September 2021

Slumping into the pleather sofa in my campus apartment, Alex Casaus attempts to make himself comfortable in the fake leather, a wholesome grin lights up his face when I ask him about his greatest accomplishments. His humble response: 

“I graduated high school, moved out, and have a job that I enjoy. I get to be creative and have an influence on what happens.” 

He talks of his job as a screen printer at Organ Mountain Outfitters. To many, screen printing is a debatable art form; but Alex enjoys the creative freedom he is granted while at the workshop. While he has been at Organ Mountain since May of 2021, he has, also began assisting in the retail and embroidery aspect of their clothing production. He has also recently begun a deeper dive into product development, even beginning to put his own insight into clothing design. With the support of Organ Mountain, he can get insight on his own clothing designs. 

Alex is also beginning his own clothing brand, paying a nostalgic homage to his childhood home, Stoney Brook in Las Cruces. Alex’s creative inspiration stems from watching skateboarding videos as a kid, then music videos. 

“Kanye West got me started into fashion. Watching him grow his own brand, inspired me to start my own.  I grew up liking his music and grew into his clothes. I really like the things he’s done are super interesting to me—clothing wise.”

Kanye West is infamous, both in music and fashion. His raps and runway show often gather people from both industries, and others to witness what he designs and produces. His personal (current) streetwear, minimalist style reflects in his wildly successful clothing and sneaker designs. His outspoken ideas are implemented at his shows, such as the Yeezy Season 3 performance which was both a listening party for his album and his collection with Adidas. His show implemented supposably 1,200 black models to showcase his design work (HuffPost). 

            Alex has a particular interest in blending knitwear, workwear, and streetwear. He’s recently begun the design process of a Carhartt inspired work jacket. Recently receiving the final tech pack for his design. Me not knowing what a tech pack is, he lights up at the opportunity to explain it to me. In essence, a tech pack is a blueprint for clothing manufacturers, and includes all the details such as fabric, sizing, and labeling. 

            “I put together a mood board, a set of pictures, for inspiration. From there, I get ideas from work, and then add my own details. I also take inspiration from other brands, such as Carhartt. I took their work jacket silhouette and put specific details that I like, put them on a piece of paper, and outsourced my tech pack from another website.” 

            He hopes to establish the Stoney Brook brand in the community, both in Las Cruces and online communities. Being one of many kids who grew up as technology and the internet boomed, he has been able to connect to others that are interested in clothing design and is able to share his progress with groups of online friends he has made. He looks forward to reaching communities across New Mexico and is even wanting to give back by sharing future proceeds with organizations that aid New Mexicans that need it.