative as our tools let us be.

Drop a jewel for the designer that wants to get a good down and dirty
crash course on garment construction?

The best advise I can give is a story.

Picasso.

A woman was working at a café and saw Picasso come in. She runs up to him and says I love your work, I have been following you for years, and can u please draw something for me.

He says sure no problem. He takes 10 seconds to draw on the napkin, gives the napkin back and says that will be 5000 dollars.

She say’s 5000 dollars? For what? That only took you a second to draw!

Picasso snatches the napkin back and says, “That did not take me seconds to draw…That took me my entire life.”


(peep the HOMEROOM X MIGHTY HEALTHY piece int the back)

tell a friend 2 tell a friend so we can BUILD!!!