Fashion for men at work
With his Kooth Brand, Shayne Salinas shows blue collar can be tough yet fashionable
Being called a “fashion designer” seems strange to Shayne Salinas.
He doesn’t see himself that way really, even though he launched his Kooth Brand menswear line in 2014, and he designs and sews nearly every piece of himself. Salinas’ collection is geared toward the bluecollar man — the guy who toils in a chemical plant and wears heavy-duty protective clothing, steeltoe boots and a hard hat.
“I design workwear. I didn’t create it to be a fashion brand,” says Salinas, 30, one of Houston’s hottest emerging designers.
In April, his Kooth Brand was featured in Houston First’s Launch boutique, which showcases emerging fashion and accessory designers. His collection sells online at koothbrand.com and at RR/HR Customs Coffee & Supply, 5906 Canal.
His short-sleeved shirts sell for $70; longsleeved are $90. He also sells work gloves, bags and hats.
Salinas was born and raised in Brazoria, a town of about 3,000 with only 125 students in his graduating class. Life in a small town didn’t lend itself to a career in fashion, particularly when the majority of residents worked in chemical plants in the Freeport area, he said.
Everyone in the town knew his name, along with those of his two brothers. They were raised by their mother, Paula Jacobsen. His grandparents, Peanut and Grandy Jacobsen, own Brevard Construction Co., where Salinas works by day as the human resources manager.
As a boy, Salinas took up tennis and played competitively through high school, although fashion was always in his thoughts. He learned to sew in a home economics class; his first project was a quilt made from duckprint fabric.
After graduating, Salinas enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.
He knew nothing about high fashion when he got there. He didn’t know designers’ names — he had never paid much attention to fashion magazines. He wanted to design men’s workwear.
“At the time, the school was focused on high-end couture and women’s wear,” Salinas said. “It was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. There was so much draping we had to do and designing evening gowns. I didn’t feel like the skills I was learning there would help me with what I wanted to do.”
While in fashion school, Salinas and his roommate founded Sovereignty LA, a men’s streetwear line with hoodies and T-shirts; they even showcased the line at a fashion trade show in Las Vegas. Their business relationship eventually soured, and Salinas returned to Houston in 2010 to marry longtime girlfriend Andi. They have a 3-year-old son, Tino.
In Houston, Salinas turned his focus to creating his own collection. Kooth Brand is derived from the word “couth,” meaning cultured and refined.
“I wanted to create something that served a purpose,” he said. “I realized that many of the men I knew wore the same stuff. There was nothing fashionable about what they wore in a chemical plant, and much of it was so cheaply made.”
Salinas says his clothes, although stylish, have a purpose and are made with heavier fabrics (for safety concerns), larger buttons, longer back hems (so as not show off the derrière when bending over) and reinforced seams to meet the rugged demands of plant life. He sews much of the collection using vintage 1960s sewing machines, which can handle the heavier fabrics, he said.
As his brand becomes more popular, Salinas plans to expand the line to offer fashion menswear, not just workwear.
“I never thought I’d be doing fashion shows, but I’m doing them. It’s pretty amazing.”