R   G

By Mallory Roy

I had the pleasure to interview Roger Neves (@roger_ln on insta). Roger is a 2020 MassArt graduate and recently he just released a new collection in New York Fashion week. In this interview Roger touches on the inspiration and the process for his fabulous collection. He talks about the valuable advice he would give to MassArt students regarding classes, critiques, mental health and much more.

Q: Looking back on your college experience, could you share some of your highlights about your time at massart? What stands out to you when you reflect back?

I wanted to go into painting and I think your freshman year you are able to explore and your able to declare your major only sophomore year, So I was like okay I'll just see what else is out there and I figure painting was more of a hobby to me and i didnt wanna make it into a job. When I look back I just think about a lot of the other arts, I was able to do glass blowing, ceramics, wood working, painting all that stuff and I genuinely miss that side of school. I obviously miss fashion as well, but I don't know. I think I just miss being in that art environment. "

A: Honestly I think now is a perfect time to reflect back, when I first graduated its kinda hard to reflect back because all you have in your head is like your thesis work and just your senior year in general. But now when I look back and it's been two years now I honestly love how much I did outside of fashion as well. I love the fact that I was able to explore so many different mediums of art. Going into MassArt I had no intention of going  into fashion.

A: Great question, a big reason why I went into fashion was because I was dressing up every day, I was having so much fun with my outfits. Since I was in highschool I dressed like a grandpa and everyone would call me grandpa and I didnt care, I was like whatever I like my style, I'm not kidding it was very grandpa-y. But I enjoyed it at the same time people would make fun of me, when I went into MassArt I got a lot of compliments on it, So I was like Okay this is a safe space to explore more of that side of art. So my style was very, I wanna say eclectic, In a way. But it was weird because when I started to actually construct and design my own garments, I stopped dressing up.

I started wearing the same outfit everyday. I started going for simple stuff like T-shirts and pants. There is something about dressing up- it's like I didn't have time for it. All I kept thinking was what I was going to construct and I didnt have a space in my head where I was like “Ooh what am I going to wear today?”. I think the whole time was just like “what am I going to make today?”. So I stopped dressing up. I think now that my life is a little more quiet I’d say, I am still looking for a job and whatnot. And still am working on my own stuff. I've had more time to sorta dress up. So it's gone back to the grandpa-ie I'd say.

A: After graduating, I feel like I have to be 100% honest, I don't think that the fashion- I dont think it's the faculty's fault, I don't think that any of us in my grade were well prepared for after graduating. I felt like they were almost like they were just like “okay you're done!” push! It was kinda hard to get into the real world because I feel like your senior year is so much about your thesis. I didn't put enough time into thinking about what I was going to do and what job to get into.

Q: After graduation and becoming an independent designer, what were some of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?  

I feel like the faculty was pushing so much on us going into TJX. Which it is a great job, but I don't personally see myself in that sorta environment. It was tough, but I continued working. I still had my job, I work with hair loss patients such as cancer patients and alopecia and whatnot. I've been helping sewing wigs on Newbury Street for 3 years now, so I stayed at that job. In the meantime I've still been looking. I applied for a few shows and got into the flying solo show for new york fashion week, and that was fun. It was kind of crazy to have my job on Newbury Street  then construct a whole collection for the show. It was intense but it was something that I liked because I felt like I was pushing myself so much and I had no break. It was a good experience and a little bit of the real world and how everything works and how ya know life can just be work work work and still be sorta rewarding at the end of the day.

Q: You have a new collection coming out in NY fashion week. Can you talk a little bit about what inspired the collection and how that process has been?

A:When it comes to seeking inspiration with any of my work, I feel like there is a lot going on up here (points to brain). I pull from so many different aspects, and the way it works with me is I will pull from something I’ll be like Okay I kinda wanna get inspired by my roots, I wanna get inspired by something more related to the arts and culture in brazil, because that is where me and my family are from. So I will think of one Idea and then it will kinda be like the snowball effect but a good snowball effect. I will be like I thought about this- what fabric am I going to use for this look.

For example one of the looks of the collection was this jacket with Pelé the soccer player on one of the panels and after thinking about that garment, I was like okay what fabric am i going to use for that jacket, what sort of embellishments am I going to use on it or what sort of stitch seam techniques am I going to do. That kind of led to another idea and it just kept piling up but in a good way. At the end of the collection I was like oh my god does this all even make sense? Because this fabric inspired this fabric and this fabric inspired this fabric, but I was like do they even work together but I think over all when I looked at it finally after a year of construction, I was like no this makes sense. It all came from the same corner of my head. 

Q: If you had to choose what would be your favorite look or design element from your most recent collection? Can you describe it? Why is it your favorite? 

A: Sure yeah, Okay I have a couple of favorite looks the one I just talked about the Pelé jacket I love that one, more so it just too so much time having to construct just one panel of the jacket but I knew that it was going to be rewarding, I was like no rog just do it because your gonna like it. I think at the end of the day if I’m proud of something then it's all worth it. So I'm like no this is good, I’m proud, I’m happy this is perfect but it’s one of my favorites but for some reason I’m so attached to this one specific look it's a houndstooth wool look. I had an idea for it throughout the whole construction process of making my womens wear pieces, I kept not doing it and then I ended up making a whole different look, for that specific look- and it was, 2 days before the final photoshoot, right before the show. I couldn't get that idea out of my head, the original idea. I was like, I'm gonna do it and I did it.

