Western may be known for its outdoor activities and outdoor sculpture park, but student fashion is brightening up campus in big ways. Western designers are spreading their fashion influence, and have moved up from Vendors Row to the racks of Nordstrom.

Casual Industrees

Western alumni Brendan and Dan Reid used to sell their T-shirts out of the back of their car on Vendors Row. Now their designs grace the shelves of Nordstrom and Zumiez.

The Reid brothers began designing clothes one winter in a rented house off Mount Baker Highway. Inspired by snowboard clothing companies, the Reids decided to create something a little more original than what they saw on sales racks.

“Our designs are art-centered,” Dan said. “We thought it was pretty lame to wear a big logo and walk around looking like a human billboard.”

Dan said they like to think of Casual Industrees as a lifestyle adjective; their designs are casual but also built for the active outdoor style of the Northwest.

“We try to design clothes that reflect the lifestyle of skiing, snowboarding and surfing,” Dan said. “They reflect the art, music and the street life of the snow, ski, and surf culture.”

Brendan said Casual Industrees tries to capture a sense of state pride and represent the outdoor diversity of Washington in their designs. To do this they incorporated an outline of Washington state into their logo and lovingly named it the “WA Brah.”

Brendan said he feels a lot of their business comes from people who want to support the lifestyle vision of the company.

“We’re basically the garage band equivalent of a clothing company,” Brendan said. “We operate out of our basement on Alki Beach, and we may be broke but we’re living the lifestyle.”

Brendan said they plan to expand to worldwide sales but  couldn't have made it without the support received in Bellingham.

“We got our start by selling our clothes on Vendors Row and the parking lot of the Mount Baker Ski Area,” Brendan said. “Without their help we wouldn’t be where we are now.”

Epoch Apparel

The concept for Epoch Apparel began in a Nash Hall dorm room.  Western sophomore John Goetz and former student Kyle MacDonald came up with the idea for a snowboarding-geared clothing company during their freshman year at Western.

Goetz and MacDonald started designing clothes in the cramped room with help from their friend, Western sophomore Katie Haynes. Goetz and MacDonald wanted to sew their own designs, so they had  Haynes patiently teach them how to use her sewing machine.

All of their merchandise starts out as a plain sweatshirt or T-shirt, and they hand sew designs and accessories onto the merchandise.

The company began with their original idea to modify a standard hoodie sweatshirt by cutting out a triangle-shaped piece of fabric and connecting it to the hood to keep the face well-covered while snowboarding, Goetz said. They called their design a bandito.

“We want to create something really original,” Goetz said. “The bandito really caught on and pretty soon I started seeing our designs on campus.”

The company’s popularity grew within Goetz and MacDonald’s circle of friends, and soon they were getting orders from people who had seen their designs around campus.

He said they concentrate on adding bright colors and new elements to their clothing, such as T-shirts with sweatshirt pockets and the original bandito. They also add accessory elements such as thumb-holders and the Epoch logo.

Goetz said most business and publicity they get is through word of mouth. He said the company has been expanding, which has required them to get a business license and manage their own Web site.

Despite the company’s growth, Goetz said he and MacDonald continue to run the entire operation, down to the last stitch.

“We like doing it ourselves,” Goetz said. “It’s cool to see how happy people are wearing our clothes.”

Courtney Harris

“I like to work in all kinds of art,” Western senior Courtney Harris said. “My clothes are just another medium for expressing my art.”

Harris screen-prints original art designs on T-shirts. A screen-printing class she took through the Western art department inspired her first line — “New World Order. ”

Harris’ designs are graffiti-inspired, and she said she likes to mix and match bold colors. She described her designs as attention getting. Her T-shirts are centered around her art.

Harris said she mostly sells her designs to friends. She has also sold her designs at the Western Hip Hop Showcase.

This year she is planning a special design specifically for the showcase — a man holding a boom box to represent music and art.

Harris said she has always been interested in fashion and saw an untapped market for her designs.

“I just never saw what I was looking for in the selection of women’s clothes,” Harris said. “I wanted to design something that was a little edgier for women.”

Harris said she plans to introduce a new line, “Washd,” by the end of the quarter. She said the new designs will introduce different fabrics and play with the bold contrast of colors.

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