Starting line
NEW NORMAN BRAND AIMS TO RESHAPE MEN’S FASHION
NORMAN — Middle America is not necessarily considered a fashion hub of the U.S., and menswear is even further behind the curve, but Norman resident Alejandro Vaca is hoping his men’s line will guide Oklahomans into the future.
Education and mass appeal are part of Vaca’s plan to introduce men and women across the state to his trendy touches.
Vaca is from Ecuador where stylish accessories and ensembles are part of the culture’s everyday attire for both sexes, Vaca said, but America’s growing “renaissance of makers” will help him grab the attention of even the machoest Oklahoma men.
“We’re focused on marketing to women who are choosing clothes and accessories for their husbands, spouses, fathers, or who are making suggestions about what looks good and what they like on a man,” Vaca said. “I grew up in a matriarchal community, one where the role of women and their contribution was respected, and that’s what we’re trying to do with our brand, to respect a woman’s contribution and to help reshape the typical macho man’s way of thinking about women and about fashion.”
Vaca, 35, is a fourth-generation fashion prodigy following his father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
“I used to sneak in as a kid and have the employees teach me how to use the machines before I was really old enough,” Vaca said. “I have a memory from when I was really young of being in this room that was filled with hundreds of rolls of leather and that smell, it has always felt homey to me.”
Vaca learned about exporting textiles from his great-grandfather, machinery from his grandfather and layout from his father who designed store and window displays in Milan and New York City. And after decades of working and studying fashion behind the scenes, Vaca and his brother, Fabricio, decided to turn their family’s legacy into a brand.
Vache Brothers, an international men’s fashion line, launched in 2015.
Vaca is designing and handcrafting leather cuffs, bags, wallets and hats in Norman, while his brother produces the company’s socks and other textile goods in Vaca’s hometown of Quito, Ecuador.
“We grew up providing services to other designers,” Vaca said, “but ever since we were little, we knew we wanted to have our own brand.” ‘The big goal’
Vache Brothers started small, focusing on men’s accessories like flat-billed hats featuring a wool “OK” embellishment, leather wallets etched with a map of Norman and yellow socks with a buffalo and lightning bolt design in Thunder blue and orange. These and other items are sold at Stash in Norman, DNA Galleries in Oklahoma City and at pop-up markets across the metro area, and the brothers aim to ramp up production and sales in 2018.
Vaca plans to travel to Europe and South America in search of textiles and purchase a new, industrial sewing machine that would allow him to bring some of the fabric production to Norman and begin the label’s expansion into men’s clothing.
Denim, coats, underwear and even cologne are on the designer’s radar.
“The big goal is to open a boutique here in Norman,” Vaca said in December. “I’m hoping to do that next year, but it could still be a couple years. We’ll see how things go.”
While some customers still are discovering the brothers’ brand, Vaca’s design work is wellknown to Normanites who frequent Stash, a
popular locally owned gift shop on Main Street.
Vaca has been impressing customers with the store’s unique window dressings, wall decor and ceiling displays since 2014. Dozens of paper butterflies, handcut by Vaca, cover the store’s back wall above a floating shadowbox containing a vibrant butterfly from Ecuador. White lanterns hanging at various levels coat the ceiling as Vaca describes the leg cramps that lingered after two days of work. A bright, red ribbon covers the exterior of the shop during the holidays — a fun but scary project for Vaca, who said the heights made him nervous when he was hanging the giant bow.
Stash owner Rebecca Bean praised Vaca’s attention to detail and taste-level.
“He knew Stash before we knew him,” Bean said. “He understood that it’s about the experience, not just the products. He got us.”
Vache Brothers wallets, socks and cuffs are on display in the shop, which specializes in fair trade, handmade gifts made in the U.S. Bean said Vaca’s designs are flying off the shelves.
When he’s not at Stash, Vaca works on the custom pieces from his Norman home and, occasionally, with a little help from the students and equipment at the University of Oklahoma’s Innovation Hub.
Vaca etches intricate designs into his leather goods using lasers in the Hub’s Fabrication Lab — a $45,000 investment that Vaca isn’t make, yet.
“The Hub exists to support entrepreneurs among the campus community and the Oklahoma community at large,” Fabrication Lab Director Brandt Smith said. “Our goal is not that he would continue using the Hub forever, but we want to help him get to point when he is successful and eventually can sustain without us.”
Community support, and a cozy small-town feel, are just part of the reason Vaca loves Norman and wants to launch his first store there.
“People here have been so welcoming and warm, and I want to contribute to that and to give back to the place that helped me start this,” Vaca said.
I have a memory from when I was really young of being in this room that was filled with hundreds of rolls of leather and that smell, it has always felt homey to me.” – ALEJANDRO VACA