I pulled an all nighter and I made the look and it worked out so well and it ended up fitting the model. It hugged her perfectly and I was just so proud of it, it was an idea I had in my head I didn't make a muslin for it. I did not test any of it, just went straight to my 100% wool fabric. I was thinking am I gonna do this right now, but it does just hug her so well. I did try to make a lot of the pieces very adjustable to a body, But this specific look was a little bit more tailored. But I pulled it off, I was like this is working. I think my favorite look because of the way it came about, the way I managed to construct it would have to be look #5.

I feel like you have to stick with it because especially in my class, everyone had a whole different style. Everyone came from a totally different corner of fashion. So when it comes to selecting fabrics and colors and silhouettes, everyone is going to have a different opinion. I think critiquing in fashion design is so hard when everyone has a different style because of course you're going to get different opinions and whatnot. But there is certain stuff that I wish I had chosen that color that I first brought up, I wish I did choose that fabric, I wish I did stick with that silhouette, even though I am happy with how my thesis ended up as there are so many details I wish I had done. But I didn't because of certain critiques so I guess that is a big Don’t- Dont 100% trust on the critiques. Do- Stick with your gut. Don't let others change your mind on something that you think might work. Maybe it would have been a better idea, but I'm also very big in everything happens for a reason. Another Do I definitely say to would try to explore so many other means of art. Even if you don't think you're going to be interested in it, I was just so grateful to step into so many different mediums of art while I was in school. Because it's a memory that I look back at, like your first question of this interview, I brought up that I explored different majors because it's fun, and you are able to see how your abilities in fashion would work in a different side of art. I am just so happy I did it. I’m proud of the other art I did in those classes as well, and I'm excited to explore all of that again. So I definitely think that's a big do. Explore other sides, you might regret graduating and not having done all that because you know you're paying the tuition you might as well take advantage of it. 

A: Hmm, so I would say critique is definitely one of a fashion designer's most important tool, when it comes to learning. Especially learning and studying to become a fashion designer critique is definitely helpful, but I’d say definitely always stick with your gut. Like if you let's say have this idea of a garment and you want to use this specific fabric and you bring it up to your peers and everyone is like “ew hmm I don't know about that” “I don’t think I like that” and you go towards what everyone collectively thought out what was the best idea. To the class it might be a good idea for them but, in your gut you're like you know I really like this idea I had in my head.

Q: If you could give advice to current MassArt Fashion design students or just Students in general what is something you would advise? What are some Dos and don'ts you wish you knew in school? 

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share or things that you would like to touch on that you feel is important to your growth as a designer?

of artists- not just artists but everyone else but speaking from being at massart and haven gone through counseling at massart and being around peers what were struggling mentally it was kinda unfortunate to see how many artists are struggling with something. It's also just super unfortunate that it can affect your work and so I think if I had to give advice I'd say put that in front of your priorities. If you are struggling mentally it's gonna affect your work. I pushed it to the side for so long but it got to the point where it gets messy. It can get in the way of your creative flow and it affects your work. You’re not able to sort of think of stuff in an artistic way. I don't even know how to put it into words. I feel like a lot of people who are struggling don’t give themselves time and a break. For example with this past collection I just went through a period where I was like I have to step back and I have to seek help. I am so thankful that I did because I took time for myself, I wasnt hard on myself for taking time because it is necessary. When I came back I had a fresh mindset to continue working on the collection. I think that is just extremely important because  everytime I think about my collection, and had I not taken that break I would have constructed something that I hated. I would have designed a collection, just to design and put it out there. I wouldn't have designed it with passion. I feel like it would have been not an organic collection. Definitely if I were to give advice to anyone struggling on that side, definitely give yourself some time to give yourself a break. Push through but also seek help.  

A: Yeah, I think to a very big subject that I think that is really important to touch on especially with artists I think mental health can be a struggle and I don't know why it’s so- there is a big stigma around it, because I suffer from a severe panic disorder a lot of my peers didn't know about and a lot of the faulty didn't know about but it's something that i never wanted to touch upon because there is a stigma around it and some people kinda relate mental illness or disorder with a bad person but I think a lot

Q: Do you have any exciting plans in the future for your brand that you would like to give us a sneak peak on? 

A: Yeah, So right now I am currently looking for jobs. I am separating my time to work hard on just looking everywhere because at first I was just looking at New York. I kinda gave up looking in Boston, even in New York it's been a freaking struggle. I am trying to work on a sorta spring summer capsule collection and I am hoping to have actual garments to sell.

Actually get a couple things manufactured and sampled, just to kinda see how that plays out, I haven't really touched that too much. I make all my stuff myself, and I'm like okay let's see, I know it's expensive but I need to start somewhere you know. If I actually wanna make this into a business. I have a website coming up and I'm not really sure where the inspiration is going to come from for my spring summer capsule collection but I am excited about it.