A Laredoan native has taken a big step in their fashion career as their work is being featured in a Famous Footwear fashion campaign thanks to a partnership with their university and British shoe and clothing brand Dr. Martens.
Jude Hinojosa is a designer and artist originally from the Laredo area. Hinojosa recently had the opportunity to showcase their designs in Dr. Martens. This allowed them to take their designs and careers to a new level as they completed their master’s program at Central Saint Martins in London.
Hinojosa was one of five students chosen for the opportunity.
As a native of the Gateway City, Hinojosa has explored their culture and taste in music in an effort to create several trendy clothing items that have given them an opportunity to make their clothing international. The models featured in the campaign are based on their memories of summer vacations they had with their family while in Texas and the Laredo area.
Hinojosa’s fashion designs also focus on creating non-binary clothes from refurbished men’s clothing sourced from charity shops, giving clothes a second chance and a new chance to be worn. Recycling means using old or vintage clothing and transforming it into something that is better than its original design.
Central Saint Martins’ fashion program is internationally renowned for its creativity, innovative and independent teaching and network of fashion insiders. Its graduates have shaped the global fashion industry, from household names such as Alexander McQueen, Kim Jones and Stella McCartney, to changemakers such as Grace Wales Bonner, Nancy Dojaka, Craig Green and Phoebe Philo.
“My revamped menswear comes from a non-binary perspective,” Hinojosa said. “I’m non-binary. I always have been. But for most of my life, I had to live a cis male lifestyle. It wasn’t my truth, but as I did my best to be a part of a world I couldn’t relate to by heart, I witnessed the softer side of masculinity – the sensitivity as well as the lack of expression.”
Hinojosa said these emotions found while trying to discover themselves offered new options in menswear by taking pre-existing “masculine” garments and shaping them into emotional yet recognizable pieces. According to Hinojosa, the clothing is meant to serve as a choice or even a source of inspiration for people who want to represent their truest style to themselves.
“Working for Dr. Martens was a great experience,” Hinojosa said. “They allowed me to express my creativity in menswear as I see it and gave me an opportunity to partner my look with such an iconic shoe brand. I woke up to an email with the news. While that may sound a little anticlimactic, it meant the world to me!”
Hinojosa said the partnership with the international fashion design company will ultimately help them be more successful in their careers as they pursue their master’s degrees. They said that one of the best things about being given the opportunity was the fact that such a big brand has allowed them to express themselves through clothing.
“Dr. Martens gave me an international platform to show my work and express myself as a designer,” said Hinojosa. “Their support will be something I will cherish and look back on as I continue to strengthen the foundations of my career. Expressing my creativity is essential.”
Hinojosa said their goal is to build a brand that is true to the ethos they live by. According to Hinojosa, these ethos are sustainability with recycling, expanding options in menswear and supporting work by non-binary, female and allied contributors.
“I intend to combine menswear and art together,” Hinojosa said. “Ultimately, I want to immerse myself in the world of fashion as a direct contributor with my ideas. I’m very open to seeing where life takes me, however, my focus is on designing my own experiences and offering them to whoever resonates with them.”
For the classic rock fan, Hinojosa said the music of the 1950s and 1960s was the source of inspiration for their fashion designs. They said songs like “The Twist” by Chubby Checker and “Baby Love” by the Supremes spark happy memories of summer vacations with their family.
“Music sparks emotions that I use in my process,” Hinojosa said. “While each work is influenced by different inspirations, the basis of my works is consistent: memory, emotion, self-expression.”
They said that all their memories are what they dig into when trying to create a new design. They also said that wearing clothes is also about making memories.
“For me, clothing is about memory,” Hinojosa said. “Wearing a physical piece that represents a moment in your life. Upcycling preserves what we cherish from the past and (can) be a part of us as we make new memories now and in the future.”
In addition to music, Hinojosa said the culture from their hometown of Laredo has also helped them structure some items as they feel memories represent the individual and help shape who the individual is and what they wear.
“I was born and raised in Laredo, where I had the privilege of experiencing a hybrid of American and Mexican traditions,” Hinojosa said. “It was my hometown where I first felt the joys of comic book stores, ropa usada warehouses, pinatas swinging from trees and the sounds of Matachines in December. When I visit, one of my favorite things to do is to walk downtown and visualize the past. Seeing myself as a child shopping with my parents. Thinking of those who walked these same streets a century ago and imagining what Laredo looked like through their eyes. It is my memories of the city that inspire what I do.”
Hinojosa said their main inspiration for their designs is to think of summer, as it always brings back memories of family vacations.
“We would all get in the car and turn on the radio while we were on the road,” Hinojosa said. “There would be a certain point where the station would go to static. This was our signal to leave the city limits. We would search for the 1950s/1960s rock ‘n’ roll station that the radio would pick up as we approached San Antonio. However, we would never remember where the station was on the radio, so we would go back and forth between loud noise and random music until we found it!
“We would always get excited because when we heard the music, we knew summer had officially started for us! For my look, I wanted to capture that memory with pieces that would move with the wearer and allow for vibrant bursts of color, whether while walking or dancing!”
For any individuals interested in purchasing the fashion clothing being created by Hinojosa, they are currently in the process of creating a collection that will be available for purchase sometime next year. They told people to keep an eye out for when their clothes become available for purchase.
Hinojosa and their fashion models can be followed through their Instagram account @jude_hino_josa.
