What do Wolf Pack, Kanye, Wale & Lupe Fiasco all have in common? They all have Homeroom in their closet. We got in touch with the multi-talented Alval, the founder & creative director of Homeroom Clothing to get his insight on coming up in the street wear/fashion industry, the rumored Homeroom X Nike collaboration & and what’s next from Homeroom.
Name / Alias:
Alex Valdman / ALVAL, Its easy to get once u know my first and last name.
What do you do?
Vagabond hustler / Creative Director of HomeRoom / freelance of fine men’s wear.
How/Why was Homeroom formed?
I grew up in a family of designers. My Grandfather was a famous tailor in the old country and my mother had worked for numerous french fashion houses. I was always around fashion, design, clothes, shoes, fabrics, patterns, etc. I picked up sewing at an early age. I remember my clothes always being home made until I got into middle school and wanted to wear Starter jackets and Jordan’s.
In College, I was making my own hoodies. Literally the first day I wore my hoodie, I got stopped by a dozen people and got a lot of comments. I was in disbelief. I felt that I was onto something bigger then I realized. The second day I wore it I got stopped by an editor of a major men’s magazine randomly on Haight Street and she inquired who made it. I didn’t have a company name nor ever thought about going into fashion. I went to the drawing board and reevaluated my degree that I was working towards and where my true passion was. It was a tough decision. I hit up my brother Niko Villamor and the rest is history.
How did you come up with the Homeroom name? What does it signify?
I always felt like you have to educate yourself and observe as your environment in order to change. Otherwise you don’t really know were you stand. Just as you sat with the same people for 4 years in high school and observed in HomeRoom on how things changed. Never stop working on yourself. I put it into play, as we evolve and slowly push the limits of what people are used to. Its all about making it easy.
Your brand is fairly well knit into trendsetters (Lupe, Kanye, Wolf Pack, Niko) – what do you attribute this too?
I don’t really know? I guess they just like it. HomeRoom sits comfortably mixing the cool and easy aspect with bold attitude. I’m very happy to connect with the HomeRoom fans and hope to get to know all of them.
The rumor is, Homeroom has a collaboration with Nike coming out soon… can we get some details?
I went down to the Nike campus in Beaverton and hung out for 3 days. Its like an all star team of designers at Nike, the best of the best. It was a great experience, it humbled me and got me motivated to set goals higher and come to terms with present day obstacles. I learned obstacles take lots of time to overcome and being far younger then most people in this industry I have some time. So, I shouldn’t be so hard on myself.
No comment as far as the collaboration.
What advice would you give to other people trying to build their own streetwear brand?
Get investment or come from a rich family if you don’t have a following already.
I never had any funding nor a rich family. Its been the hardest 3 years of my life. Don’t get me wrong though, I’ve learned more then I did getting my degree, I met people that have impacted my life, and have been blessed to see the world.
Has the recession affected Homeroom at all?
Oh yeaaaaaa! I make the product, send it to a store, consumers don’t shop, store goes out of business, I’m owed. It’s a nightmare dealing with people that owe you money. Especially when that money is supposed to be used for production and feeding yourself. At the end of the day whether you’re the designer of the year, on magazine covers, popping bottles, genius, a humble guy you’re a hustler.
What other things do you have going on?
I don’t want to say what hasn’t happened yet. I did that before with our HomeRoom store, and once the economy took a down slope our store plans vanished. That made me into a liar.
I will say that I am focusing on Le Homme – Room. Its the brand name that we use for pushing out house made garments. The designs are contemporary.
What can we expect from Alex Valdman & Homeroom in the future?
I’m growing up, and I want to challenge the establishment of “what’s cool”. Jeans and a white tee became cool because, business suits were the norm. Now white tees and jeans are the norm. I might start making suits. Let’s see where 2009 takes us all.
Check out:
Homeroom gear at homeroomstore.com
The homeroom blog at homeroomclothing.com
