The Designer Series: Luis Velez (Part 1)
5 min read | The Designer Series | A.M.
Interview with fashion designer Luis Velez
founder of streetwear label Guillermo Bravo
based in Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA
Story by A.M.
Luis, pictured left, working in his shared atelier space in Capitol Hill, March 2020.
Luis Velez is the founder and creative director of streetwear label Guillermo Bravo based in Seattle. The brand began with footwear and quickly evolved into separates that explore a genderless reimagining of contemporary daywear. Much of the creative approach could be summarized as applying intentional design to utilitarian needs with an artisan’s eye and a craftsperson’s touch. That this can be accomplished at scale is all the more impressive.
Our interview with Luis took place April 4th, 2020 and reflects much of the uncertainty surrounding the complete shutdown of the international fashion supply chain at the time. While manufacturing has since resumed, many touchpoints throughout had remained affected by numerous factors with no real end in sight.
“Just navigating these wild changes. Still waiting for factories to open up in LA so we can get some dates lined up to visit and then produce the upcoming apparel collection. As for the footwear, it’s going to take a little bit longer. What Italy has had to deal with is so much different than most of the world, and the [coronavirus] curve isn’t going away anytime soon. So for that, we’ll just kind of be on pause until we can develop the latest sneaker that we have on deck. The developers have had it for a while, but they acquired it just when the coronavirus hit, so we just have to wait and hopefully get back to it as soon as possible. And outside of that, we’re just rerouting the plan for all things apparel and footwear, as much of the industry is doing right now. I mean, it’s a very, very different world now. But I feel like our spirits and health are definitely right where they should be. And I think it’s something I’ve always been able to have throughout my life, really. I’m definitely very motivated and always positive in that sense. I would say entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. You really have to be able to navigate and pivot, then rethink and pivot again.”
Images from The April Issue featuring Guillermo Bravo Mixed Metals Capsule Collection.
Luis’ family immigrated to the United States when he was a child. What little he recalls about his former home in Columbia now resounds with the echoes of the nation’s notorious Medellín Cartel. The path to citizenship was long and difficult, as his family had yet to communicate in English when they arrived in Florida. While his older sister quickly mastered the language, it would take Luis time to come into his own and develop his sense of self and purpose. But through it all, fashion was a universal language that Luis immediately understood and began put into practice.
“I think fashion, for me, started when I lived in Miami, being an immigrant and traversing the realms of not feeling very comfortable or confident in own skin. I started to see and feel—though I didn’t conceptualize it at the time—that fashion allowed me to feel a lot more comfortable. And I quickly became obsessed with going to thrift stores trying to find really interesting pieces that further gave me that level of expression. And I think what started to shape me more as an individual was playing basketball in eighth grade, and being obsessed with that gave me a huge interest in sneakers. So I was always like the best-dressed kid in high school. But part of my upbringing, being an immigrant and having parents that didn’t really dominate the language, was that their efforts were more focused on finding us a good home and keeping us fed. And so I didn’t really explore much scholastically. I wasn’t the best student, but I was always artistic and athletic. I never really thought of fashion as a job. I never knew anybody that was a fashion designer or someone I could be mentored by in that sense.”
Luis on a walk outside his studio, March 2020.
Luis went on from fashion and athletics to pursue higher education. His focus was English and Spanish, and he obtained his Bachelor’s in creative writing. From there, he enrolled in music classes, studying guitar, piano, and voice, then pursuing a career in music. But Luis never abandoned his love for fashion which began in thrift stores and evolved on the basketball courts of his youth.
“There’s a ton of nostalgia there for sure. That’s where my heroes—or my first idea of a hero—really was for me. Basketball players like Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone. They were all icons for me. As a kid who spent ten hours a day playing basketball, that was a very powerful connection. And the only way I could even get close to them was through sneakers. And it was those sneakers that took athletic footwear from a performance aspect to a lifestyle aspect. The Air Jordan 1 is the holy grail; it’s what really brought sneakers to a realm that’s now seen in America’s offices. And there’s also the comfort in sneakers. The design is really powerful because you’re in an industrial design realm, and it’s such a tremendous effort for so many people. You have to work with multiple factories. You have to meet your minimums, unlike some apparel. And that challenge is also really exciting. And there’s also that connection to people I really admire in the music community with Hip-Hop, R&B, Soul, and all the athletes as well that come with that. It’s super powerful to me. I think it’s at the core of who I am as a person.”
“I never really thought of fashion as a job. I never knew anybody that was a fashion designer or someone I could be mentored by in that sense.”
Editor’s note: This interview appeared in The July Issue and a portion is reprinted here. Links provided for further reading. We do not make a commission.
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