Amor de Mi Barrio, an Interview with Fashion Designer Cesar Rodriguez aka “Imagine Threads”
Art by Imagine threads
Photography by Natalie Wheeler
Graphic Design by Corinne Ficarra
Interview by Lana Muhammad featured in Contagion Media Magazine Vol. 2
Cover of Contagion Media Magazine Vol. 2.Shirt & Skateboard by Imagine Threads, Modeling by Delila Ramos, Photography by Natalie Wheeler,
Cesar Rodriguez is the creator of Imagine Threads, a local clothing brand from Arizona. He has created A brand for everyone, with a distinct mix of styles from the streets, art influence, skate, and emo styles.
Cesar, Where are you from?
I’m from Tempe, Arizona- It’s actually a small city within Tempe called Guadalupe. I’m half Yaqui and Hispanic. So Yaqui is a Native tribe from Mexico, and they now have a little barrio in Guadalupe and Tucson
How does where you’re from influence your art?
I would say immensely since it’s street influenced. A lot of my recent releases have been throwbacks to how I was brought up on street art and graffiti and things like that. So i’ve tried to induce that being like my own look, but also a street look.
Why fashion as your medium?
I would say fashion has become an art medium for me because I have always been in love with fashion itself. When you grow up seeing fancy music videos and your favorite musicians rocking different outfits, you grow up wanting that, but at the same time you still want to represent your community, wherever you’re coming from. With my fashion and clothing line, I always try to be a part of the community and influx, whether that be giving away free t-shirts to kids or doing small community events, like giving out water.
Fashion is a big platform you can use, more so than painting a mural or something else that can be forgotten about. Fashion is something that goes on for years -- It’s a nostalgia thing. You’ll look back at that shirt and remember “oh that guy gave me a free shirt, he’s from the same community I am”. Being able to influence my community is something that is very important to me.
Modeling by Delila Ramos, Anna Vigil, and Valentina Zamudia, Photography by Natalie Wheeler, Fashion Designed by Imagine Threads
What is your message as an artist?
it was going to be a fashion line and I knew what it was going to be called. It started as just an interest, it was just for school. But then, the people around me (especially my grandmother who is always by my side) kept asking me, “why don’t you make this into a real thing?”
Having this project and already having the name in my head led to what you now know as “Imagine Threads.” “Threads” for example. My family was always saying “man, you got some nice threads” and I thought to myself, “huh, threads? So you’re imagining your own creations as threads?” It started off with just a couple people, and we designed different things, did some art shows.
And prior to that, had you already been sketching things out and designing?
Photography by Natalie Wheeler, Modeling by Cesar Rodriguez, Fashion Designs by Imagine Threads
I was actually doing graphic design on the side, doing it for small businesses that did things like T-shirts and stuff. So it was always something I did. I took a couple fashion classes in high school, but I really fell in love with it when I went to college and started experiencing different things. And because of the background with graphic design, I was able to incorporate this skill with the clothing and my brand.
And from this initial project, how much would you say you’ve grown?
Oh man, immensely. When you run your own business, no matter what it is, you’re gonna learn everyday. There’s a lot of things that you didn’t know you were going to have to face, especially along the lines of support. I would say, don’t expect a lot of support from people you might think will. And that’s a hard thing to learn for a lot of people. I know a lot of artists who expect a lot of support and they don’t get it, just because you’re not a big brand or a well known person and you’re not really in the limelight like that. So I would say just have faith in yourself and don’t expect others to build you up, build yourself up and continue to inspire others.
What else has your journey taught you?
I’ve learned a lot, like I said, and obviously a lot more positives as negatives. For example, something I have always heard it’s the people you know, whether it be First friday or events. And when I first started, I really wanted to get in there, but it was tough.
Create what you want to create and do not let the outside voices (even those closest to you) tell you what you need to do. Being a creator in fashion and clothing, I always hear people say “yo, you should do this” or “you could try that”. Always create what you want to create and be true to yourself, even if you have a team. At the end of the day, it is your say, so let it be your own agency over what others want for you, but still appreciate those who are there to support.
Photography by Natalie Wheeler, Shirt by Imagine Threads, Modeling by Valentine Zamudia
So, what is the story behind your brand’s name,” Imagine Threads”?
This is actually an interesting story, everyone always asks this. So, it actually started as a school project. I was going to NAU (Northern Arizona University) to earn my business and marketing degree and one of the classes was to build your own business. It could’ve been anything, a restaurant or construction or whatever, but the whole point of the project was so follow the steps it takes to build that business. What would the brand name be? How many people would you reach? What would the capital be? The name itself was always something in my head and when we got to this project, I already knew. I knew Once I started building a platform and making friends and putting my name out there and that’s when I started getting invites to different things and people emailing and messaging me. Build your platform and utilize it to your ability.
What is your favorite thing you’ve created?
I would say that is hard to answer; I love everything I have made. With each design, I feel like it’s a level up and I’m elevating my game because I’m offering different colors or dyes. I am offering different things for everyone, so it is a tough question, but I would say my community collection, which is called “Amor de mi Barrio” which is basically “love for my hood”.” In Spanish, “barrio” can mean community, hood, or the street you live on. That was a big one for me because I feel It seems like community is a huge theme in all of your work and is something engrained deeply in you. I think that is inspiring and selfless.
It seems like community is a huge theme in all of your work and is something engrained deeply in you. I think that is inspiring and selfless. Do you have any new projects you are working on?
I do actually; I have a lot of things I am working on. I am about to release some new shorts which might actually be involved in the development of a new magazine. I just released a tube top set and crop tops. I am working on a new design that I wouldn’t say is religious, but gives you the sense of like all the people I grew up around in my communityall felt a love for the community. They were like, “oh man, someone finally made a shirt.” When I made that collection, I had people from Flagstaff say
“hey I need that, I’m from a barrio in Flagstaff” or “I’m in a barrio in Tucson,” and I wanted everybody to feel like no matter where you’re from, you can still rock this T-shirt. It is not a blood or crips thing or a gang thing, it is for your neighborhood. You know, it’s that nostalgia of “this is my block, I grew up there.” It’s not my best one creatively, but it is the one I have the most love for.
Where can we find more of you?:
You can find me online and on social media of course. I also try to set up small shows. We do acoustic nights, rap shows, and more events at different venues in Tempe and Phoenix, AZ. I always post about it on my social media, spread flyers, and share through word of mouth. We actually did an acoustic night here at the Buzzed Goat when this place first opened. Definitely keep an eye out here because we are always working with them and may do a fashion show
Cesar Rodriguez featured in Contagion Media Magazine Vol. 2, Designs by Imagine Threads, Photography by Natalie Wheeler
